Alabama landlord entry laws
How much notice your landlord owes you before coming in, when they may enter without it, and what Alabama law lets you do about it.
Notice required
2 days — but only your lease can enforce it
The landlord may show the premises at any reasonable time by giving at least two days' notice of intent to enter, and may enter only at reasonable times. Posting a note on the tenant's primary door of entry stating the intended time and purpose is a permitted method of notice. Requesting repairs is treated as consent to entry.
Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(c)
When they may enter without notice
Entry without consent is allowed in an emergency, by court order, under §§ 35-9A-422 and 35-9A-423(b), or where the landlord reasonably believes the tenant has abandoned the premises.
What you can do about a violation
The Act's damages provision reaches noncompliance 'with the rental agreement or Section 35-9A-204' — the maintenance duty. The entry section is not in that list, so the statute alone gives the tenant nothing. Where the tenant's LEASE contains its own entry-notice clause, breaking it is noncompliance with the rental agreement, and § 35-9A-401(b) then provides actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and injunctive relief.
Ala. Code § 35-9A-401(b)
Before you rely on this
Alabama law depends on facts only you can confirm. Check these first.
Does your lease contain a clause requiring notice before entry — and can you quote it?
In Alabama the lease clause is the entire legal basis, not a supplement to the statute. Without one there is no route, and we would rather tell you that than write you a letter that has no foundation.
What to do right now
Read your lease first — in Alabama that document, not the statute, is what decides whether you have a claim. And note that a note taped to your door counts as notice here.
Put it in writing
We'll write a letter citing Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(c), listing each entry with its date and time, and stating what the statute provides. Free to generate and download.
Write my Alabama entry letterOther Alabama tenant rights
Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.
How this page was checked
- Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from Alabama's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
- No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
- Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
- Last verified August 21, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.
General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.
Compare all 51 jurisdictions — notice periods range from 12 hours to 72, and thirteen states have no rule at all.