How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Alabama?

No more than one month's rent, not counting deposits for pets, changes to the Premises or increased liability risks. The cap comes from Ala. Code 35-9A-201, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.

Which Alabama statutes does this lease cite?

Ala. Code 35-9A-201, Ala. Code 35-9A-303, Ala. Code 35-9A-441 and Ala. Code 35-9A-202, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.

Should a lawyer look at this Alabama lease before I use it?

It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Alabama statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Alabama landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

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Alabama Residential Lease Agreement

A plain-language lease for a house or apartment in Alabama. The deposit, notice, entry and disclosure clauses follow Alabama statute, cited in the document. Download the blank PDF or e-sign it online; electronic signatures are recognized under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws.

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Different state?

Page one of the Alabama Residential Lease Agreement — Page 1 of the PDF. Tinted boxes are the placed fields, one color per role.

Alabama rules in this lease

Security deposit cap: No more than one month's rent, not counting deposits for pets, changes to the Premises or increased liability risks
Deposit return: Within 60 days after the tenancy ends and the Tenant delivers possession, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any amounts withheld, mailed to the written forwarding address the Tenant gives on vacating, or to the Tenant's last known address when none is given.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice.
Landlord entry: The Landlord gives at least two days' notice before entering, enters at reasonable times, and needs no notice in an emergency.
Disclosures: 2 items, listed below with the section that requires each one
Statutes: Ala. Code 35-9A-201, Ala. Code 35-9A-303, Ala. Code 35-9A-441, Ala. Code 35-9A-202
Rules read on: 2026-10-23

A general form, not legal advice, and not a claim that it complies with any law. Rules change and vary by city. Check the statute cited here, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What is different in Alabama

Pick Alabama and four parts of this lease change: the security deposit clause, the notice clause for a month-to-month tenancy, the entry clause and the disclosures checklist, each rewritten from the Alabama statute. The rest of the document reads the same in every state.

Start with the deposit. Alabama caps it at one month's rent, not counting deposits for pets, changes to the Premises or increased liability risks. The statute does not say where the money is kept, so the lease leaves that to the landlord, but its return rule, quoted in full below, says when and how the deposit comes back, and requires an itemized statement of anything kept and turns on the tenant's forwarding address.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy works the same from both sides in Alabama. Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice.

Alabama also speaks to when a landlord may come in. The Landlord gives at least two days' notice before entering, enters at reasonable times, and needs no notice in an emergency.

One Alabama disclosure joins the federal lead paint item on the checklist: name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or the owner's agent for service of process, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy. The landlord initials it, and the section that requires it prints beside it.

This row notes no city or county overlay for Alabama; if the property is in a city with its own rental ordinance, check it before signing. The state clauses follow four sections of Alabama law, read on October 23, 2026 and listed in the Statutes row above; the same citations print in the footer of the PDF.

Read the Alabama clauses

The wording below is what prints in the PDF for Alabama, word for word, under the headings Security deposit, Entry, Ending the lease and default, and Disclosures.

Security deposit

Within 60 days after the tenancy ends and the Tenant delivers possession, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any amounts withheld, mailed to the written forwarding address the Tenant gives on vacating, or to the Tenant's last known address when none is given. The deposit may not exceed one month's rent, not counting deposits for pets, changes to the Premises or increased liability risks.

Entry

The Landlord gives at least two days' notice before entering, enters at reasonable times, and needs no notice in an emergency.

Ending the lease and default

Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice. If rent is unpaid or a term is broken, the Landlord gives the written notice Alabama law requires before ending the tenancy, and the Tenant is responsible for rent through the end of the term unless the Premises is re-rented sooner.

Disclosures the Landlord initials

Lead-based paint and hazards, for a building built before 1978, with the EPA pamphlet (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
Name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or the owner's agent for service of process, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy (Ala. Code 35-9A-202)

Footer of the PDF: Alabama clauses follow Ala. Code 35-9A-201, Ala. Code 35-9A-303, Ala. Code 35-9A-441, Ala. Code 35-9A-202 as read on 2026-10-23.

Alabama lease questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Alabama?: No more than one month's rent, not counting deposits for pets, changes to the Premises or increased liability risks. The cap comes from Ala. Code 35-9A-201, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.
When does the security deposit come back in Alabama?: Within 60 days after the tenancy ends and the Tenant delivers possession, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any amounts withheld, mailed to the written forwarding address the Tenant gives on vacating, or to the Tenant's last known address when none is given.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Alabama?: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice.
How much notice does a Alabama landlord give before entering?: The Landlord gives at least two days' notice before entering, enters at reasonable times, and needs no notice in an emergency.
What does a Alabama landlord have to disclose with the lease?: Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Alabama checklist has one item: name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or the owner's agent for service of process, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.
Which Alabama statutes does this lease cite?: Ala. Code 35-9A-201, Ala. Code 35-9A-303, Ala. Code 35-9A-441 and Ala. Code 35-9A-202, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.
Should a lawyer look at this Alabama lease before I use it?: It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Alabama statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Alabama landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

Who this is for. A Alabama lease is one half of a landlord's paperwork; proving a notice was received is the other. Both are covered at free e-signatures for landlords.

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