Unlawful detainer in Alabama is the court process a landlord uses to remove a tenant who entered the property legally but refuses to leave after their right to be there has ended. It starts with a written notice, moves to district or circuit court if the tenant stays, and ends with a judge-ordered removal carried out by law enforcement. Skipping a step can get a landlord’s case dismissed; ignoring the paperwork can cost a tenant their home, back rent, and an eviction record that lingers for years.
What Unlawful Detainer Means
Alabama law separates two kinds of wrongful possession. Unlawful detainer covers the common situation: a tenant moved in legally, usually under a lease, and then refused to leave once that right expired or was terminated.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-310 – Definitions Nothing aggressive has to happen. Simply staying after the lease ends is enough.
Forcible entry and detainer is a different animal. It involves force, threats, or intimidation to take or keep the property, like breaking in or removing someone’s belongings to seize the premises.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-310 – Definitions The two situations go through similar court proceedings, but unlawful detainer is far more common because it fits the typical holdover tenant.
The Written Notice That Has to Come First
A landlord can’t walk straight into court. Alabama requires written notice, and how much time the tenant gets depends on why the landlord wants them out.
For nonpayment of rent, the notice must specify the amount of rent and late fees owed and give the tenant at least seven days to pay. If the tenant pays in full within that window, the lease continues. If not, the lease terminates and the landlord can file suit.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
For a month-to-month tenancy, either side can end the arrangement with at least 30 days’ written notice before the next rental due date.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-441
When a fixed-term lease simply runs out and the tenant stays without the landlord’s agreement, the landlord can demand possession. No separate notice period beyond the lease’s own stated end date is required.
The notice can be hand-delivered, posted on the door, or sent by certified mail. This is the step landlords most often get wrong, and when they do, tenants can use the defect to get the case dismissed. Landlords should keep proof of delivery. Tenants should check the dates.
Filing the Lawsuit and Serving the Tenant
Once the notice period runs out and the tenant hasn’t left or paid, the landlord files an unlawful detainer complaint. The case goes to district court in the county where the property sits, though circuit court also has jurisdiction depending on the amount in dispute.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-330 – Jurisdiction Eviction cases get scheduling priority over other civil matters, so they move faster than a typical lawsuit.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Landlord’s Action for Eviction, Rent, Monetary Damages, or Other Relief
After filing, the court issues a notice that must be served on the tenant at least six days before the court date.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-332 – Process – Form of Notice A sheriff, constable, or qualified process server delivers it. If they can’t reach the tenant in person, service can be made on another adult living at the premises. As a last resort, the server posts a copy on the door and mails another copy by first-class mail; service is complete as of the mailing date.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Landlord’s Action for Eviction, Rent, Monetary Damages, or Other Relief
The tenant has seven days to file an answer to the possession claim. If the landlord is also asking for money damages, the tenant has 14 days to respond to that part. A tenant who does nothing risks a default judgment, meaning the court rules for the landlord without a hearing.
The Hearing and What the Landlord Can Win
If the tenant files an answer, the court schedules a hearing. The landlord must show that the tenant’s right to possession ended and that proper notice was given. The tenant can challenge the evidence or raise defenses. The judge then grants or denies the eviction.
Alabama law lets the landlord pursue possession and money damages in the same action.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Landlord’s Action for Eviction, Rent, Monetary Damages, or Other Relief A judgment can cover unpaid rent through the date of eviction, reasonable attorney fees for the tenant’s noncompliance with the rental agreement, property damage beyond normal wear and tear, and court costs.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent That judgment is enforceable like any other civil debt and can lead to wage garnishment or liens.
The Writ of Possession and the Pay-and-Bond Pause
When the court rules for the landlord, a writ of possession doesn’t issue on its own. The landlord has to apply for it. Once issued, law enforcement handles the physical removal if the tenant still hasn’t left. A tenant who returns to the property after being removed can be held in contempt.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Landlord’s Action for Eviction, Rent, Monetary Damages, or Other Relief
One narrow safety valve exists in nonpayment cases. If the tenant pays all accrued rent and posts a bond set by the court, the writ of restitution or possession can be suspended.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-351 – Writs of Restitution or Possession – Suspension Upon Payment of Rent by Defendant Miss a single payment after that and the court lifts the stay and the writ takes effect immediately. It only works if the tenant can catch up and stay current.
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Defective Notice
The simplest defense is often the strongest: the landlord didn’t follow the notice rules. If the notice failed to specify the amount owed, didn’t give the full seven-day cure period, or wasn’t properly delivered, the whole case can be dismissed. Courts take these requirements seriously because notice is what gives the landlord the right to sue in the first place.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-421 – Noncompliance with Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
Retaliatory Eviction
Alabama bars landlords from evicting a tenant, raising rent, or cutting services in retaliation for protected activity. A tenant has a defense if the eviction followed a complaint to a government agency about building or housing code violations, a complaint to the landlord about habitability, or involvement in a tenant organization.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-501 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited The defense has limits. A landlord can still evict a tenant who caused the code violation, owes back rent, or has other material lease breaches, even if the timing looks suspicious.
Failure to Maintain the Property
Landlords in Alabama must keep rentals habitable: working plumbing, electrical, heating, and air-conditioning systems, safe common areas, running water, and reasonable hot water.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-204 – Landlord to Maintain Premises When a landlord has neglected those obligations, the tenant can raise that noncompliance as part of the defense. The weight it carries depends on how serious the problems are and whether the tenant’s own actions caused the condition.
Discrimination
Under the federal Fair Housing Act, a landlord cannot evict based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.10HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act A tenant who believes the eviction is pretextual can raise discrimination as a defense and also file a separate fair housing complaint with HUD.
Appealing an Eviction Judgment
A tenant who loses in district court has seven days to appeal to circuit court.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-461 – Landlord’s Action for Eviction, Rent, Monetary Damages, or Other Relief Filing the appeal does not pause the eviction on its own. To stay in the property during the appeal, the tenant has to pay all rent accrued since the lawsuit was filed to the circuit court clerk, keep paying rent as it comes due, and post a bond set by the court to cover any damages the landlord might suffer from the delay.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-6-351 – Writs of Restitution or Possession – Suspension Upon Payment of Rent by Defendant
Miss a payment during the appeal and the landlord can ask the circuit court to lift the stay and issue the writ of possession. The bond-and-rent requirement is the piece that catches most tenants off guard; without it, the appeal moves forward but the eviction does too.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
No matter how frustrating a holdover tenant is, Alabama law prohibits landlords from taking possession outside the court process. A landlord cannot change the locks, remove a tenant’s belongings, or shut off essential services like heat, water, electricity, or gas to force a tenant out.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-9A-427 The only exceptions involve genuine abandonment or surrender.
Landlords who use self-help tactics expose themselves to liability. A tenant subjected to an illegal lockout or utility shutoff can pursue legal remedies. The unlawful detainer procedure exists precisely so a judge, not a landlord, resolves the dispute.
How Long an Eviction Record Follows a Tenant
An eviction judgment doesn’t disappear when the tenant moves out. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, tenant screening companies can report an eviction for up to seven years.12Consumer Advice. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights For that window, future landlords running background checks will see it, and many reject applicants with any eviction on file.
Beyond the credit report, an unpaid judgment from an unlawful detainer case stays on Alabama public court records indefinitely unless satisfied. Paying the judgment and getting the landlord to file a satisfaction of judgment helps, but the underlying case remains a public record either way.