Alabama landlord-tenant law at a glance
Alabama landlord-tenant law for residential rentals sits in the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Sections 35-9A-101 and following of the Code of Alabama. Article 2 covers the landlord’s duties and deposits, Article 3 the tenant’s duties and access, and Article 4 the remedies on both sides, including eviction. The rules below come from the 2025 edition of the Code.
| Rule | Alabama requirement | Code section |
|---|---|---|
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date, by either side | 35-9A-441(b) |
| Ending a week-to-week tenancy | Written notice at least 7 days before the termination date | 35-9A-441(a) |
| Unpaid rent | Written notice stating rent and late fees owed; lease ends at least 7 business days after receipt if not paid | 35-9A-421(b) |
| Other material lease breach | Written notice; at least 7 business days to cure | 35-9A-421(a) |
| Deposit cap | One month’s periodic rent, plus separate deposits for pets, changes to the premises or added liability risk | 35-9A-201(a) |
| Deposit return | 60 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, with an itemized list of deductions | 35-9A-201(b)-(c) |
| Penalty for late return | Double the original deposit | 35-9A-201(f) |
| Late fees | No statutory cap confirmed; the nonpayment notice must state late fees needed to cure | 35-9A-421(b) |
| Entry notice | At least 2 days, except emergencies or suspected abandonment | 35-9A-303 |
| Rent control | Banned for local governments | 11-80-8.1 |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Alabama?
An Alabama landlord must give written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date to end a month-to-month tenancy. The tenant owes the same 30 days. For a week-to-week tenancy, the notice period is 7 days. Both rules are in Section 35-9A-441.
The 30 days are counted to a rent date, not to any day of the month. If rent is due on the first, a notice delivered on May 15 ends the tenancy on July 1, not June 14. A fixed-term lease simply ends on its end date unless it renews, so most apartment leases set their own non-renewal notice in the lease itself. Alabama law sets no limit on how much a landlord can raise the rent at renewal.
The 7-business-day notice for unpaid rent
If rent is not paid when due, an Alabama landlord can deliver a written notice that states the rent and any late fees the tenant must pay to cure, and that names a termination date at least 7 business days after the tenant receives it. If the tenant does not pay in full by then, the lease terminates. The section was last amended by Act 2018-473.
Business days leave out weekends, so a notice received on a Wednesday runs through Friday of the following week. Get the amount right. A notice that overstates what is owed, or leaves out late fees you later try to collect, gives the tenant an easy argument in court.
For other material breaches of the lease, the same section gives the tenant at least 7 business days to cure. Some breaches cannot be cured at all: illegal drug activity, certain misuse of firearms, criminal assault, and repeating a substantially similar breach within six months of curing it. For those, the landlord can terminate on a 7-day notice. A tenant also cannot cure a breach more than twice in 12 months without the landlord’s written consent.
Security deposit rules in Alabama
Alabama caps the security deposit at one month’s periodic rent under Section 35-9A-201(a). On a $1,200 apartment, the most you can take as a general security deposit is $1,200. The cap does not cover deposits for pets, for changes to the premises or for increased liability risk, so a separate pet deposit is allowed.
You can apply the deposit to unpaid rent and to damage caused by the tenant’s failure to meet the lease. The balance is due within 60 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession. If you keep any part, you must send an itemized list of what you kept within the same 60 days.
Miss that deadline and the penalty is steep. A landlord who fails to mail a refund or an accounting within 60 days must pay the tenant double the original deposit. On a $1,200 deposit, a late accounting turns a refund you might have owed into a $2,400 payment. Put the 60-day date on a calendar the day each tenant moves out.
Late fees and landlord entry in Alabama
We found no Alabama statute that caps late fees on residential leases. Section 35-9A-421(b) does refer to late fees, requiring the nonpayment notice to list any late fees the tenant must pay to cure, so set the fee in the lease and keep it to an amount you can defend as reasonable.
Entry is covered in Section 35-9A-303. Except in an emergency, a landlord must give at least two days’ notice of the intent to enter, and posting the notice on the unit’s primary entry door is an accepted method. The landlord can enter without the tenant’s consent in an emergency or when there is reasonable cause to believe the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the unit.
The eviction process in Alabama
An Alabama eviction is a civil action for possession, often called an unlawful detainer, and is usually filed in the district court of the county where the property is located. Section 35-9A-461 gives eviction cases priority on the court’s calendar.
- Serve the written notice: 7 business days for unpaid rent, with the right to cure.
- File the eviction complaint with the district court; the Montgomery County filing fee is $350.
- The sheriff or a process server serves the complaint. If no adult can be found at the unit, it can be posted on the door and mailed the same day or by the next business day, and service is complete on the mailing date.
- The tenant has 7 days to answer the complaint for possession; a money claim has a 14-day answer period. If the tenant does not answer, the landlord can seek a default judgment.
- After judgment for the landlord, issuance of the writ of possession is stayed for 7 days.
- Either side can appeal to circuit court within 7 days. The appeal is set for trial within 60 days, and it stops the writ only if the tenant pays all rent due into court and keeps paying as rent comes due.
How long does an eviction take in Alabama?
The waiting periods built into an uncontested Alabama nonpayment case add up to at least three weeks: 7 business days for the notice, 7 days to answer after service, and a 7-day stay after judgment before the writ issues. Service delays, the court’s hearing calendar and the sheriff’s schedule for carrying out writs add time and vary by county.
A contested case or an appeal takes longer, but the rent-into-court rule limits the cost to the landlord. A tenant who appeals and stops paying rent to the circuit clerk loses the stay, and the court must issue the writ on the landlord’s motion.
Does Alabama have rent control?
No. Section 11-80-8.1 of the Code of Alabama, passed in 1993, bars every county and city from enacting, maintaining or enforcing any ordinance, resolution or rule that controls the amount of rent charged for leasing private property. Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and every other city are covered.
The only carve-out is for property a local government has its own interest in, which it can still manage. If your building has rent limits through a tax credit or other regulatory agreement, those come from the agreement, not from local rent control, and they bind a buyer.
Selling an Alabama apartment building with tenants in place
Existing leases stay in force when you sell, and the buyer becomes the landlord for the rest of each term. Deposits follow the building. Section 35-9A-201(h) makes the deposit rules binding on whoever holds the landlord’s interest when a tenancy ends, so a buyer who owns the building on move-out day owes the refund or accounting, and the double-deposit penalty if it is late.
That is why deposits are usually credited to the buyer on the closing statement. Give tenants written notice of the new owner, where to pay rent and where their deposits now sit.
- Deliver a rent roll with each lease, deposit, pet deposit and move-in date.
- Credit all deposits to the buyer at closing and document it.
- Disclose any pending eviction cases, notices already served and rent paid into court on appeal.
- Hand over move-in condition reports so the buyer can support deductions later.
Alabama landlord-tenant law changes in 2025 and 2026
We did not find a 2025 or 2026 amendment to the sections covered on this page. The most recent amendments we confirmed are older: Act 2018-473 to Section 35-9A-421 on notices and cure, Act 2014-279 to the deposit section and Act 2011-700 to the access section. Check that your lease forms match the current text, especially the business-day notice periods.
Property tax law did change recently, and it affects rental owners. Act 2024-344 caps yearly increases in the taxable value of Class II rental property at 7%, but the cap comes off when a building is sold. See our page on the property tax rate in Alabama for what that means for a buyer.
Selling an Alabama apartment building to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Alabama, with tenants in place. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We take over leases and deposits at closing and send the tenant notices.
For the tax side of a sale, see Alabama capital gains tax on real estate and the 1031 exchange in Alabama.
