Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: Rights and Eviction

The Alabama Landlord and Tenant Act, formally the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act at Title 35, Chapter 9A of the Alabama Code, governs almost every residential rental in the state. It sets the security deposit cap, the repair obligations, the notice periods for eviction, and the limits on what a lease can require. Both sides are bound by it, and several of its rules cannot be waived in the lease even if both parties sign.

What Rentals Are Covered

If you rent a house, an apartment, or a manufactured home in Alabama to live in, the Act almost certainly applies. A handful of arrangements sit outside it, and the protections and procedures below do not reach them:¹

Hospitals, schools, jails, and similar institutional housing where the room is incidental to services.
Hotels, motels, and other transient lodging.
Housing tied to employment on the property.
Occupancy by a buyer under a purchase contract, or by a seller staying up to 36 months after the sale.
Condominium unit owners and cooperative proprietary leaseholders.
Members living in a fraternal or social organization’s building.
Property rented primarily for farming.

Disputes over these arrangements are handled under other Alabama law, not the URLTA.

A rental agreement itself can be written or oral, though a written lease is safer for both sides. If the term runs longer than one year, Alabama’s Statute of Frauds requires writing to make it enforceable.² Where the lease is silent, statutory defaults fill in. Rent is due at the beginning of each month at the dwelling unit, and a tenancy with no fixed term is month-to-month for monthly renters and week-to-week for weekly renters.³

At or before move-in, the landlord must give the tenant the name and business address of the person managing the property and of an owner or agent authorized to accept legal notices. That information has to stay current. When a landlord fails to disclose it, the person who should have made the disclosure automatically becomes an agent for service of process and for the landlord’s obligations under the Act.⁴ For any rental built before 1978, federal law also requires disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards, the EPA lead pamphlet, and a lead warning statement in the lease.⁵

Certain clauses are void no matter what the lease says. A landlord cannot make you waive the right to a habitable unit, waive protection from retaliation, or waive proper deposit handling. A lease cannot authorize a confession of judgment against you, force you to pay the landlord’s attorney’s fees or collection costs, or excuse the landlord’s own liability. If a landlord knowingly puts one of these in, the tenant can recover actual damages plus up to one month’s rent and reasonable attorney’s fees.⁶

Security Deposits and Rent

Alabama does not have rent control. The landlord and tenant agree on the amount, and rent is due at the start of each month unless the lease specifies otherwise. Late fees are allowed if the lease provides for them and they are reasonable.³

Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent. A landlord can charge more only for specific reasons: pets, physical changes the tenant wants to make, or a condition that raises the landlord’s liability risk. After the tenancy ends and the tenant hands over possession, the landlord has 60 days to return the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions with any remaining balance. Deductions can cover unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear, but not ordinary wear.⁷

Miss that 60-day deadline and the penalty is double the original deposit. To start the clock cleanly, a tenant should give the landlord a written forwarding address at move-out. Without one, the landlord mails the refund to the last known address. Any unclaimed deposit or check is forfeited after 90 days.⁷

Repairs and Habitability

The landlord’s core duties cannot be waived in the lease. A landlord must:⁸

Comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety.
Make the repairs needed to keep the premises habitable.
Keep common areas clean and safe.
Maintain electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and any appliances the landlord supplies, elevators included.
Provide trash receptacles and arrange for waste removal.
Supply running water, reasonable hot water, and reasonable heat at all times, unless the unit is set up so the tenant controls those systems through a direct utility hookup.

For a single-family house, the landlord and tenant can agree in writing that the tenant will handle trash, hot water and heat, and specified repairs. In multi-unit buildings, a similar shift requires a separate written agreement with its own consideration, cannot cover code violations, and cannot reduce what the landlord owes other tenants.⁸

One limit: the landlord isn’t on the hook for damage the tenant, or someone the tenant let in, caused on purpose or through negligence.

What Tenants Owe in Return

Tenants have duties too, and breaking them can trigger eviction. A tenant must follow health and safety codes, keep the occupied areas clean, dispose of trash properly, keep plumbing fixtures reasonably clear, use the building’s systems and appliances sensibly, avoid deliberate or negligent damage (and stop guests from causing it), and not disturb the neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment.⁹ Repeated noise complaints or disruptive guests can become the basis for a lease-violation notice.

When the Landlord Won’t Fix Something

The tenant’s main tool is a written notice. For a material failure to comply with the lease or with the habitability standards in Section 35-9A-204, the tenant delivers written notice describing the problem and stating that the lease will end no fewer than 14 days after the landlord receives it. If the landlord cures within those 14 days, the lease continues. If not, the tenancy ends on the date the notice named.¹⁰

A tenant can also sue for actual damages and injunctive relief. If the landlord’s noncompliance was in bad faith, reasonable attorney’s fees are on the table too. When a tenancy ends this way, the landlord has to return the full security deposit and any prepaid rent that hasn’t been earned.¹⁰

What you cannot do in Alabama is withhold rent. The Act states plainly that a tenant in possession may not withhold rent to enforce any right under the chapter.¹¹ This surprises tenants who have rented in other states. Stop paying because of a broken furnace and you hand your landlord a straightforward nonpayment case, even if the furnace really is broken.

How Eviction Works in Alabama

Every eviction runs through specific notice steps and then the courts. Skipping steps can get a landlord’s case dismissed; ignoring notices can cost a tenant the chance to respond.

Nonpayment of Rent

The landlord delivers a written notice stating the amount owed, including any late fees, and telling the tenant the lease will end no fewer than seven business days after the tenant receives it. Pay in full within that window and the lease continues. Otherwise the tenancy ends on the date the notice named.¹²

Other Lease Violations

For material breaches other than nonpayment, the landlord’s written notice describes the problem and gives at least seven business days to fix it. Same seven business days when a tenant’s failure to maintain the unit materially affects health and safety. Fix it in time and the lease survives.¹²

Repeat Violations and No-Cure Defaults

The same breach cannot be cured more than twice in any 12-month period without the landlord’s written consent. After the second cure in a year, the landlord can terminate the third time with no chance to fix it.¹²

Certain conduct allows termination on seven days’ notice with no cure period at all: manufacturing or possessing illegal drugs in the unit or common areas, and illegal use or possession of firearms on the property. Lawful uses such as self-defense are excluded.¹²

Court and the Writ of Possession

If the tenant doesn’t leave after the notice period, the landlord files an unlawful detainer action, meaning a tenant who lawfully entered has failed to hand back the property after the tenancy ended.¹³ Tenants have the right to appear and contest, and eviction cases get scheduling priority. If the court rules for the landlord and the tenant stays, the landlord can request a writ of possession authorizing the sheriff to remove the tenant.

Self-help is not an option. A landlord who changes the locks, hauls out the tenant’s things, or shuts off utilities to force a move-out faces liability. The path is through the courts, every time.

Ending a Lease the Right Way

A fixed-term lease ends on its stated end date unless there’s a renewal clause or the parties agree to keep going. For periodic tenancies, written notice runs ahead of the next rental period:¹⁴

Month-to-month: at least 30 days before the periodic rental date.
Week-to-week: at least seven days before the termination date.

A tenant who walks away before the lease ends still owes the remaining rent, but the landlord cannot simply pocket it. When a tenant abandons, the landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent at a fair price, though the landlord may fill other vacant units first. Once the unit is re-rented, the original lease ends on the date the new tenancy begins. If the landlord accepts the abandonment as a surrender or doesn’t make reasonable re-renting efforts, the lease is treated as ending the day the landlord learned of the abandonment.¹⁵

Belongings left behind have a short shelf life. If a tenant leaves property in the unit more than 14 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord has no duty to store or protect it and can dispose of it.¹⁵ If you’re moving and can’t clear everything at once, tell the landlord in writing and get back within two weeks.

Retaliation and Discrimination Protections

A landlord cannot raise rent, cut services, or bring an eviction because the tenant complained to a government agency about a code violation affecting health and safety, complained to the landlord about maintenance failures, or joined a tenants’ organization. A tenant hit with retaliatory action can raise it as a defense in eviction and sue for damages.¹⁶

The protection has limits. A landlord can still evict when the code violation was primarily caused by the tenant’s own negligence, the tenant is behind on rent, curing the violation would require demolition or remodeling that puts the unit out of service, or there are other material lease violations.¹⁶

Two federal laws sit alongside the URLTA. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in screening, lease terms, and rules based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, and religion. It also requires reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, including allowing an assistance animal at a property that otherwise bars pets, with no pet deposit or breed and size restrictions applied to the animal. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, an active-duty member who receives permanent change of station orders, deployment orders of 90 days or more, or separation or retirement orders can terminate a residential lease early by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders. For monthly leases, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due after the notice is delivered.¹⁷ The landlord cannot charge an early termination fee or claw back rent discounts as a condition of the military termination.¹⁸

1
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-122 – Exclusions From Application of Chapter
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 8-9-2 – Certain Agreements Void
3
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-161 – Terms and Conditions of Rental Agreement
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-202 – Disclosure
5
Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)
6
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-163 – Prohibited Provisions in Rental Agreements
7
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-201 – Security Deposits
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-204 – Landlord to Maintain Premises
9
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-301 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit
10
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-401 – Noncompliance by the Landlord – In General
11
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-164 – Tenant May Not Withhold Rent
12
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
13
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-310 – Definitions
14
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-441 – Periodic Tenancy
15
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-423 – Remedies for Absence, Nonuse, and Abandonment
16
Justia Law. Alabama Code 35-9A-501 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
18
U.S. Department of Justice. Financial and Housing Rights