Here’s a map showing how states rank on a 0-100 scale of “renter friendliness”. It is brought to you by Rent Café, which I assume is some sort of apartment-finding website.
They have a good list of policies that give more rights to renters, including how long you have to wait to get back a security deposit and how much notice your landlord has to give in order to terminate your lease or raise your rent.
Vermont is the #1 state with a “90” score.
There’s probably a lot more that could be done at the state or city level to make sure renters have more rights in a tight rental market. See also: evictions.
California is renter friendly? LOL
compared to Arkansas I guess
Difference between renter-friendly laws and regulation and renter-friendly markets.
I think this map misses a big point, which is that a place like Arkansas simply doesn’t need renter protection. Housing just isn’t scarce there, so there is no reason to add protections; cost of living is some 30% lower than California. California may rate highly by laws, but try to actually live there (at least in the nice parts thereof).
Compare this map to a cost of living map (https://taxfoundation.org/real-value-100-state-2017/). The maps are almost mirror images of each other, except for the real winners which are the states like South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas that have low cost of living and good legal renter protection.