Alabama: Eviction Notice Requirements
The short answer
For unpaid rent, an Alabama landlord must give written notice and at least 7 business days to pay before the tenancy terminates — and because those are business days, weekends and holidays don't count. A fixable lease violation also gets 7 business days to cure. But 'noncurable' conduct — illegal drugs, illegal firearm use, criminal assault, or repeating the same violation within six months — lets the landlord give a 7-day notice with no chance to fix it. To end a month-to-month tenancy for no reason, the landlord gives 30 days' written notice. Alabama has no statewide just-cause requirement.
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This is the general rule in Alabama. Ezel applies current Alabama law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (AURLTA), Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-101 to -603 (effective 2007). Landlord's termination notices for lease breach and nonpayment § 35-9A-421; periodic-tenancy termination § 35-9A-441; the Act's general notice-delivery rule § 35-9A-144 (which by its own terms does NOT govern an eviction notice); retaliation defense § 35-9A-501. The eviction suit is a court action for possession under § 35-9A-461 |
|---|---|
| Notice for unpaid rent | 7 business days. If rent is unpaid when due, the landlord delivers written notice of the rent and late fees owed and that the tenancy 'will terminate upon a date not less than seven business days after receipt of the notice'; paying within those 7 business days stops it (§ 35-9A-421(b)). Because the count is business days, weekends and holidays are excluded — longer than a bare '7 days' |
| Notice for a lease violation | 7 business days to cure. For a material lease breach, or a noncompliance materially affecting health and safety, the written notice must specify the acts and omissions and set termination 'not less than seven business days after receipt'; remedying it before that date preserves the tenancy (§ 35-9A-421(a)). An intentional misrepresentation of a material fact on the lease or application 'may not be remedied or cured' |
| Unconditional quit (no cure allowed) | 7-day notice, no cure. Certain conduct is a 'noncurable default' — illegal drugs in the unit or common areas, illegal firearm use or discharge, criminal assault of a tenant or guest, or a repeat of substantially the same breach within six months — for which the landlord 'may terminate the rental agreement upon a seven-day notice' and the tenant 'shall have no right to remedy such a default unless the landlord consents' (§ 35-9A-421(d)) |
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy — written notice by either party 'at least 30 days before the periodic rental date' — and 7 days for a week-to-week tenancy (§ 35-9A-441(a),(b)). No reason need be given |
| Just cause to evict required? | No statewide just-cause requirement; a periodic tenancy may be ended for no reason on proper notice under § 35-9A-441 (some cities or counties may add their own rules — outside this survey's state-law scope) |
| How the notice must be served | Unusual: the Act's general notice-delivery rule expressly does not reach eviction — § 35-9A-144(e) states 'notice provided in this section does not apply to the notice required to terminate a tenancy or evict a tenant.' The termination statute instead ties the 7-business-day clock to the tenant's actual 'receipt' of the written notice (§ 35-9A-421(a),(b)); the Act sets no single service method for the notice itself, and the eviction lawsuit's summons is served under the court rules |
| Tenant's right to cure/reinstate | Pay within the 7 business days (rent) or remedy the breach in that window to stop termination — except for the § 35-9A-421(d) noncurable defaults. Cure is capped: 'no breach... may be cured by a tenant more than two times in any 12-month period' without the landlord's written consent (§ 35-9A-421(d)). Retaliation is a defense — a landlord may not bring or threaten a possession action because the tenant complained to a housing-code agency, complained to the landlord, or joined a tenants' union (§ 35-9A-501) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Notice for unpaid rent
If rent is unpaid when due, the landlord may "deliver a written notice to
terminate the lease" stating the rent and late fees owed and that the tenancy
"will terminate upon a date not less than seven business days after receipt of
the notice" (§ 35-9A-421(b)). Pay the full amount within those 7 business days
and the tenancy does not terminate. The count is in business days, so
weekends and legal holidays don't count — a "7-business-day" notice is a longer
real deadline than a flat seven-calendar-day one.
Notice for a lease violation
For a material lease breach — or a noncompliance materially affecting health and
safety — the landlord's written notice must specify "the acts and omissions
constituting the breach" and set termination "not less than seven business days
after receipt" (§ 35-9A-421(a)). Fixing the problem before the stated date
preserves the tenancy. One breach cannot be cured: "an intentional
misrepresentation of a material fact in a rental agreement or application may not
be remedied or cured."
Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)
Alabama singles out serious conduct as a "noncurable default." Illegal drugs in
the unit or common areas, illegal use or discharge of a firearm, criminal
assault of a tenant or guest, or repeating substantially the same breach within
six months all let the landlord "terminate the rental agreement upon a seven-day
notice," and "the tenant shall have no right to remedy such a default unless the
landlord consents" (§ 35-9A-421(d)). Note the day count here is a flat seven-day
notice, not the seven-business-day clock used for ordinary breaches.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice "at least 30 days
before the periodic rental date specified in the notice," and a week-to-week
tenancy on at least 7 days' notice (§ 35-9A-441(a),(b)). No reason is required.
How the notice must be served
Alabama has a trap here. The Act's general notice-delivery rule — the one that
says a mailed notice is received three days after mailing — expressly does not
apply to eviction: "notice provided in this section does not apply to the notice
required to terminate a tenancy or evict a tenant" (§ 35-9A-144(e)). Instead, the
termination statute measures its deadlines from the tenant's actual "receipt" of
the written notice (§ 35-9A-421(a),(b)). The Act does not prescribe a single
method — personal delivery, posting, or certified mail are all used in practice —
so what matters is that the tenant actually receives it and that the count runs
from receipt. The summons for the eviction lawsuit itself is served under the
court rules.
Tenant's right to cure/reinstate
Pay the rent within the 7 business days, or fix a lease breach in that window, to
stop the termination — unless the ground is one of the § 35-9A-421(d) noncurable
defaults. And Alabama caps curing: "no breach... may be cured by a tenant more
than two times in any 12-month period" without the landlord's written consent
(§ 35-9A-421(d)). Separately, retaliation is a defense: a landlord "may not...
bring[] or threaten[] to bring an action for possession" because the tenant
complained to a housing-code agency, complained to the landlord, or organized or
joined a tenants' union (§ 35-9A-501).
What trips people up
"7 business days" is not "7 days." Both the nonpayment and the ordinary
lease-breach notices run on business days, excluding weekends and holidays, and
the clock starts when the tenant receives the notice — not when the landlord
mails or posts it. That makes the real deadline meaningfully longer than the
number suggests.
Two cures and you're out. Even for otherwise-curable breaches, the same
tenant cannot cure more than twice in any 12-month period without the landlord's
written consent (§ 35-9A-421(d)). A third violation in a year can be treated as
noncurable.
The general "mailed = received in 3 days" rule does not apply to eviction
notices. Section 35-9A-144(e) carves eviction notices out of the Act's delivery
presumptions, so a landlord cannot rely on the three-day mailing presumption to
prove the tenant "received" a termination notice; actual receipt controls.
Common questions
How long do I have to pay before an Alabama eviction? At least 7 business
days from when you receive the written notice (§ 35-9A-421(b)). Weekends and
holidays don't count toward the seven.
Can my landlord evict me with no chance to fix it? Only for the specific
"noncurable" grounds — illegal drugs, illegal firearm use, criminal assault of a
tenant or guest, or repeating the same violation within six months — on a 7-day
notice (§ 35-9A-421(d)). Ordinary breaches get a cure period.
Can my landlord end my month-to-month lease for no reason? Yes — with at
least 30 days' written notice tied to the rental date (§ 35-9A-441(b)). Alabama
has no statewide just-cause requirement.
Does it matter how the notice reaches me? Yes. The deadline runs from your
actual receipt of the notice, and the Act's usual "mailed = received in three
days" shortcut does not apply to eviction notices (§ 35-9A-144(e)).
Statutes and sources
- Ala. Code § 35-9A-421 — landlord's termination notices: 7-business-day lease-breach cure (a); 7-business-day nonpayment notice (b); two-cure cap and the seven-day noncurable-default list (d).
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-4/division-2/section-35-9a-421/ (accessed 2026-07-10) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-441 — periodic tenancy: 30-day month-to-month and 7-day week-to-week termination notice.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-4/division-3/section-35-9a-441/ (accessed 2026-07-10) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-144 — general notice rule, which by subsection (e) does not apply to a notice to terminate a tenancy or evict a tenant.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-1/division-3/section-35-9a-144/ (accessed 2026-07-10) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-501 — retaliatory conduct prohibited; possession action barred after a code complaint, a complaint to the landlord, or tenant-union activity, available as a defense.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-5/section-35-9a-501/ (accessed 2026-07-10)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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