Sources checked:
Quick answer. Alabama: deposit capped at 1 month of rent; deposit returned within 60 days; 30-day notice to end month-to-month; 7-day notice for unpaid rent; 48-hour entry notice; $6,000 small claims limit. 15 of 23 items are confirmed on official pages; 8 are marked not confirmed, with the page to check.
Key numbers
- Deposit limit
- 1 month's rent
- Deposit back within
- 60 days
- Month-to-month notice (landlord)
- 30 days
- Unpaid rent notice
- 7 days
- Entry notice
- 48 hours
- Filing fee
- Varies by county
- Time to answer or appear
- 7 days
- Judgment to writ
- 7 days
- Small claims limit
- $6,000
Security deposit (5 of 6 confirmed)
Law read: Code of Alabama 35-9A-201.
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ConfirmedDeposit limit
No more than one month's periodic rent, except for pets, changes to the premises, or increased liability risks (35-9A-201(a)). A 2023 bill (SB242) proposed removing this limit; check the current Code.
Source: Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201), checked November 2026
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ConfirmedReturn deadline
The amount due 60 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, with an itemized list of amounts withheld within that 60-day period (35-9A-201).
Source: Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201), checked November 2026
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ConfirmedItemized list of deductions
An itemized list of the amounts withheld, within the 60-day period (35-9A-201). The tenant gives a valid forwarding address in writing on leaving.
Source: Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201), checked November 2026
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ConfirmedInterest on the deposit
None stated in 35-9A-201 as reprinted in 2023 SB242.
Source: Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201), checked November 2026
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Not confirmedWhere the deposit is held
Not confirmed — check Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201). Not confirmed from official text. Check the Code of Alabama 35-9A-201.
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ConfirmedPenalty the law states
Double the amount of the tenant's original deposit if the landlord doesn't refund or account for it within 60 days (35-9A-201).
Source: Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201), checked November 2026
Read from the text of 35-9A-201 reprinted in a 2023 bill. Confirm against the current Code of Alabama.
More: Security deposit rules by state · Deposit return deadline calculator
Notice periods (4 of 6 confirmed)
What the official text says about each notice. Cities and counties can add their own notice, just-cause or rent rules. Check local rules too.
| Notice | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ending month-to-month (landlord) | Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (7 days for week-to-week). Either side may give it. | Source: Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316, checked November 2026 (Code of Alabama 35-9A-441) |
| Ending month-to-month (tenant) | Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (7 days for week-to-week). Either side may give it. | Source: Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316, checked November 2026 (Code of Alabama 35-9A-441) |
| Rent increase notice | Not confirmed — check Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316. Not in the 2006 act text read. Check the current Code of Alabama, chapter 35-9A. | |
| Unpaid rent notice | 7 days after the tenant receives written notice to terminate for nonpayment. | Source: Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316, checked November 2026 (Code of Alabama 35-9A-421(b)) |
| Entry notice | At least 2 days' notice; reasonable times. | Source: Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316, checked November 2026 (Code of Alabama 35-9A-303) |
| Late fee limits | Not confirmed — check Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316. Not in the 2006 act text read. Check the current Code of Alabama. |
More: Notice periods by state · Notice date calculator
Eviction case, in order (5 of 10 confirmed)
- Notice before filing The written notice comes first; its length is in the notice table above.
Unpaid rent: 7 days after the tenant receives written notice to terminate for nonpayment.
- Filing the case Where the case goes and what it costs to start.
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ConfirmedCourt
Eviction (unlawful detainer) cases can be filed in District Court or Circuit Court; the county court pages describe District Court filing.
District Court and Circuit Court have concurrent jurisdiction.
Source: Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers, checked November 2026
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ConfirmedFiling fee
Set locally. County court pages we opened list $280 (Russell), $305 (Escambia) and $350 (Mobile and Montgomery) to start a case, with added fees per defendant.
the initial filing fee is $350.00
Source: Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers, checked November 2026
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- The tenant's answer or appearance
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ConfirmedTime to answer or appear
Seven calendar days after service to answer the claim for possession (14 days for a money claim).
Seven (7) calendar days to file an answer to complaint for possession of property.
Source: Russell County District Court: Residential Landlord-Tenant Guidelines to Filing of Unlawful Detainer Actions, checked November 2026
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- Hearing or trial
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Not confirmedHearing after filing
Not confirmed — check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers. Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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- Judgment and the writ The order that lets the officer act.
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ConfirmedJudgment to writ
The writ of possession can be requested only after the 7-day stay that follows the judgment (the time to appeal) has run.
ONLY after the automatic-Stay of seven(7) days has fully elapsed
Source: Escambia County: Eviction / Unlawful Detainer Procedure (07/2025), checked November 2026
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- Lockout Carried out by an officer, not by either side.
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Not confirmedWrit to lockout
Not confirmed — check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers. Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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ConfirmedWho carries out the lockout
The writ directs the county's law enforcement (the sheriff) to restore possession to the landlord.
a court order to the Sheriff to immediately return property to the property owner
Source: Escambia County: Eviction / Unlawful Detainer Procedure (07/2025), checked November 2026
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- Along the way Paying to stop the case, counsel and diversion programs.
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Not confirmedPaying to stop the case
Not confirmed — check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers. Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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Not confirmedRight to counsel (statewide)
Not confirmed — check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers. Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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Not confirmedDiversion or mediation (statewide)
Not confirmed — check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers. Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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An appeal does not stop the writ unless the tenant pays the circuit clerk all rent properly payable (Act 2006-316, section 35-9A-461(d)); the Mobile and Montgomery pages describe this as an appeal bond based on past-due and accruing rent. The writ timing above comes from a county procedure sheet; other counties may word it differently.
Example: a case filed Monday, March 1, 2027
The earliest date of each stage the confirmed rules allow, from our eviction timeline estimator. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.
| Stage | Earliest date |
|---|---|
| Case filed | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Answer due (if served the day of filing) | Monday, March 8, 2027 |
Help the official pages name: Legal Services Alabama (1-866-456-4995), named on the Russell County packet.
More: Alabama eviction process · Eviction timeline estimator
Deposit disputes: small claims
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ConfirmedSmall claims limit (for a deposit dispute)
$6,000: the most a small claims case can ask for.
The maximum you may sue for, or be sued for, in small claims is $6,000 (county circuit clerk pages on alacourt.gov).
Filing fee to start a case: $56 to $248.
Source: Russell County Circuit Clerk: Small Claims, checked November 2026
More: Alabama small claims court
Still to confirm
- Where the deposit is held: check Alabama Legislature: 2023 SB242 as introduced (reprints Code section 35-9A-201)
- Rent increase notice: check Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316
- Late fee limits: check Alabama Unified Judicial System (Macon County): reprint of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Act 2006-316
- Hearing after filing: check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers
- Writ to lockout: check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers
- Paying to stop the case: check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers
- Right to counsel (statewide): check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers
- Diversion or mediation (statewide): check Mobile County (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit): Unlawful Detainers
Alabama kit
Alabama Landlord Compliance Kit
This page as a printable checklist with every source link and check date, a move-in and move-out deposit checklist with the Alabama return deadline, a notice calendar, an eviction timeline sheet, and an Excel workbook with a tenant notice log, a deposit tracker that works out the return date, and a rent ledger.
Kits for any state: Security Deposit Kit for Landlords and Tenants ($15) · Landlord-Tenant Notice Organizer ($15) · Eviction Case File Organizer ($15)
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. The same rules apply whichever side of the lease you are on; this page describes them and doesn't take a side. Rules change, cities and counties can add their own, a lease can add terms, and the official source has the final word.
Common questions
How much can a security deposit be in Alabama?
No more than one month's periodic rent, except for pets, changes to the premises, or increased liability risks (35-9A-201(a)). A 2023 bill (SB242) proposed removing this limit; check the current Code.
How long does a Alabama landlord have to return a deposit?
The amount due 60 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, with an itemized list of amounts withheld within that 60-day period (35-9A-201). What goes with it: An itemized list of the amounts withheld, within the 60-day period (35-9A-201). The tenant gives a valid forwarding address in writing on leaving.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Alabama?
From the landlord: Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (7 days for week-to-week). Either side may give it. From the tenant: Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (7 days for week-to-week). Either side may give it.
What notice comes before an unpaid-rent case in Alabama?
7 days after the tenant receives written notice to terminate for nonpayment.
How much notice before a landlord enters a rental in Alabama?
At least 2 days' notice; reasonable times.
How long does an eviction case take in Alabama?
Time to answer or appear: 7 days. Judgment to writ: 7 days. These are the stated rules; the court's calendar often takes longer.
What does it cost to file an eviction case in Alabama?
Set locally. County court pages we opened list $280 (Russell), $305 (Escambia) and $350 (Mobile and Montgomery) to start a case, with added fees per defendant.
Related: Landlord rules by state · Kits for landlords