Rental Scams in Little Rock

Where to Report Rental Fraud in Little Rock

The Arkansas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division handles complaints about deceptive rental practices and scams statewide. You can file a consumer complaint online at arkansasag.gov or by calling the division at 800-482-8982; complaints can also be emailed to the office. Staff frequently mediate directly with a business to resolve a dispute, and complaint patterns help the office identify recurring scams.

For a fraud that already cost you money or involves a fake landlord, file a report with the Little Rock Police Department. The department's Telephone Reporting Unit takes non-emergency and fraud reports by phone at (501) 918-4397, and online reporting is available through littlerock.gov. A police report number is often required before a wire-transfer service, bank, or listing platform will open a fraud investigation, so file promptly and keep the report number.

For wire-transfer or online-payment losses, also file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov) and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. These federal reports feed the databases investigators use to pursue interstate rental-scam operations.

Verifying a Landlord and Property in Pulaski County

Little Rock sits in Pulaski County, and the Pulaski County Assessor maintains a free public parcel search where you can look up any property by address, owner name, or parcel number. Use it to confirm that the name on your lease matches the recorded owner and that the property actually exists at the address advertised. The Assessor's Office is at 201 S. Broadway, Suite 310, Little Rock, and can be reached at (501) 340-6170.

For the legal chain of ownership, the Pulaski County Circuit Clerk's Office records deeds and land transactions at 401 W. Markham St., Suite 100, and can be reached at (501) 340-8500. If the person collecting your deposit is not the owner of record, ask for written proof they are an authorized agent or property manager before paying anything. A common scam re-posts a real for-sale or for-rent listing at a lower price under a fake owner's name, so a records match is your fastest independent check.

Arkansas Deposit and Application Rules Worth Knowing

Arkansas law caps a security deposit at two months' rent. On a typical Little Rock two-bedroom, where average asking rents generally run in the low four figures, a deposit demand well above a couple months of that rent is a red flag. Note a significant limitation: these statutory protections apply only to landlords who own six or more rental units, so a small individual landlord may fall outside them, which makes a signed written lease stating the exact deposit and return terms especially important.

For covered landlords, the deposit (or a written, itemized list of any damage deductions) must be returned within 60 days after you move out, so provide a forwarding address in writing. A demand for a large deposit paid by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or a cash app before you have signed a lease or toured the unit is a near-certain scam signal regardless of which landlord rules apply. When a small-landlord deposit is wrongfully withheld, Arkansas small claims court is the usual path to recover it.