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Council pauses repeal of ordinance 6,800 after AG opinion; members debate next steps on renter protections
Summary
Following an Arkansas Attorney General opinion and internal legal review, Fayetteville city staff recommended repeal of Ordinance 6,800 (an applicant-fee cap). Council members and public speakers urged continuing work on renter protections; council left the matter on first reading for further deliberation.
The Fayetteville City Council addressed Ordinance 6,800 — a local ordinance passed in October that capped certain application and related fees charged to rental applicants — after the city attorney and the Arkansas Attorney General issued analyses raising legal concerns.
City Attorney Kit (presented the staff analysis) told council the Attorney General concluded parts of the ordinance are likely in conflict with state law (A.C.A. § 14-43-608), and staff recommended repeal to avoid exposing the city to litigation risks. Council members and dozens of public commenters urged the council to defend the ordinance or to replace it with other enforceable consumer protections rather than repeal the measure outright.
Speakers at the council gave detailed personal testimony about hardships caused by repeated application fees and background-check charges; advocates argued the ordinance offered meaningful consumer protections and urged council to pursue alternatives — such as municipal identification programs, changes to police traffic-stop practices affecting immigrant communities, or other tenant protections — if repeal was required.
Council members debated the legal and fiscal trade-offs. Some members said the attorney-general guidance and the state legislative environment made litigation or defense unlikely to succeed and risked costly legal defense. Others said the city should continue to pursue tenant protections and requested time to draft alternatives.
On the council floor members agreed not to repeal the ordinance that night; instead they left Ordinance 6,800 on first reading and directed staff and councilmembers to research and pursue alternative legal mechanisms to protect renters. Several council members said they would pursue further work with state legislators and community groups to seek broader protections.
