Alabama eviction notice requirements start with a written notice to the tenant, and in nearly every situation that notice must give at least seven business days before the landlord can file in court. The exact wording, the tenant’s chance to fix the problem, and what happens if the deadline passes all depend on why the landlord is ending the tenancy. Get any piece wrong and the court can throw the case out, which is why the notice stage is where most avoidable eviction mistakes happen.
How Long the Notice Must Run
Alabama uses the same seven-business-day baseline for most eviction grounds under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. What changes is whether the tenant has a right to cure. Business days exclude weekends and state holidays, so a notice served Friday pushes the deadline out further than a straight calendar count suggests.
Nonpayment of Rent
For unpaid rent, the written notice gives the tenant at least seven business days to pay the full amount owed, including any late fees the lease allows. If the tenant pays everything within that window, the lease stays in effect and the landlord cannot file.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
Curable Lease Violations
For other breaches, such as unauthorized occupants, a prohibited pet, or property damage, the landlord serves a seven-business-day notice describing the specific violation. The tenant can save the tenancy by correcting the problem before the deadline.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent One situation has no cure: if the tenant intentionally lied about a material fact on the application or in the lease, the landlord can terminate without giving a chance to remedy anything.
Noncurable Conduct
Some conduct triggers a seven-day notice with no right to cure. The tenant must leave:
- Using, making, or distributing illegal drugs in the unit or common areas.
- Illegally using, possessing, or discharging a firearm on the property, outside of self-defense.
- Assaulting another tenant or guest on the premises, outside of self-defense.
- Committing substantially the same lease violation within six months of a prior breach the tenant already cured.
The repeat-violation rule catches people off guard. A tenant who fixes a problem once gets credit for curing it, but doing the same thing again within six months converts it into a noncurable default. Separately, no tenant may cure any type of breach more than twice in any 12-month period without the landlord’s written consent.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
Ending a Periodic Tenancy With No Cause
Month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies can be ended without any lease violation. A month-to-month tenancy requires at least 30 days’ written notice before the next periodic rental date. A week-to-week tenancy requires at least seven days’ notice before the termination date.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-441 – Periodic Tenancy Either side can give the notice.
What the Notice Must Say
A vague notice is an easy target for dismissal. Every notice should:
- Identify the tenant by name and the rental property by address.
- State the reason for the eviction clearly enough that the tenant knows exactly what needs to change. For nonpayment, that means listing the specific dollar amount of rent and late fees owed. For a lease violation, describe the specific conduct or condition that constitutes the breach.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
- Give the date by which the tenant must either cure or vacate. That date cannot fall earlier than the minimum statutory period.
- State that if the tenant does neither, the landlord will terminate the rental agreement.
Leaving out any of these pieces gives the tenant grounds to challenge the notice in court.
How to Deliver the Notice
Alabama’s landlord-tenant act treats notice as received when it actually comes to the tenant’s attention, when it is delivered in hand, or three days after it is mailed with proper postage to the tenant’s last known address. Hand delivery starts the clock immediately. Mailing adds three days to the timeline because the statute presumes receipt on that third day.
Keep proof whichever way you serve it. A certified-mail receipt creates a paper trail. For hand delivery, a written declaration noting the date, time, and method works. Keep a copy of the notice itself along with the delivery proof, because both become exhibits in the eviction complaint. Judges routinely dismiss cases where the landlord cannot show that notice was properly delivered or that the full notice period ran before the complaint was filed.
What the Tenant Can Do During the Notice Period
For a curable violation, the most direct option is to fix the problem before the deadline. Paying the full rent and late fees within seven business days kills a nonpayment eviction, and correcting a lease violation within the same window does the same. If the tenant cures the breach in time, the landlord cannot move forward.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent Tenants should keep receipts, photos, or other proof the cure was completed before the deadline, because disputes over whether the breach was actually remedied are common.
A tenant who thinks the notice itself is wrong can prepare a defense for court. Common grounds include an incorrect notice period, a factual dispute about whether the violation happened, or a claim that the landlord filed in retaliation. Nothing needs to be filed with the court during the notice period itself; the tenant answers after the landlord files the complaint.
Alabama law also prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant who complained to a government agency about housing or building code violations, reported habitability problems to the landlord, or joined a tenant organization. Retaliation includes raising rent, cutting services, or threatening or filing an eviction. A tenant who proves retaliation has a defense to the possession action and can recover damages of up to three months’ rent or actual losses, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees. The protection has limits. A landlord can still evict a tenant who is behind on rent, who caused the code violation through their own negligence, or who committed other material lease breaches, even if the tenant also engaged in protected activity.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-501 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited
Notice Is the Only Legal Way to Start
Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or hauling belongings to the curb without a court order is illegal in Alabama no matter how far behind the tenant is. A landlord who removes or excludes a tenant, or who deliberately cuts off heat, water, electricity, gas, or other essential services, faces real consequences. The tenant can recover possession or terminate the lease, and in either case collect damages of up to three months’ rent or actual losses, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees. The landlord must also return the full security deposit and any prepaid rent.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-407 – Tenant’s Remedies for Landlord’s Unlawful Ouster, Exclusion, or Diminution of Service
The formal process takes time and costs money, which tempts some landlords to skip ahead. Those shortcuts almost always cost more in the end. The written notice, properly worded, properly delivered, and properly timed, is the only legal way to begin.