How to Evict a Roommate in Alabama (and Other Household Situations)
What Alabama law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a 'tenant' is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others, and a rental agreement includes oral as well as written agreements. A roommate not on the lease may be a tenant if they have an agreement with the owner, a subtenant if they rent from the leaseholder, or only a guest. Which applies depends on the facts. Ala. Code § 35-9A-141(13), (16)
| Roommate not on the lease | Under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a 'tenant' is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others, and a rental agreement includes oral as well as written agreements. A roommate not on the lease may be a tenant if they have an agreement with the owner, a subtenant if they rent from the leaseholder, or only a guest. Which applies depends on the facts. Source: Ala. Code § 35-9A-141(13), (16) |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | A tenant who rents to a roommate is a 'sublessor', which the Act treats as a 'landlord'. The leaseholder must end the roommate's tenancy with proper written notice (for example 30 days for month-to-month, 7 days for week-to-week) and, if the roommate stays, file an eviction action in district or circuit court. Subletting may also require the landlord's consent under the main lease. |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. An owner may ask law enforcement to remove an unauthorized individual by sworn affidavit, without an eviction suit, only if the person was not authorized to enter or remain, is not a tenant or holdover tenant, is not an immediate family member of the owner, has been asked to leave by notice, and no related lawsuit is pending between them. A guest who has an oral rental agreement may be a tenant, who can be removed only through a court eviction. The owner may be liable for damages for a false affidavit. Source: Ala. Code § 35-9B-2 |
| Removing a family member or partner | Alabama's affidavit procedure for removing unauthorized occupants cannot be used against an immediate family member of the property owner. Removing a family member who will not leave therefore generally requires a court action. The statute does not define 'immediate family member.' Where there is abuse, protection-order remedies may also be available. Source: Ala. Code § 35-9B-2(a)(6) |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No special statute for a lodger in the owner's home. The Act's exclusions cover transient occupancy in a hotel, motel or lodgings, but do not exclude renting a room in an owner-occupied home. The Act defines a 'roomer' as a person occupying a unit that lacks a toilet, refrigerator, stove, kitchen sink and tub or shower provided by the landlord, where facilities are shared. Whether a long-term room rental is 'transient' lodgings or a tenancy depends on the facts. |
| Tenancy at will | Where no end date is specified, Alabama law treats a tenancy as running December 1 to December 1, but if it is expressly a tenancy at will, either party may end it at any time with 10 days' written notice. For tenancies by the month or other terms under a year where the tenant holds over without a special agreement, the landlord may end the tenancy with 10 days' written notice and then sue for possession. For residential rentals covered by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, month-to-month tenancies require 30 days' written notice and week-to-week tenancies 7 days (Ala. Code § 35-9A-441). Source: Ala. Code §§ 35-9-3, 35-9-5 |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel or lodgings is excluded from the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, unless the arrangement was created to avoid the Act. No statute sets a fixed number of days after which a hotel guest becomes a tenant. Source: Ala. Code § 35-9A-122(4) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.