Alabama Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, late fees, the two-day entry notice, the seven-business-day pay-or-quit notice and the unlawful detainer timeline in Alabama, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Most of what an Alabama landlord needs sits in one chapter, the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act at Ala. Code § 35-9A-101 and following. Evictions run through a second body of law, the forcible entry and unlawful detainer statutes at § 6-6-310 and following.

Alabama is a short-deadline state. Seven business days to cure a default, seven days for the tenant to answer in court, seven days for the writ to clear. The one long clock runs against you, and missing it costs double.

Here is what a small landlord has to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Security deposits

The cap is one month's rent. You cannot demand or receive security worth more than one month's periodic rent. Four things sit outside that cap, and you can charge extra for them. Pets, changes the tenant makes to the premises, and increased liability risk to the landlord or to the property (§ 35-9A-201(a)).

You have 60 days to return it. The clock runs from termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession, whichever completes the handover. Inside those 60 days you send back the deposit, an itemized written statement of anything withheld, or both (§ 35-9A-201(b), (c)).

Miss the deadline and you owe double. A landlord who fails to mail a timely refund or accounting inside the 60-day window pays the tenant double the original deposit (§ 35-9A-201(f)). Mailing first class to the written forwarding address inside 60 days is enough (§ 35-9A-201(e)).

Deductions cover rent and damage. You can apply the deposit to accrued rent and to damages from the tenant's breach of § 35-9A-301, the tenant's maintenance duties. Ordinary wear is not damage.

Ask for a forwarding address at move-out. The tenant is supposed to give you one in writing. Without it, mail to the last known address, or to the tenant at the property. Anything unclaimed after 90 days, including an outstanding check, is forfeited (§ 35-9A-201(d)).

Alabama does not make you hold deposits in escrow. The chapter has no separate-account or interest rule for landlords. Keeping deposit money in its own account anyway is the cheapest way to survive a double-damages argument. Licensed managers are held to a stricter standard, covered in the guide on firing a property manager.

Late fees

Alabama's landlord-tenant chapter sets no late-fee cap and no grace period. The fee is whatever your lease says, so keep it in writing and keep it reasonable. The statute does recognise late fees, since the pay-or-quit notice asks for the rent plus any late fees owed (§ 35-9A-421(b)).

Rent increases and rent control

There is no state limit on how much you raise rent, and no statutory notice period aimed at rent increases alone. Cities and counties cannot fill that gap. Alabama bars any local ordinance, resolution or rule that controls the rent charged for leasing private property (§ 11-80-8.1).

Mid-lease, the lease price holds. On a month-to-month, a rent change rides on the 30-day termination notice below.

Entering the unit

Two days' notice. You may enter at reasonable times after giving the tenant at least two days' notice of your intent to enter. Posting a note on the tenant's primary door stating the time and purpose counts as notice (§ 35-9A-303).

Emergencies are the exception. Longer advance notice for repairs, maintenance, pest control or health and safety work covers the visit when the work actually happens.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Either side ends a month-to-month with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice. Week-to-week takes seven days (§ 35-9A-441).

When rent isn't paid

Deliver a written notice to terminate the lease. It states the amount of rent and any late fees owed, and says the rental agreement ends on a date not less than seven business days after the tenant receives it. Pay in full inside that window and the default is cured (§ 35-9A-421(b)).

Other material breaches work the same way. Written notice, the acts or omissions spelled out, termination not less than seven business days after receipt (§ 35-9A-421(a)).

Two limits worth knowing. A tenant cannot cure more than twice in any 12-month period without your written consent. And some defaults are not curable at all, including drug activity, discharging a firearm illegally on the premises and criminal assault (§ 35-9A-421(d)).

The eviction (unlawful detainer) process

Notice. Serve the seven-business-day notice first (§ 35-9A-421).
File. File an unlawful detainer complaint in the district court for the county where the property sits. These cases take precedence in scheduling over other civil cases (§ 35-9A-461(b), § 6-6-310).
Service. Personal service first. If that fails, service on any adult residing at the premises, or posting on the door with a first class mailing sent the same day or by close of the next business day (§ 35-9A-461(c)).
Answer. The tenant has seven days after service or posting to answer the complaint, per the Alabama court system's eviction form.
Judgment and writ. A writ of possession issues on your application after judgment, with an automatic seven-day stay. Either side may appeal to circuit court within seven days of judgment (§ 35-9A-461).
Appeal. A tenant who appeals keeps possession only by paying all rent due since the filing into court and staying current (§ 35-9A-461).

Do not shortcut any of it. Locking a tenant out or cutting utilities lets the tenant recover possession or end the lease, plus the greater of three months' rent or actual damages, plus attorney fees (§ 35-9A-407). Retaliating against a tenant who complained to a code agency, complained to you about repairs, or joined a tenant organization carries the same remedies and gives the tenant a defense to your eviction (§ 35-9A-501).

Repairs and habitability

You have to comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety, make repairs needed to keep the unit habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems in good working order, handle garbage removal, and supply running water and reasonable hot water and heat (§ 35-9A-204).

A tenant whose written notice goes unanswered for 14 days can terminate the lease and sue for actual damages and attorney fees (§ 35-9A-401). Fourteen days is not much runway, so log every repair request with a date.

The short version

Deposit capped at one month's rent, with extra allowed for pets, alterations and added liability risk
60 days to refund or itemise, and double the deposit if you miss it
No late-fee cap and no grace period in the statute, so the lease controls
No rent control anywhere in Alabama
Two days' notice before entry, posting on the door allowed
30 days' written notice from either side to end a month-to-month
Seven business days to pay or quit, then unlawful detainer
Seven days for the tenant to answer, seven days of stay on the writ

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks the 60-day deposit clock, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records an Alabama district judge would ask for. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to an Alabama attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.