Last Updated on March 18, 2024 by Kelvin Nielsen
As a landlord in the state of Alabama, you have a right to evict your tenant for certain justified reasons. Including, when there is no lease in place or if your tenant refuses to leave after their lease has expired.
In such a case, you must serve them a ’30 Day Eviction Notice’ to terminate a month-to-month tenancy. For tenants on a week-to-week lease, you must serve them a 7 days’ notice to vacate.
The following are answers to commonly asked questions by landlords regarding the 30 Day Eviction Notice in Alabama.
What does the 30 Day Eviction Notice do?
To begin any eviction process in Alabama, you must first serve your tenant with an eviction notice. Different notices serve different purposes when it comes to evictions. As such, you must serve your tenant with the right eviction notice in order for the eviction process to be successful.
For example, to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent, you must serve them a 7-day eviction notice.
What the 30 Day Eviction Notice does is give the tenant a maximum of 30 days to move out of their rented premises. It doesn’t give a tenant an option to ‘cure’ their violation like the 7-day eviction notice for nonpayment of rent does. As such, the tenant only has one option – to move out of their rental premises within the 30 days.
What happens if the tenant doesn’t move out after serving them a 30 Day Eviction Notice?
Once the 30 days are over (excluding weekends and holidays), you can choose to move forward and file an eviction lawsuit. This entails filing a complaint in a court of the proper county. For convenience, you may also consider filing online.
When filing, you’ll be required to provide the following information.
- Both you and your tenant’s names.
- The address of the rental property.
- The cause of the eviction (no lease or end of lease).
- When you served the tenant with a notice.
After successful notarization, the clerk of the court will serve you with a summons and complaint. Expect the filing process to cost you about $247. You may also need to pay an additional $10 for every tenant that you’ll need to serve.
Next, the court will serve the tenant with a copy of the summons and complaint. The tenant will have a maximum of 7 days to file a response. If the tenant files a petition, the process may take longer.
A court hearing will then be scheduled, and the judge will make their determination based on the evidence adduced.
How should you serve the 30 Day Eviction Notice in Alabama?
You must serve the tenant with the 30 Day Eviction Notice in a prescribed manner. If you fail to do so, your tenant may be able to delay their eviction by using that as a defense against their eviction in court.
You must serve the notice in any of the following manners.
- Hand delivering the notice to the tenant.
- Mailing a copy to the tenant via regular, registered, or certified mail.
- Leaving a copy of the notice in a conspicuous area, such as on the front door of the property.
How long does it take to evict a tenant in Alabama?
There isn’t a specific time; there a host of factors to consider. It’ll take you anywhere between 7 and 30 days to issue an official notice to the tenant on average. Then, you’ll need about 6 days to issue and serve a summons and complaint.
Once the process server has served the tenant with a copy of the summons and complaint, the tenant will have 7 days to file an answer in writing. If they do, the process will take much longer.
Finally, the court will make a determination on the matter which may take anywhere between a couple of days to several months.
To sum, the eviction process in Alabama can take anywhere from a month to a about 3 months. It can also take longer if the tenant contests it.
Can you evict a tenant in Alabama without a court order?
If you do, the tenant may be able to fight the eviction and their removal may ultimately become unsuccessful. The only way to evict a tenant in Alabama is through a court order. Trying to evict your tenant for retaliatory, discriminatory or through ‘self-help’ eviction tactics will fail.
Free and Printable 30 Day Eviction Notice
Conclusion
To evict a tenant from their rented premise in Alabama, a landlord must strictly follow the due process. And specifically, if evicting a tenant on a month-to-month lease, you must first serve them a 30-day eviction notice. You may then move to file a lawsuit in an appropriate court if they refuse to move out.
Disclosure: The content herein isn’t a substitute for advice from a professional attorney. It’s only meant to serve educational purposes. If you have a specific question, kindly seek expert attorney services.
Sources: AL Code, Alabama Legal Help, LegalMatch.com, Alabama Landlord-Tenant Laws, Alabama Tenant Eviction Laws.
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I am a real estate attorney with over 11 years of experience in tenant eviction cases. My mission here at LTRC is to help answer your commonly asked questions on everything regarding real estate laws, especially on eviction matters.
I’m a member of the following professional organizations: Attorneys’ Real Estate Councils of Florida (ARECs), Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), and the Florida Association of Community Managers (FACM).
Hello,
Can a landlord in Alabama evict you for no reason or a tenant must have committed a serious violation?
Landlords in Alabama cannot evict a tenant for no reason. There must be a valid cause for eviction, such as: nonpayment of rent, violation of the lease agreement (e.g., unauthorized pets, damage to the property, illegal activity), and engagement in certain illegal activity (e.g., drug trafficking)
If a landlord wants to evict a tenant without cause, they must wait until the lease agreement has expired.
Hope this helps!