How the Alabama eviction process works
To evict a tenant in Alabama, you serve the right written notice, let it expire, file an eviction complaint in the district court of the county where the building sits, serve it, win a judgment for possession and wait out a 7-day stay before the writ of possession issues. Section 35-9A-461 of the Code of Alabama governs the court side and gives eviction cases precedence in scheduling over all other civil cases.
What sets Alabama apart is the business-day notice and the appeal rule. A tenant can’t buy months by appealing; the appeal stops the writ only if the tenant pays rent into the circuit clerk’s office as it comes due. Our Alabama landlord-tenant law guide covers deposits, entry and rent control. This page stays on the eviction itself.
Alabama eviction notices: which one to serve
The reason for the eviction picks the notice, and each runs from the day the tenant receives it, not the day you write it. All of them are in Section 35-9A-421.
- Unpaid rent: a written notice stating the rent and any late fees needed to cure, with a termination date at least 7 business days after receipt. If the tenant pays in full by then, the lease survives (35-9A-421(b)).
- Material lease violation or a health and safety breach: written notice with a termination date at least 7 business days after receipt; the tenant can avoid termination by fixing the problem before that date (35-9A-421(a)).
- Material misrepresentation in the lease or application: same notice, but the breach can’t be cured (35-9A-421(a)).
- Noncurable defaults: illegal drug activity in the unit or common areas, illegal firearm use or discharge, criminal assault of a tenant or guest, or a repeat of substantially the same breach within six months of a cured one. These allow termination on 7 days’ notice with no right to cure (35-9A-421(d)).
- End of a month-to-month tenancy: written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date; 7 days for week-to-week (35-9A-441).
Details that sink Alabama notices
When a breach fits both the rent rule and the violation rule, the 7-business-day nonpayment period controls. A tenant also can’t cure the same type of breach more than twice in 12 months without your express written consent, so your third notice for repeated late rent can be a termination notice, not another chance to pay.
Under Section 35-9A-424, taking rent while knowing the tenant is in default, or accepting performance that varies from the lease, waives your right to terminate for that breach unless you and the tenant agree otherwise after the breach. A partial payment taken during the notice period can sink the case.
Count business days carefully. A notice received on a Friday doesn’t expire until the second Tuesday after it, because weekends don’t count. Some county clerk sheets still describe a 14-day notice for lease violations, while the current statute says 7 business days. Giving the longer period costs you a few days and removes the argument.
Filing the eviction complaint in district court
File in the county where the property is located. District and circuit courts share eviction jurisdiction within their usual limits, but most apartment cases go to district court (35-9A-461(b)). Montgomery County’s district court uses Form C-59, the unlawful detainer complaint, and asks you to attach a copy of the notice you served. Its filing fee is $350, plus per-defendant service charges.
Service follows the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure with an eviction-specific fallback in 35-9A-461(c). If personal service fails, the papers can go to a competent adult living in the unit. If no one can be found after a reasonable effort, they can be posted on the door, and the filer must mail a copy by first-class mail the same day or the next business day. Service by posting is complete on the mailing date, so that date starts the tenant’s answer period.
The answer deadline, default and the hearing
The tenant has 7 days after service to answer the claim for possession, according to the Montgomery County District Court’s unlawful detainer instructions, and 14 days to answer a money claim in district court. If the tenant files nothing, you can ask for a default judgment and then a writ of possession.
If the tenant answers, the clerk sets a hearing. The statute doesn’t fix a hearing date, but the precedence rule pushes eviction cases ahead of other civil matters. Before a default judgment, you’ll also need an affidavit on whether the tenant is in military service, which the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires in any default.
Judgment, the 7-day stay and the writ of possession
When you win, a writ of possession issues on your application, but Section 35-9A-461(e) imposes an automatic 7-day stay, overriding the usual stay in Rule 62. Morgan County’s sheriff puts it the same way: no writ until the post-judgment motion and appeal time has run, seven calendar days from the district court judgment, and filing the writ there costs $17.
The sheriff carries out the writ. Alabama’s statute doesn’t set a separate waiting period between the sheriff’s visit and the lockout, so timing depends on the county. A tenant who moves back in without just cause can be held in contempt, and the court can issue successive writs.
Appeals and paying rent into court
Either side can appeal a district court eviction judgment to circuit court within 7 days of entry. A timely post-judgment motion suspends that deadline. The circuit clerk sets the appeal for trial as a preferred case within 60 days (35-9A-461(d)).
The appeal doesn’t stop the writ unless the tenant pays rent into the circuit clerk’s office and keeps paying as each payment comes due. If a payment is missed, the court must issue the writ on your motion. Montgomery County’s clerk adds that an affidavit of substantial hardship does not waive the appeal bond. If you win possession and later lose on appeal, the circuit court may put the tenant back in, but not against a third party.
Self-help eviction, retaliation and the tenant’s right to cure
Never change the locks or cut utilities. Under Section 35-9A-407, a landlord who unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant, or willfully interrupts heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas or another essential service, owes up to three months’ periodic rent or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees, and the tenant can get back in or end the lease.
Section 35-9A-501 bars bringing or threatening an eviction because a tenant complained to a code agency, complained to you about a violation or joined a tenants’ union. You can still file if the tenant is behind on rent, caused the code problem or is in other material breach. The tenant’s main right to cure is the one in the notice: pay in full or fix the problem before the termination date.
Federal rules: the CARES Act notice and SCRA
If your building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. Serving 30 days at a covered building avoids the question.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3931, requires the military-service affidavit before any default judgment.
Alabama eviction timeline at a glance
These are the statutory and court-rule deadlines for an uncontested nonpayment case. Service delays, a contested hearing or the sheriff’s schedule add time.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-or-quit notice | At least 7 business days after receipt | Ala. Code 35-9A-421(b) |
| Lease violation notice | At least 7 business days to cure | Ala. Code 35-9A-421(a) |
| Noncurable default notice | 7 days, no cure | Ala. Code 35-9A-421(d) |
| Posted service | Mail same or next business day; complete on mailing | Ala. Code 35-9A-461(c) |
| Answer to possession claim | 7 days after service | Montgomery County District Court instructions |
| Writ of possession | Automatic 7-day stay after judgment | Ala. Code 35-9A-461(e) |
| Appeal to circuit court | 7 days; trial set within 60 days | Ala. Code 35-9A-461(d) |
Worked example: one nonpaying unit in a 24-unit Montgomery building
Assume a unit renting for $1,050 a month in a 24-unit Montgomery building, with rent due Thursday, April 1, 2027. You deliver the notice Friday, April 2. Seven business days run through Tuesday, April 13. You file Wednesday, April 14, and the tenant is served that day. The 7-day answer period ends April 21, you get a default judgment Thursday, April 22, and the 7-day stay ends April 29. Assume the sheriff executes the writ Friday, April 30.
That’s 29 days from the missed rent to possession. At $1,050 a month, the daily rent is about $34.52 ($1,050 × 12 ÷ 365), so the lost rent is $1,001.10. Add an assumed $900 attorney fee, the $350 Montgomery filing fee and an assumed $100 for service and the writ, and the minimum cost is $2,351.10. A contested hearing or an appeal pushes it higher.
Alternatives to filing, and selling with an eviction pending
A written payment plan can work when the tenant has a real way to catch up, but put it in writing after the breach so it doesn’t waive your rights under 35-9A-424. Cash for keys, where you pay the tenant to leave by a set date in exchange for a signed move-out agreement, is often cheaper than a month of lost rent and legal fees.
You can also sell an occupied building with a case still open. The buyer takes over the leases and the landlord’s rights, including the pending eviction, and Alabama’s deposit rules bind whoever owns the building when each tenancy ends. Disclose every notice served and every case filed, and expect the buyer to ask for tenant estoppel certificates confirming rent, deposits and defaults.
Selling your Alabama apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Alabama, occupied, including buildings with problem tenants or evictions under way. We buy directly, and you don’t need to finish the case before you call. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
