In Alabama What To Do If Tenant Refuses To Accept Registered Eviction Letter?

In a Nutshell

Landlords in Alabama can't just change the locks, toss your property out on the front yard, or close downwardly essential utilities. A landlord must follow the eviction process in lodge to have a tenant evicted for whatsoever reason. Hither's an overview of what this means for tenants in Alabama.

What Is Eviction?
Who Can Be Evicted in Alabama?
Why Can Someone Be Evicted in Alabama?
- Late, Curt, or Behind on Rent?
- Lease Expiration or Termination
The Alabama Eviction Process
- What does a landlord have to practise to begin an eviction?
- What happens once the eviction activity is filed with the court?
- Telling Your Side of the Story: Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaims
What Happens Later an Eviction Trial?
Practical Tips for Tenants Facing Eviction in Alabama
Tenant Resources in Alabama

This article explains the basics of Alabama'southward eviction laws and tenants' rights in Alabama. If you lot're a renter in Alabama and your landlord is threatening eviction, if you're backside on rent, or if your lease is most to expire, this article will help you understand your rights and the eviction process.

What Is Eviction?

Eviction is the legal process a landlord uses to remove a tenant/renter from their dwelling house for nonpayment of hire or for other reasons, such as failing to keep the holding clean. Landlords must by and large have a court order to evict a tenant. Removing a tenant without a court order is considered an illegal eviction or illegal lockout.

Who Can Be Evicted in Alabama?

To be evicted in Alabama you must exist in a landlord-tenant relationship. Alabama's landlord-tenant laws are outlined in Alabama statutes. Generally, a tenant is someone who has agreed to rent housing from the landlord. A landlord can also adios people living with a tenant, fifty-fifty if they're not on the lease.

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Why Can Someone Be Evicted in Alabama?

There are three reasons why evictions occur:

The tenant is short, late, or backside on rent.
The tenant has breached a different charter term, such as damaging the property, smoking in non-smoking areas, or keeping a pet where pets are prohibited in the rental.
The lease term has concluded and is non getting renewed.

In Alabama, regardless of the reason for the eviction, the landlord must provide the tenant with a written notice and seven days to cure the default. Curing the default simply means addressing the issue — for example, paying the hire owed, cleaning the belongings, or removing pets.

Late, Curt, or Backside on Rent?

In Alabama, a landlord can't starting time an eviction proceeding against a tenant until the tenant is behind on paying hire. Even beingness ane day belatedly constitutes tardily payment of rent by land constabulary. That said, your charter agreement may include a grace flow, which gives the tenant additional days to pay the rent beyond the original due appointment without risking eviction. Before starting an eviction proceeding, the landlord must give the tenant written detect to pay the rent inside seven days. If the tenant pays the hire within 7 days, the landlord tin can't keep with the eviction.

Lease Expiration or Termination

Under Alabama constabulary, landlords can evict a tenant after the landlord has terminated the lease or if the lease has expired. In both cases, the landlord is claiming that the tenant no longer has the right to live in the property, regardless of the tenant'south status on paying rent.

Charter expiration differs from lease termination, so information technology's important to empathise the difference. A lease expiration occurs when the original terms of the charter run out and the landlord decides not to renew the lease. A landlord must give the tenant a seven-day observe to stop a week-to-week tenancy and a 30-twenty-four hour period notice to cease a month-to-month tenancy.

The landlord may file an eviction proceeding if the tenant remains in the belongings without the landlord's consent after the rental agreement expires or is terminated. If the tenant stays in the property without a good faith reason, the landlord may be entitled to up to three months' rent or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney'due south fees.

When the lease terms haven't expired, but the landlord terminates the lease for a specific reason, such every bit nonpayment of hire, this is called lease termination. The landlord must showtime provide the tenant with a discover of termination, and the tenant has seven days to fix the problem. If the tenant doesn't set up the problem, then the landlord tin can file an eviction proceeding, as explained below.

Tenants in Alabama also should understand that the CDC eviction moratorium (banning evictions) that was in place when COVID-nineteen began is no longer in effect. In August 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the eviction moratoriums were unconstitutional. Therefore, landlords are now free to proceed with evictions, requiring you to pay rent every bit well as any accrued fees. That said, Alabama tenants may be able to apply for emergency rental assistance through the federal government.

The Alabama Eviction Process

This section provides a basic overview of the general residential eviction process in Alabama.

What does a landlord have to do to begin an eviction?

To brainstorm an eviction proceeding in Alabama, the landlord must starting time requite the tenant a written notice of the charter termination. The written notice from the landlord must state the reason for terminating the lease (nonpayment of rent, keeping an unauthorized pet, etc.). If you ready the trouble within seven days, the eviction process ends and the landlord can't adios you. If you lot don't gear up the problem within 7 days, the landlord can proceed with the eviction process. If you can't set the trouble but want to avoid having an eviction on your record, yous tin can voluntarily move out earlier the seven-day deadline.

What happens once the eviction action is filed with the court?

In Alabama, once the landlord files an eviction action in court, the tenant has seven days to file a response (referred to every bit an "respond") with the courtroom. The landlord must provide the tenant with a summons form, which is a class notifying you lot of the court action against you. They also have to give you an eviction complaint form notifying you of the claims confronting you lot.

You must evangelize your response to the court clerk'southward part in the county where the eviction find was filed. You likewise need to post the response to the landlord. The court hearing will so exist set for xiv days from when you lot file your response. If you win in courtroom, y'all can remain in the rental property. If you lose in court, so the landlord has the correct to execute the eviction within seven days. This means the sheriff will come and remove you and your possessions from the property. This can happen unless yous appeal the eviction order to a higher court within that fourth dimension frame.

If you appeal the eviction club, the court volition so set the thing for hearing. Alabama law states that an eviction hearing must be held within sixty days from the engagement of the filing of the appeal. Note that if you file a mail service-judgment motion (like a motion to reconsider or appeal) after you lose the eviction action, this will suspend the time for filing the appeal until the court rules on the motion.

Fifty-fifty if the tenant appeals, the landlord can still get a writ of restitution or possession. This is a court order that gives the landlord the right to adios you. The landlord and so has the sheriff or other officer "execute" the eviction, which means to bear out the physical eviction. To preclude the landlord from going forward, the tenant must pay back rent or ready the lease violation.

Typically, the tenant must attend the eviction hearing or risk getting a default judgment against them, which ways the landlord will get the relief they're request for. That said, judges volition oft encourage the parties to come up up with a settlement agreement rather than going through with the eviction process.

Telling Your Side of the Story: Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaims

In responding to the eviction merits, you have the correct to raise certain defenses to the eviction activeness. An affirmative defense is an argument that the landlord has no grounds to evict you lot. For example, if your landlord is trying to evict you for nonpayment of rent, but you take bear witness you paid your rent on time, that is an affirmative defense force to the eviction proceeding. You will have to provide evidence of your payment, such as proof that your payment cleared your banking company past a certain date. Recall, you must heighten your defenses in your answer to the eviction proceeding.

Jefferson County in Alabama provides an answer course for tenants to fill out in response to an eviction proceeding. The course contains defenses the tenant may raise to the eviction proceeding. The tenant may check i or more boxes on the form and sign the form, request the court to deny the eviction and/or deny the money judgment against the tenant.

The defenses listed in the class include the post-obit, among other things:

The landlord didn't serve yous with a proper termination of lease detect before filing the instance.
Yous did everything the landlord required you to exercise to avert eviction before the legal deadline.
You took the coin you owe to your landlord by the deadline, but the landlord refused to have it.
The landlord accepted payment from y'all after sending you the lease termination find.
The summons and statement of claim documents weren't given to you or any responsible person living with you.
Y'all don't owe the landlord the amount listed in the statement of claim.
Y'all've applied for rental assistance and you're asking for a stay of the eviction process.

Counterclaims are different from affirmative defenses. If you raise a counterclaim, you're arguing that the landlord violated the lease terms, then they can't continue with the eviction. Violating the charter terms could include declining to brand necessary repairs, for example. Nether Alabama law, tenants aren't allowed to withhold rent based on the landlord's failure to make repairs.

What Happens Later an Eviction Trial?

The court may enter a judgment on the same mean solar day as the eviction hearing or at a later date. If the court finds in the landlord's favor, information technology will effect a writ of execution immediately unless the tenant files a motion for afterthought. The sheriff, law officer, bailiff, or constable executes the writ. Only authorized persons are allowed to remove the tenant from the rental property. If the tenant leaves any possessions at the premises, the landlord must shop them for 14 days and notify the tenant to become their holding. Subsequently 14 days, the landlord may dispose of the property.

Practical Tips for Tenants Facing Eviction in Alabama

If you're facing eviction in Alabama, y'all should gather all documents, photos, videos, and other prove supporting any claims you want to brand most the holding's conditions. It's often a good idea for the tenant to have a municipal building inspector visit the property and outcome a report most the property's weather.

If you can't appear for your scheduled court appointment, yous should contact the courtroom clerk and enquire for a continuance or notify the courtroom that you can't attend the hearing. Otherwise, you lot risk a default judgment against yous, which ways the court has decided you owe the corporeality the landlord is claiming yous owe, and you volition be responsible for paying that.

Remember, if y'all cure your default by communicable up on back rent at some point during this process (whether information technology'southward before trial or after the court issues a judgment), exist conscientious about the timing and whether you have paid the court or the landlord. If yous've cured your default by paying the landlord, brand certain y'all keep a record of your payment.

Information technology's also important to communicate with your landlord. Be proactive and try to ready an understanding if you're in default. Good communication is cardinal, even if your lease is virtually to expire. The mere filing of an eviction can damage your rental history and restrict your opportunities for housing in the future.

Finally, if a landlord files an eviction lawsuit against you, think about means you can negotiate with your landlord or their attorney. Sometimes, landlords will drop the case if yous agree to move out past a specific date. Make sure you vacate the premises and return the keys to the landlord. You lot may also want to seek legal advice before acting on the eviction notice.

Finally, make certain any agreement you make with your landlord is in writing and signed past both y'all and your landlord.

Tenant Resources in Alabama

Here is a list of useful links and resources for tenants facing eviction in Alabama:

Local Tenant Rights, Laws, and Protections from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Legal Services Alabama'south Tenant Help Site
AlabamaLegalHelp.org

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