Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in Alabama
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | No general statewide application/screening-fee statute after audit of Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-101 to -603 and Title 34, ch. 27; the first governs residential rental agreements, while the second covers licensed rental and property-management activity |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | No statewide provision specifically authorizes or prohibits residential application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fees |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No statewide numeric, actual-cost, reasonable-cost, customary-cost, per-applicant, per-household, or indexed ceiling in the audited schemes |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No statewide fee-component, unit-availability, charge-when-considered, multiple-concurrent-application, or repeat-charge restriction |
| Before-screening disclosures | No special statewide application-fee, unit-availability, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, reusable-report, or application-order disclosure |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No special statewide application-fee receipt, landlord-obtained-report-copy, unused-fee refund, or unconsidered-application refund rule |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No statewide applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process; § 35-9A-421 addresses intentional application misrepresentation after a tenancy dispute, not screening procedure |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | No application-fee-specific statutory damages; § 35-9A-121 makes ch. 9A exclusive and supersedes local residential landlord-tenant ordinances, while preserving generally applicable codes |
Alabama has no special statewide fee process
The complete Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-101 to -603, contains no rule specifically addressing a residential application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fee. Its enacted amendments through the 2018 amendment to § 35-9A-421 were also audited. None creates a prospective-tenant charge or screening process.
Accordingly, the audited statutes create no special statewide requirement for:
- a maximum dollar amount, actual-cost formula, or annual adjustment;
- proof that a unit is available or that an application will be considered;
- advance disclosure of the fee basis, screening criteria, or report source;
- an application-fee receipt, screening-report copy, or unused-fee refund;
- acceptance of an applicant-supplied or reusable report;
- first-in-order or first-qualified processing; or
- a state-format denial or conditional-approval notice.
The Alabama Real Estate Commission's current licensing materials were audited too. Rule 790-X-1-.03 expressly reaches offering property for rent, procuring rental prospects, and handling security deposits and rent. Section 34-27-36 adds general duties against false promises, failure to account for money, bad faith, and dishonest dealings. Neither source supplies a tenant-facing fee cap, disclosure, receipt, report-copy, refund, reusable-report, application-order, or denial-notice rule.
Boundaries that still matter
Section 35-9A-201(a) caps money demanded as security for obligations under a rental agreement, subject to its named exceptions. That security-deposit rule does not state that a prospective-tenant application or screening charge is security, and it does not provide an application-fee ceiling or refund process.
Section 35-9A-421(a) says an intentional material misrepresentation in a rental agreement or application may not be cured. That is a lease-enforcement rule; it does not prescribe screening criteria, processing order, a report-copy duty, or an adverse-action notice for applicants.
Alabama also differs from many no-rule states on local overlays. Section 35-9A-121 declares chapter 9A the exclusive remedy for rights and obligations under a residential rental agreement and supersedes county and municipal ordinances governing residential landlord-tenant relationships. It preserves generally applicable building, health, and similar laws that apply equally to comparable owner-occupied property.
What trips people up
A security-deposit cap is not an application-fee cap. Section 35-9A-201 governs money held as security for rental-agreement obligations. The audited chapter does not extend that formula to a prospective-tenant screening charge.
The word “application” appears in an enforcement rule, not a fee process. Section 35-9A-421 makes an intentional material misrepresentation in an application noncurable. It does not authorize or regulate an application fee.
General broker duties do not fill the missing columns. A licensee may face discipline for false promises, mishandling another person's money, bad faith, or dishonest dealings under § 34-27-36. Those general duties do not create the specific amount, timing, receipt, refund, report-copy, or reusable-report rules this survey compares.
Common questions
Is there a statewide maximum rental application fee? No numeric or cost-based application-fee cap appears in the current audited schemes.
Must the landlord refund the fee if another applicant rents the unit? The audited schemes create no special statewide unused-fee or unconsidered- application refund rule.
Must the landlord provide the credit or background report? The audited schemes impose no special report-copy duty tied to a rental application charge.
May a city create its own residential application-fee ordinance? Section 35-9A-121 broadly supersedes county and municipal ordinances governing residential landlord-tenant rights and obligations, while preserving the generally applicable laws described in that section.
Statutes and sources
- Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-101 to -603 — complete residential landlord-tenant
chapter audited for applicant-fee and screening rules.
CHAPTER 9A. UNIFORM RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT ... ARTICLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS ... ARTICLE II - LANDLORD OBLIGATIONS ... ARTICLE III - TENANT OBLIGATIONS ... ARTICLE IV - REMEDIES ... ARTICLE V - RETALIATORY CONDUCT ... ARTICLE VI - EFFECTIVE DATE AND SEVERABILITY.
Official source: https://macon.alacourt.gov/media/1026/universal-residential-landlord-and-tenant-act.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-121 — statewide exclusivity and local preemption.
This chapter applies to and is the exclusive remedy to regulate and determine rights, obligations, and remedies under a rental agreement ... No resolution or ordinance relative to residential landlords ... or the rights and obligations governing residential landlord and tenant relationships shall be enacted or enforced by any county or municipality ...
Official source: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2009RS/PrintFiles/SB397-Enr.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a) — security-deposit boundary.
A landlord may not demand or receive money as security, in an amount in excess of one month's periodic rent ... for tenant's obligations under a rental agreement.
Official source: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2014RS/PrintFiles/SB291-Enr.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(a) — application-misrepresentation rule.
An intentional misrepresentation of a material fact in a rental agreement or application may not be remedied or cured.
Official source: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2018RS/PrintFiles/HB421-Enr.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - Ala. Admin. Code r. 790-X-1-.03 — licensed rental and property-management activity.
Rental leasing and/or property management services for Alabama real estate licensees include ... [o]ffer to rent or lease real estate ... [and] [p]rocure or assist in procuring the prospects for the purpose of effecting the lease, or rental of real estate ...
Official source: https://arec.alabama.gov/pages/laws/ViewLaw.aspx?LawSectionID=156 (accessed 2026-07-21) - Ala. Code § 34-27-36(b) — general licensee conduct and accounting duties.
A licensee is prohibited from ... [m]aking any false promises of a character likely to influence, persuade, or induce any person to enter into any contract or agreement ... [and] [f]ailing, within a reasonable time, to properly account for or remit money coming into his or her possession which belongs to others ...
Official source: https://arec.alabama.gov/pages/laws/ViewLaw.aspx?LawSectionID=178 (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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