Alabama landlords can evict their tenants for just causes under the landlord-tenant laws. Examples of causes include the nonpayment of rent, any lease violation, or safety violations. But without a just cause, you must wait until the lease ends for a tenant to leave legally.
Evicting a tenant isn’t as simple as just asking the tenant to leave, you’ll need to follow a step a step-by-step process to ensure you succeed in your efforts.
This is why we at APM Leasing & Management have put together this guide on the Alabama eviction process.
Post the Eviction Notice
The first step to evicting a tenant is serving them an eviction notice. This is a written letter that demands a tenant to either comply with the lease agreement or vacate the property within a certain time.
If the tenant complies with the demand within the notice period, you must stop any further eviction actions. However, if they don’t, you can move to the next step in the eviction process.
It’s important to note that each just eviction cause has its own appropriate eviction notice. The following are the various causes and their specific notices you must serve in order to kick start the eviction processes:
Nonpayment of Rent
Once rent is past due, you must serve the tenant with a 7-Day Notice to Pay. According to the state law, rent becomes late a day after it is due. The notice simply gives the tenant one option: to pay up within the 7 days or else risk an eviction.
Violation of the Lease
Should you Alabama tenant fail to uphold their lease responsibilities you can start the eviction process with a 7-Day Notice to Comply. This will give the tenant the opportunity to fix the violation before the eviction process can continue.
Examples of violations that fall under this category include rental damage, illegal subletting, and keeping unauthorized pets. However, for repeat violators (within 6 months), you can choose to continue with the eviction without allowing them a chance to correct.
End of Lease
You also have a right to evict a tenant who continues to stay after their lease has expired. The specific eviction notices to serve them must be dependent on the type of tenancy. Be advised in this case you may need to return the tenants security deposit.
For tenants on a month-to-month lease, you must serve them a 30-Day Notice to Quit. For those on a week-to-week lease, you must serve them a 7-Day Notice to Quit.
Safety Violations
Tenants obtain certain responsibilities when they sign the lease agreement. Among these responsibilities is to abide by health, safety, and housing codes.
If the tenant violates this code, you must issue them a 7-Day Notice to Comply if you wish to evict them. This will give them 7 days to correct the violation.
Illegal Activity
Alabama law recognizes illegal activity to be illegal firearm activity, illegal drug activity, and criminal assault.
To start the eviction process, you must serve the tenant with a 7-Day Notice to Quit. Unlike in some other cases, you don’t need to give the tenant an opportunity to fix the violation. They must either move out within the 7 days or else risk getting evicted.
Move to Court
If the tenant refuses to correct the violation or move out within the notice period, you can proceed with the eviction. This means moving to court and filing a complaint.
You must complete the filing within an appropriate court that’s located in the same county as your property. There is a filing fee which is dependent on the location. In Mobile County, for example, filing costs amount to $256.
A summons and complaint may only be served on a tenant by a process server, usually a sheriff or a constable. The service must be done in any of the following ways.
- In person
- By leaving a copy on another person living in the unit
- Posting a copy on a conspicuous place on the property
File an Answer
The tenant will have 7 days to file an answer with the court after receipt of the summons and complaint. If there is a money claim, they will have another 7 days to file an answer with the court.
Basically, an answer is a written document that explains why the tenant is contesting the eviction. Common tenant defenses in Alabama include:
- The eviction was a retaliatory action for exercising their tenant rights.
- The eviction process was illegal.
- There were errors in the process.
- The landlord continued with the eviction even after the tenant cured the violation.
- The eviction was discriminatory on the basis of race, color, nationality, or any other protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act.
Court Hearing & Judgment
In Alabama, there are no laws specifying when a hearing must take place. However, hearings on eviction cases are usually prioritized over civil cases.
If the tenant fails to appear for the hearing, or fail to file an answer, the court will issue a default judgment.
Writ of Execution
After a successful judgment, the court will issue you a writ of execution. This can be at the time of the judgment. The writ, basically, returns the possession of the property back to the landlord.
It serves as the final notice for a tenant to remove their belongings before the sheriff can return to forcibly remove them.
Bottom Line
As much as a landlord wants to avoid evictions, they must be aware of how to legally evict a tenant should they ever need to.
If you have any questions about this process, we at APM Leasing & Management believe that the best advice we can give is to contact a legal professional or property management company. So, please contact us if you have any questions!
Disclaimer: This blog isn’t a substitute for professional legal advice. Also, laws change, and this information may not be up to date at the time of your reading. If you have specific questions or need help in any other aspect of property management, please do get in touch with us.