Alabama: Residential Lease Execution Formalities

Requirements one by one

Writing threshold and signer

Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-141 and 35-9A-162 recognize both written and oral
residential rental agreements and the performance cure described below. The
line for a fixed lease appears in § 8-9-2: a term longer than
one year must be in a writing or memorandum expressing consideration and
subscribed by the party to be charged. The same section separately reaches an
agreement that, by its terms, cannot be performed within one year after making.

Anselmo Meat Co. v. Riley confirms that the required signature is the signature
of the person against whom enforcement is sought, whether landlord or tenant.
Both signatures are useful for mutual enforcement, but § 8-9-2 does not make
both signatures a universal condition. An agent may subscribe only with written
authority.

Performance can cure a missing signature or delivery for one year

Under § 35-9A-162, a landlord's unreserved acceptance of rent can give a tenant-
signed and delivered agreement the same effect as the landlord's signature and
delivery. A tenant's unreserved acceptance of possession and payment of rent can
do the same for a landlord-signed and delivered agreement.

That cure has a firm ceiling. If the document claims a term longer than one
year, subsection (c) gives it effect for only one year through this performance
route.

Witnesses and acknowledgment matter only beyond 20 years

Anselmo distinguishes an ordinary lease governed by § 8-9-2 from the special
§ 35-4-6 rule. A lease of 20 years or less does not need witnesses,
acknowledgment, or notarization merely to bind the original parties.

To preserve a term beyond 20 years, however, the lease or a memorandum must be
acknowledged or otherwise approved under the real-estate conveyance rules and
recorded within one year after execution. Section 35-4-20 ordinarily calls for
one attesting witness, with two witnesses in the listed situations where the
signer cannot or does not sign personally. Under § 35-4-23, a proper
acknowledgment substitutes for those witness requisites; § 35-4-24 lists several
authorized officers, including notaries public.

Electronic execution requires agreement and a retainable consumer record

Alabama's electronic-transactions law does not force either side online. Section
8-1A-5 applies only when each party agrees to transact electronically. Sections
8-1A-7 and 8-1A-8 let an electronic record and signature satisfy writing and
signature requirements and require delivered electronic information to remain
printable or storable.

Because an ordinary dwelling lease supplies a household service to an
individual consumer, § 8-1A-8's consumer protections apply when legally required
written information is delivered electronically. They include affirmative
consent, paper and withdrawal disclosures, hardware/software disclosure, and an
electronic demonstration of access. Section 8-1A-3 excludes required notices of
default, eviction, or cure under a primary-residence rental agreement; electronic
lease formation does not move those later notices online.

Written owner and manager information is required

The surveyed statutes state no general deadline for delivering a fully executed
copy of every lease. Ala. Code § 35-9A-202 requires a different written statement at
or before the tenancy begins: the manager's name and business address and the
name and business address of an owner or owner-authorized service-and-notice
agent. The information must stay current and binds successors.

Failure does not void the lease. The nondisclosing person becomes the landlord's
agent for service, notices, landlord obligations, and use of collected rent as
specified in subsection (c).

Renewals and changes follow the same coverage tests

Alabama states no separate residential renewal or modification form. A renewal,
extension, or material change that itself falls within § 8-9-2 must meet that
section's writing and subscription rule. Section 35-9A-162's performance cure
cannot be used to carry the claimed fixed term beyond one year.

Recording protects long terms and third-party priority

Ala. Code §§ 35-4-51 and 35-4-90 permit a lawfully executed document conveying
an interest in real estate to be recorded, make filing notice of its contents,
and make an unrecorded real-property conveyance inoperative
against later purchasers for value, mortgagees, and judgment creditors without
notice.

Section 35-4-6 adds a direct term consequence: a lease cannot exceed 99 years,
and a lease longer than 20 years is void for the portion beyond 20 unless the
lease or memorandum is properly acknowledged or approved and recorded within one
year after execution.

What trips people up

• The one-year and 20-year rules answer different questions. Section
  8-9-2 controls when the agreement must be written and signed. Section 35-4-6
  adds attestation/acknowledgment and timely recording only to preserve a term
  beyond 20 years.
• Performance does not validate the entire longer term. Section 35-9A-162
  can replace a missing signature or delivery, but the resulting fixed term is
  capped at one year.
• E-signing the lease does not e-enable eviction notices. Section 8-1A-3
  excludes legally required default, eviction, and cure notices for a primary-
  residence rental agreement.

Common questions

Can an oral lease last exactly one year?

Yes under the lease-interest branch of § 8-9-2, which exempts a lease “for a
term not longer than one year.” The separate one-year-from-making branch still
matters if the agreement's timing makes performance extend beyond one year after
the agreement was made.

Must the landlord sign before accepting rent?

Not always. Section 35-9A-162 gives a tenant-signed and delivered agreement the
same effect as landlord signature and delivery when the landlord accepts rent
without reservation, subject to the one-year cap.

May a memorandum be recorded instead of a 20-plus-year lease?

Yes. Section 35-4-6 expressly permits the lease or a memorandum thereof to be
acknowledged or approved and recorded within one year.

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code §§ 8-9-2, 35-9A-141, 35-9A-162, and 35-9A-202 — oral rental
  agreement recognition, writing/signature threshold, performance cure, one-
  year cap, and written manager/owner information. Statute of
  Frauds,
  performance
  rule,
  and disclosure
  rule
  (accessed 2026-07-30).
• Ala. Code §§ 8-1A-2, -3, -5, -7, and -8 — consumer definition,
  electronic scope and notice exclusions, party agreement, legal equivalence,
  retention, and consumer consent. Official electronic-transactions
  statute
  (accessed 2026-07-30).
• Ala. Code §§ 35-4-6, 35-4-20, 35-4-23, 35-4-24, 35-4-51, and 35-4-90 —
  99-year maximum, >20-year acknowledgment/attestation and recording, record
  notice, and third-party priority. Long-term lease
  rule
  and recording
  rule
  (accessed 2026-07-30).
• Anselmo Meat Co. v. Riley, 533 So. 2d 552 (Ala. 1988) — party-to-be-
  charged signature and the separation between ordinary leases and the >20-year
  attestation rule. Alabama Supreme Court
  opinion (accessed
  2026-07-30).