Alabama Renters’ Rights: Deposits, Repairs, and Eviction

If you rent a home or apartment in Alabama, your rights come primarily from the Alabama Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, with additional protections layered on by federal law. Alabama renters’ rights cover security deposits, the landlord’s duty to keep the place livable, privacy from unannounced entry, written notice before eviction, and protection from retaliation when you speak up. These rules apply whether you signed a year-long written lease or pay month to month under an oral agreement.

A few living situations sit outside the Act: hotel and motel stays, dormitory housing tied to a school or hospital, housing that comes with a job, agricultural rentals, and homes you occupy while buying under a contract of sale. If you fit one of those, the protections below do not apply to you.

Security Deposit Limits and Refunds

Your landlord cannot charge a security deposit greater than one month’s rent.¹ Separate charges for pets, alterations you want to make, or situations that create extra liability for the property can be added on top of that cap, but the standard damage-and-unpaid-rent deposit is limited to one month.

After you turn in the keys, the landlord has 60 days to either return your deposit in full or send you an itemized written list of deductions together with any remaining balance.¹ Deductions have to cover real costs: unpaid rent and actual damage beyond normal wear and tear. A vague “cleaning” line with no dollar amount doesn’t meet the requirement.

Miss the 60-day deadline or fail to send the itemization, and the landlord owes you double your original deposit.¹ Always leave a forwarding address in writing so the landlord cannot claim they had no way to reach you.

The Landlord’s Duty to Keep the Property Livable

Alabama law requires your landlord to keep the rental in habitable condition for the entire tenancy.² The unit has to comply with building and housing codes that affect your health or safety. Specific obligations include:

Making repairs necessary to keep the unit livable.
Keeping electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems supplied by the landlord in safe working order.
Providing running water and reasonable hot water at all times, and reasonable heat unless you control your own heating through a direct utility connection.
Keeping hallways, stairwells, parking lots, and other shared spaces clean and safe.
Providing trash receptacles and arranging for waste pickup.²

Mold is a gap in the law. There are no federal standards for residential mold exposure, and Alabama has not enacted its own. If you have a mold problem, your leverage comes from the general habitability requirement and any local housing codes rather than a mold-specific statute.

You have your own maintenance responsibilities as well. You must keep the unit reasonably clean, use appliances and fixtures reasonably, and avoid damaging the property or disturbing your neighbors.³ Damage caused by your own negligence is not the landlord’s problem to fix.

Notice Before Your Landlord Can Enter

Your landlord generally must give you at least two days’ notice before entering the unit.⁴ The notice can be a note posted on your door stating the time and purpose, and the visit has to happen at a reasonable hour. Legitimate reasons include repairs, providing services, or showing the unit to prospective buyers or tenants.

Entry without notice is allowed only in genuine emergencies, when a court order authorizes it, or when you have clearly abandoned the property.⁴ A burst pipe or fire qualifies. A landlord who “hasn’t heard from you” does not. The statute also bars landlords from abusing access or using it to harass you.

Lease Clauses That Don’t Hold Up

Some lease terms are unenforceable in Alabama even after you sign them. A landlord cannot include clauses that waive your right to a habitable unit, waive your remedies when the landlord fails to act, or waive the security deposit protections. The lease also cannot require you to pay the landlord’s attorney’s fees, authorize anyone to enter a court judgment against you without a hearing, or shield the landlord from liability for their own negligence.

When a landlord knowingly includes one of these prohibited terms, you can recover actual damages plus up to one month’s rent and reasonable attorney’s fees. The prohibited clauses are void, and the rest of the lease stays in effect.

Written Notice and Cure Periods

If You Fall Behind on Rent

If you miss rent, the landlord must give you written notice stating the amount owed (including any late fees) and at least seven business days to pay.⁵ Business days, not calendar days. Pay in full within that window and the lease continues. Miss it and the lease terminates, opening the door to an eviction filing.

Other Lease Violations

For violations that don’t involve rent, the landlord must send written notice describing the specific problem and give you at least seven business days to fix it.⁵ If both unpaid rent and another breach are involved, the seven-business-day rent timeline controls.

Month-to-Month Tenancies

Under a month-to-month arrangement, or after a fixed lease expires and rolls over, either side can end things with at least 30 days’ written notice before the next rental due date.⁶ No reason has to be given. The clock starts when notice is received, and the termination date must land on or after the next rent due date.

What to Do When Repairs Aren’t Getting Done

When the landlord fails to maintain the property or breaches the lease in a way that affects your health or safety, follow the statutory process. Deliver written notice describing the problem and stating that you will terminate the lease if the landlord does not fix it within 14 days.⁷ If adequate repairs happen inside that window, the lease continues. If not, the lease terminates, the landlord must return your full security deposit and any prepaid rent, and you can move.

You can also sue for actual damages and ask a court to order repairs. If the landlord acted in bad faith, the court can add reasonable attorney’s fees to your damages.⁷

One warning that catches Alabama renters off guard: you cannot withhold rent. Alabama law requires you to keep paying in full even while a maintenance dispute is active. Stop paying and the landlord can issue a seven-business-day pay-or-quit notice and file for eviction regardless of your repair complaints. Use the 14-day written notice process instead.

How Eviction Actually Works

A landlord cannot lock you out or dump your belongings on the curb. Every eviction in Alabama goes through court. After the applicable notice period runs out without a cure, the landlord files a complaint in district or circuit court in the county where the property sits.⁸ You have to be served, and you have the right to appear and present a defense.

If the court rules for the landlord, the landlord can request a writ of possession. There is an automatic seven-day stay before that writ can be enforced, giving you a short window to move.⁸ A district court eviction judgment can be appealed to circuit court within seven days. Eviction cases get priority on the court’s calendar.

Retaliation Is Illegal (With Limits)

Your landlord cannot raise your rent, cut services, or threaten eviction because you complained to a government agency about housing code violations, reported maintenance problems to the landlord, or joined a tenants’ organization.⁹

Retaliation gives you damages and a defense against eviction. The protection has real limits, though. The landlord can still evict if you caused the code violation through your own negligence, if you owe back rent, if fixing the code violation would require gutting or demolishing the unit, or if you have committed other material lease violations.⁹ Filing a complaint doesn’t give you immunity from eviction on other grounds.

Federal Protections That Apply on Top

Fair Housing

Federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.¹⁰ A landlord cannot refuse to rent, set different lease terms, or provide different services based on any of these. Familial status generally means a landlord cannot refuse to rent because you have children under 18, aside from limited exceptions for qualifying senior housing.

If you have a disability, your landlord must allow reasonable accommodations. A common example is allowing an assistance animal in a no-pets building. You may also make physical modifications to the unit at your own expense, though the landlord can require you to restore the unit when you leave.

Lead Paint Disclosure in Older Housing

If your rental was built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to disclose what they know about lead-based paint before you sign.¹¹ You must receive the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” any inspection reports or records about lead paint in the unit or building, and a lead warning statement inside the lease. The landlord has to keep signed copies for at least three years after the lease begins. Skipping the disclosure exposes the landlord to federal liability.

Breaking a Lease for Military Service

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets active-duty service members end a residential lease early without penalty in specific situations.¹² You qualify if you signed the lease before entering active duty, or if you signed while on active duty and later received orders for a permanent change of station or a deployment of at least 90 days.

To use the protection, deliver written notice along with a copy of your military orders, either by hand, certified mail, or a private carrier like FedEx or UPS. The lease then terminates 30 days after the next monthly rent payment is due. Watch for lease clauses asking you to waive SCRA rights; signing one could block this protection, so read the whole lease before you sign.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-201 – Security Deposits; Prepaid Rent
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-204 – Landlord to Maintain Premises
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-301 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-303 – Access
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
6
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-441 – Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies
7
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-401 – Noncompliance by the Landlord
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Eviction Proceedings
9
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-501 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
11
US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Section 1018 of Title X
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases