Alabama Room Rental Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures

Landlords must disclose certain information to prospective tenants as part of an Alabama room rental agreement. State and federal laws require that landlords make these mandatory disclosures:

1. Lead-based paint: Federal law requires landlords to disclose the known presence of lead-based paint and associated hazards in any dwelling unit built before 1978 (Section 1018 of Title X).

2. Name and contact information: Room rental agreements in Alabama must contain the landlord’s and/or authorized agents’ and property managers’ names and contact information (Ala. Code § 35-9A-202).

Security Deposits

Maximum security deposit: Alabama landlord-tenant law limits security deposits to 1 month’s rent (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a)).

Security deposit receipt: Landlords in Alabama are not required to give the tenant a receipt for their security deposit.

Deduction tracking: Landlords must record the amount and reason for any security deposit deductions (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(b-c)).

Security deposit return: Landlords in Alabama must return the security deposit and an itemized statement explaining any deductions made within 60 days of the tenant moving out (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(b)).

Pet deposits: Alabama law permits landlords to charge an additional pet deposit in addition to the security deposit (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a)).

Rent Payment Regulations

Late rent fees: Alabama law allows landlords to charge late rent fees in any amount.

Right to withhold rent: Tenants in Alabama do not have the right to withhold rent under any circumstances (Ala. Code § 35-9A-164).

Grace period: Alabama law does not provide a grace period for tenants to pay rent.

Pet rent: Landlords in Alabama can charge monthly pet rent fees in any amount.

Rent Payment Increase Rules

Rent payment increase frequency: Landlords may increase the amount of rent at the end of a lease term after giving 30 days’ notice. They cannot increase rent in the middle of a lease term.

Rent payment increase maximum: Alabama law does not limit how much landlords can increase rent.

Rent control/stabilization: Neither rent control nor rent stabilization laws exist in Alabama, and local governments cannot enact rent control policies (Ala. Code § 11-80-8.1).

Room Rental Agreement Breaches

Failure to pay: Landlords in Alabama may issue a 7-day notice to pay or quit as soon as rent becomes overdue (Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b)).

Lease violations: The landlord may deliver a 7-day notice to cure the lease violation or quit. If the same violation occurs within a 12-month period, the landlord does not need to provide the tenant with a chance to cure the violation (Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(a, d)).

Lease abandonment: If the tenant is absent from the dwelling unit for more than 14 days, the landlord may enter without notice. The landlord must then make reasonable efforts to rent the unit to a new tenant and may dispose of any abandoned property 14 days after the rental agreement terminates (Ala. Code § 35-9A-423).

Self-help evictions: Self-help evictions, such as utility shutoffs and lockouts, are strictly prohibited in Alabama.

Ending a Room Rental Agreement

The process of ending a room rental agreement in Alabama differs depending on the agreement’s type. Each has its own required notice period, though month-to-month agreements provide the greatest degree of flexibility in this regard.

Month-to-month: Either the landlord or the tenant must give 30 days’ notice to terminate the agreement (Ala. Code § 35-9A-441).

Fixed-term: Fixed-term leases typically automatically expire on their end date, with no further action required from the landlord or the tenant.

Room abandonment: After a 14-day period, the landlord may enter the property and seek to re-rent the room at fair market value (Ala. Code § 35-9A-423).

Tenant’s right to terminate: The tenant may terminate the room rental agreement early to start active-duty military service (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) or in the case of landlord harassment (Ala. Code § 35-9A-303). Outside these circumstances, the tenant must pay rent for the entirety of the original Alabama room rental agreement or until the landlord finds a new tenant.

Landlord Room Access Laws

Immediate access: In an emergency, landlords may enter a property immediately (Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(b)(1)).

Landlord harassment: If the landlord repeatedly enters the dwelling unit and fails to provide the required advance notice, the tenant may be entitled to terminate the lease early, and the landlord may be subject to civil penalties (Ala. Code § 35-9A-442(b)).

Advance notice: For non-emergency reasons, landlords must provide tenants with 2 days’ notice before entering the dwelling unit and can only enter at reasonable times (Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(c)).

Agreement Renewal/Termination

Required renewals: Alabama does not require landlords or tenants to renew their leases.

Required notice: Landlords and tenants must provide advance notice if they do not intend to renew a lease — 7 days for week-to-week leases and 30 days for month-to-month and fixed-term leases (Ala. Code § 35-9A-441).

Month-to-month considerations: In Alabama, both landlords and tenants must provide at least 30 days’ notice to terminate a month-to-month room rental agreement (Ala. Code § 35-9A-441).