How to Fire Your Property Manager in Alabama

A step-by-step guide for Alabama landlords switching property managers, covering the seven-business-day trust account handover, what to collect, moving tenant deposits and who needs a license to manage for pay.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Repairs that never happen, statements that never add up, a tenant who calls you instead of them. Most landlords wait a year too long to make the call.

Alabama gives you a sharp piece of leverage once you do. A licensed manager holding your money has seven business days from the termination date to account for it and hand it over.

Here is how to make the switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Your contract sets the exit, so read it before you send anything. Look for four things.

Notice period. Thirty days' written notice is common.
Termination fee. Some agreements charge one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check what you owe for tenants the manager placed.
Who claims the tenant relationship. Some agreements try to bill you for keeping a tenant they found.

If the manager broke the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may be able to end it sooner. That is a question for an Alabama attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by whatever method the agreement names. State the termination effective date, ask for a full handover on that date, and list what you expect back. That date matters more in Alabama than in most states, since the seven-business-day handover clock runs from it.

Keep the tone flat. You want your records and your money, not an argument.

Step 3. Know the seven-business-day handover rule

Alabama Real Estate Commission rules cover what happens to the money. When a landlord or the qualifying broker terminates a management agreement for leased property, the qualifying broker has seven business days from the management termination effective date to provide an accounting of all security deposits, prepaid rents and other related escrows to the landlord or to the new manager, along with payment of the funds (Ala. Admin. Code r. 790-X-3-.03(6)(c)).

Behind that rule sits the license law. Failing to account for or remit money belonging to others within a reasonable time, commingling it with the broker's own funds, or failing to keep it in a separate federally insured account at a financial institution located in Alabama are all grounds for discipline (Ala. Code § 34-27-36(a)(8)). Brokers have to keep a complete record of other people's funds for at least three years, which is why your ledger request should never get a shrug.

If the seven business days pass and you are still waiting, file a complaint with the Alabama Real Estate Commission.

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of this by the termination date.

Security deposits for every tenant, with the amount held for each one
Prepaid rent and any other escrow the manager is holding
The trust account ledger showing rent collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals and addenda
Any move-in condition reports the tenants signed
Tenant contact details and payment history
Open work orders, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, garage remotes and gate codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

The payment history matters most. Once you are self-managing, a seven-business-day pay-or-quit notice has to state the rent and late fees owed, and you cannot state what you cannot prove (Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b)).

Step 5. Move the security deposits

Alabama does not require a private landlord to hold deposits in escrow. The chapter is silent on that. What it does require is a one-month cap on the deposit and a refund or itemised accounting within 60 days of termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession, with double the deposit owed to the tenant if you miss it (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201).

So the money arrives with a liability attached. Park it in a separate account you do not touch, and record the exact amount held for each tenant on the day it lands. Compare that figure against the lease and against the manager's ledger before you sign off on the handover.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants want three answers. Where rent goes now, who to call for repairs, and whether their deposit is safe. Send one dated message covering all three, with the day the change takes effect and the new payment details. Ask each tenant to confirm the amount of deposit they believe they paid. Mismatches are easier to fix now than at move-out.

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up plumbers, HVAC and a locksmith before you need them. Set up rent collection. Get a maintenance line that answers at 2am. Remember the two-day notice rule before you start walking units (Ala. Code § 35-9A-303). This step is where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops ringing.

Who can manage property for pay in Alabama

Renting or leasing real estate in Alabama for another person, or negotiating a rental, requires a real estate license (Ala. Code § 34-27-30). Commission rules put contracting for the collection and escrow of security deposits and rent payments on the same list (Ala. Admin. Code r. 790-X-1-.03).

Owners are exempt. The license law does not reach an owner managing, or consummating a transaction involving, their own real estate or that of a spouse, child or parent (Ala. Code § 34-27-2(b)). For a corporation or partnership, the rules read "owner" as a partner or corporate officer with authority over management decisions, so a hired employee acting as your manager is a different question.

One more exemption to know. A person acting as manager of an apartment building or complex is exempt, though that carve-out stops at on-site managers of condominium buildings (Ala. Code § 34-27-2(b)).

If you hire a replacement manager, check the license on the Commission's site before you sign.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice naming the termination effective date
Hold the broker to the seven-business-day accounting and fund transfer
Collect deposits, ledgers, leases, payment history, work orders and keys
Reconcile every deposit against the lease and the tenant's own record
Tell tenants where rent goes and who to call
File with the Alabama Real Estate Commission if the money does not arrive

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every record in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. 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. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to an Alabama attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.