An Alabama 7 Day Notice To Vacate is a letter that complies with state legal requirements to evict a tenant for an “incurable” breach of the lease (one where the tenant isn’t allowed to take corrective action), such as illegal use of a deadly weapon or committing physical assault. The tenant must move out within seven (7) judicial days (i.e., not counting weekends and legal holidays) of receiving notice.
When To Use an Alabama 7 Day Notice To Vacate
An Alabama 7 Day Notice To Vacate begins the eviction process for the following tenant violations:
- Physically assaulting another person on the premises
- Involvement in the manufacture or use of illegal drugs
- Using or discharging a firearm or other deadly weapon on the premises
- Intentionally misrepresenting information on a rental application
- Repeating the same or a similar lease violation within a 6-month period after receiving an initial notice of noncompliance
Some types of Alabama lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write an Alabama 7 Day Notice To Vacate
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Vacate:
- Use the full name of the receiving parties, and address of record, if known
- Specify the basis upon which the tenancy will terminate
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve an Alabama 7 Day Notice To Vacate
Alabama landlords may deliver a termination notice using any of these methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Delivery by mail to the tenant’s last known address, with adequate prepaid postage (considered delivered three days after mailing)
These requirements only apply to an initial notice of termination (for example, an initial Notice To Quit for nonpayment of rent). Once the landlord is actually filing an eviction in court, notice of the court case must be served by someone authorized to serve official process under Alabama law. Mailed notice of a court case is only acceptable after official service of process fails.
Sources
- 1 Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(d)
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Notwithstanding Section 35-9A-141, no breach of any of the terms or obligations of the lease may be cured by a tenant more than two times in any 12-month period except by the express written consent of the landlord. The following acts or omissions by a tenant or occupant shall constitute a noncurable default of the rental agreement, and in such cases the landlord may terminate the rental agreement upon a seven-day notice. The tenant shall have no right to remedy such a default unless the landlord consents. Such acts and omissions include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Manufacture, cultivation, importation, transportation, possession, furnishing, administering, or use of illegal drugs in the dwelling unit or in the common areas.
(2) Illegal use, manufacture, importation, possession, furnishing, or discharging of a firearm or firearm ammunition on the premises of the rental property, except for the use or discharge of a firearm or firearm ammunition in cases of self-defense, defense of a third party, or as permissible in Section 13A-3-23.
(3) Criminal assault of a tenant or guest on the premises of the rental property, except in cases of self-defense, defense of a third party, or as permissible in Section 13A-3-23.
(4) Any breach involving substantially the same acts or omissions as a breach for which a notice to terminate has previously been provided for by the landlord and cured by the tenant, if the second breach occurs within six months of the first breach.
Source Link - 2 Ala. Code § 35-9A-144
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(a) A person has notice of a fact if:
(1) the person has actual knowledge of it;
(2) the person has received a notice or notification of it; or
(3) from all the facts and circumstances known to the person at the time in question, the person has reason to know that it exists.
(b) A person “knows” or “has knowledge” of a fact if the person has actual knowledge of it.
(c) A person “notifies” or “gives” a notice or notification to another person by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform the other in ordinary course whether or not the other actually comes to know of it. A person presumatively “receives” a notice or notification when:
(1) it comes to the person’s attention;
(2) in the case of the landlord, it is delivered at the place of business of the landlord or mailed to any place designated by the landlord as the place for receipt of the communication; or
(3) in the case of the tenant, it is delivered in hand to the tenant or three days after mailing with adequate prepaid postage in the United States mail to the tenant’s last known place of residence.
(d) “Notice,” knowledge of a notice, or notification received by an organization is effective for a particular transaction from the time it is brought to the attention of the organization.
(e) Notice provided in this section does not apply to the notice required to terminate a tenancy or evict a tenant.
- 3 Ala. Code § 35-9A-461
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Service of process [for an eviction action in court] shall be made in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. However, if a sheriff, constable, or process server is unable to serve the defendant personally, service may be had by delivering the notice to any person who is sui juris residing on the premises, or if after reasonable effort no person is found residing on the premises, by posting a copy of the notice on the door of the premises, and on the same day of posting or by the close of the next business day, the sheriff, the constable, the person filing the complaint, or anyone on behalf of the person, shall mail notice of the filing of the unlawful detainer action by enclosing, directing, stamping, and mailing by first class a copy of the notice to the defendant at the mailing address of the premises and if there is no mailing address for the premises to the last known address, if any, of the defendant and making an entry of this action on the return filed in the case. Service of the notice by posting shall be complete as of the date of mailing the notice.
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