Landlord Entry Notice Requirements in Alabama

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Alabama's entry rule lives in a single statute: Alabama Code § 35-9A-303, the "Access" section of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Alabama adopted the Act in 2006 and amended this section in 2009 and 2011, adding the detailed showing and advance-notice rules below. The no-consent-entry list is closed — a landlord may enter without the tenant's consent "only in the following circumstances" (§ 35-9A-303(b)) — and a separate section, § 35-9A-442, spells out what each side can do when the access rules are abused.

Advance notice required

For an ordinary entry the landlord must give "at least two days' notice of the landlord's intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times" (§ 35-9A-303(c)). Two days is the floor. Alabama then softens it in two practical ways: if the landlord has already given a general notice or an advance schedule "in excess of two days" for repairs, maintenance, pest control, or a health-or-safety service, "no additional day's notice is required" for those visits (§ 35-9A-303(d)); and a tenant may agree to let the landlord in on less than two days' notice.

Reasons a landlord may enter

Two lists work together. Under § 35-9A-303(a), a tenant may not unreasonably refuse entry to inspect the unit; make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supply agreed services; or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors. And under § 35-9A-303(b), a landlord may enter without consent only for an emergency, a court order, the failure-to-maintain and abandonment remedies in §§ 35-9A-422 and 35-9A-423(b), a qualifying showing under (b)(4), or on reasonable cause to believe the tenant has abandoned the unit. One extra path: when a tenant asks for repairs, maintenance, or improvements, the tenant is "deemed to have granted consent" to the entry to do that work (§ 35-9A-303(e)).

When no notice is needed

Section 35-9A-303(b) is the no-consent list: an emergency; a court order; the landlord's §§ 35-9A-422 / 423(b) remedies; and a reasonable belief the tenant has "abandoned or surrendered the premises." The emergency exception is for a true emergency — fire, flood, a gas leak. Note also the tenant-request rule in (e): asking the landlord to fix something is itself consent to the entry needed to fix it, so no separate two-day notice is required for that repair.

Form and delivery of the notice

Alabama gives landlords a delivery method many states do not: "Posting of a note on the primary door of entry to the residence of the tenant stating the intended time and purpose of the entry shall be a permitted method of notice" (§ 35-9A-303(c)). The posted note must state both the intended time and the purpose. A tenant can always "consent to provide a landlord with access to the premises with less than two days' notice" (§ 35-9A-303(d)), and an advance schedule longer than two days needs no day-of top-up notice.

Special rules for showings

Showing an occupied unit to a buyer or new renter has its own gate. To enter without consent for that purpose, the landlord must have given the tenant — separate from the lease — "a general notice signed by the tenant for the right to access for such a purpose within four months of the expiration of the rental agreement," may enter only at reasonable times with the usual two-day notice, and may do so "only in the company of a prospective tenant or purchaser" (§ 35-9A-303(b)(4)). In plain terms: a landlord cannot spring showings on a tenant early in a lease on the strength of a buried lease clause; the tenant has to have signed a separate access notice, and it only unlocks showings in the final four months.

Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry

Alabama writes the remedy into the statute. If a landlord "makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner or makes excessive demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant," the tenant may "obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct, or terminate the rental agreement pursuant to Section 35-9A-401," and "may recover actual damages" (§ 35-9A-442(b)). The mirror rule protects the landlord: if a tenant "refuses to allow lawful access," the landlord may get an injunction to compel access or terminate the lease, and recover actual damages (§ 35-9A-442(a)).

What trips people up

A lease clause is not enough to authorize showings. Because § 35-9A-303(b)(4) requires a separate, tenant-signed access notice good only "within four months of the expiration of the rental agreement," a generic "landlord may show the unit" clause buried in the lease does not by itself let a landlord run showings without consent. The signed, time-limited notice is the key.

A posted door note can be valid notice — if it says the time and purpose. Alabama lets a landlord post the notice on your front door (§ 35-9A-303(c)), but only if it states the intended time and the purpose of the entry. A blank "will enter soon" note does not meet the statute.

Asking for a repair is consent to the repair visit. Under § 35-9A-303(e), once a tenant requests repairs, maintenance, or improvements, the tenant is deemed to have consented to the entry to do that work — so a tenant cannot later treat that specific visit as an unnoticed entry.

Common questions

How much notice does my Alabama landlord need to enter? At least two days, and entry must be at a reasonable time and for a listed reason such as repairs, an inspection, agreed services, or a qualifying showing (§ 35-9A-303(c)). A tenant can agree to shorter notice.

Can my landlord just tape a note to my door instead of calling? Yes. A note posted on your primary entry door that states the intended time and purpose of entry is a permitted method of notice under § 35-9A-303(c).

My landlord wants to show my apartment to buyers. What are my rights? The landlord generally needs a separate access notice you signed, effective only within four months of your lease's end, must give the two-day notice, and may enter only accompanied by the prospective buyer or renter (§ 35-9A-303(b)(4)).

What can I do if my landlord keeps entering to harass me? You can seek an injunction to stop it or terminate the lease under § 35-9A-401, and recover actual damages, when a landlord makes unlawful entries or "excessive demands for entry" that unreasonably harass you (§ 35-9A-442(b)).

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code § 35-9A-303 — the AURLTA access section: tenant's duty not to unreasonably withhold consent and the entry-purpose list (a); the closed list of no-consent entries, including the four-month signed-notice showing rule (b); the two-day-notice and reasonable-times rule plus the door-posting method (c); the advance-schedule and tenant-consent shortcuts (d); and deemed consent when a tenant requests repairs (e). https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-9A-303 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Ala. Code § 35-9A-442 — remedies for abuse of access: the landlord's remedies when a tenant refuses lawful access (a) and the tenant's injunction, lease-termination, and actual-damages remedies when a landlord enters unlawfully or harasses through excessive entry demands (b). https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-9A-442 (accessed 2026-07-11)