Arkansas, United States - I live in an apartment complex, which had new ownership take over in the past year. A few weeks back they sent an email to everyone saying they would be installing patio fences on all first floor units except for those facing parking lots. Another week or two after that they sent a follow up saying they would be installing them on ALL first floor units. My roommate messaged them for clarification on that, and they seemed to suggest that it was still going to exclude units facing the lots.
Well, today I came home to my patio fenced in. When I signed the lease and chose this specific unit, I did so because it had easy access outside for my dog, as well as to the mail, trash, etc. Now I have about a 30 sq foot concrete slab to enjoy, and have lost all use of my entire back door.
I know that Arkansas rates low on renters’ rights, but do I have any kind of standing to get this thing gone? I have 7 months left on my lease, and never wanted, or was asked if we wanted this fence. There isn’t a gate or anything, just a fence I can’t go through. I went over my lease, but it doesn’t mention anything about management making changes, just that renters can’t modify stuff. Am I just SOL?
EDIT: Just got more info from my roommate. When they sent the second message saying they were expanding the installations to all first floor units he sent the text asking for clarification, but got left on read.