Free Alabama 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

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The 7-day notice to pay rent or quit is the notice an Alabama landlord must deliver before filing for possession for nonpayment of rent. Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b) gives the tenant seven business days after receipt to pay the past-due rent and any late fees, or the rental agreement terminates. Under § 35-9A-421(d) a breach may be cured no more than twice in any 12-month period. Generate a compliant notice below.

7-Day Notice Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b) Alabama URLTA Free PDF

An Alabama 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the statutorily-required written notice a landlord must deliver before filing for possession (eviction) for nonpayment of rent. It is governed by Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b) of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), with the cure-limit rule at § 35-9A-421(d), the notice-delivery standard at § 35-9A-144, and the rent-due default at § 35-9A-161. The statute gives the tenant seven business days after receipt of the notice to pay the past-due rent and any late fees owed, or the rental agreement terminates. The form below produces a compliant Alabama notice; our Alabama eviction notice laws guide covers the full process, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

The 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the statutorily-required written notice an Alabama landlord must deliver to a tenant who has failed to pay rent when due. It is the procedural prerequisite to filing an unlawful detainer action for possession under Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b). Without a properly-drafted, properly-delivered 7-day notice, an Alabama court will not grant possession for nonpayment of rent.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it specifies the amount owed. Under § 35-9A-421(b) the notice must state the amount of rent and any late fees owed to remedy the breach. Alabama differs from strict rent-only states here: the statute expressly contemplates that late fees the lease authorizes may be included alongside the past-due rent. State the numbers accurately – an overstated demand can still be challenged.

Second, it gives the tenant a 7-business-day cure period. The tenant has seven business days after receiving the notice to either pay the full amount specified or vacate the property. The period runs from receipt, not from mailing, so the delivery method matters to the count. If the tenant pays in full within the period and is still cure-eligible, the breach is cured and the tenancy continues.

Third, it sets the termination date. The notice states that the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than seven business days after receipt if the breach is not remedied. That termination date is the pivot: only after it passes, with the amount still unpaid, may the landlord file for possession. The form on this page handles the amount, the seven-business-day computation, and the termination language correctly.

The 7-day pay-or-quit notice is governed by the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), codified at Title 35, Chapter 9A of the Code of Alabama. The core statute is Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b), which authorizes a landlord to terminate a tenancy for nonpayment of rent by delivering a written notice specifying the amount owed and setting a termination date not less than seven business days after receipt.

The cure-limit rule is at Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(d): a tenant may cure a breach no more than two times in any 12-month period, except by the landlord’s express written consent. For nonpayment, this means the third missed-and-cured payment within a rolling year gives the tenant no statutory right to pay and stay. The notice on a third nonpayment terminates without a cure opportunity.

The delivery standard is at Ala. Code § 35-9A-144, which does not mandate one exclusive method but requires steps reasonably calculated to inform the tenant. Personal delivery, delivery left at the dwelling unit, and mail to the tenant’s designated address all qualify. Because § 35-9A-421(b) runs the seven business days from receipt, a mailed notice requires allowing added days for the notice to arrive before the count begins.

The rent-due default is at Ala. Code § 35-9A-161: rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed, and unless otherwise agreed periodic rent is payable at the beginning of each month. This clause governs WHEN rent is due; it does not remove the requirement to deliver the § 35-9A-421(b) notice before terminating. One operational rule binds all of this together: the notice must precisely match the statute. Mis-counting the seven business days, filing before the termination date, or ignoring the twice-per-year cure limit void the action and restart the clock.

The seven-day period under Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(b) is counted in business days and runs from the tenant’s RECEIPT of the notice. Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded from the count. This receipt-based, business-day rule is the single most common place Alabama notices go wrong.

Receipt, not mailing, starts the clock. With personal delivery, receipt is the moment the notice is handed to the tenant, so the count begins that day. With mail, the tenant receives the notice some days after you send it, and the seven business days do not begin until then. A landlord who mails a notice and counts seven business days from the mailing date will file too early.

Worked example – hand delivery. A notice personally delivered to the tenant on a Monday of a normal week (no holiday) starts the seven-business-day count that day. Counting seven business days, the termination date lands the following Tuesday. The tenant must pay or vacate by the end of that Tuesday.

Worked example – weekend in the window. A notice personally delivered on a Thursday counts Thursday and Friday, skips Saturday and Sunday, then counts the following Monday through Thursday. Because the count crosses a weekend, the seven business days end the following Friday, not the following Wednesday.

Worked example – mailed notice. A notice mailed on a Monday is not received the same day. A prudent landlord allows several days for delivery, treats the receipt date as the start, and only then counts seven business days excluding weekends and holidays. Many Alabama landlord-tenant attorneys recommend giving a few extra calendar days of cushion beyond the statutory minimum – a longer notice is enforceable as a seven-business-day notice, and the extra days work in the tenant’s favor and create no defect.

Why the holiday exclusion matters. Because the count is in business days, a legal holiday inside the window pushes the termination date out by a day. If you deliver near a holiday cluster – the Thanksgiving pair, the New Year window, or a Monday holiday – recount by hand and add the holiday to the excluded days before you set the termination date. A notice that counts a holiday as a business day is short by a day, and a short notice is a defective notice.

Complete the form below to generate a compliant Alabama 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. The form computes the termination date seven business days after receipt, states the amount owed and any late fees, and includes the cure-limit and consequences language. Deliver in accordance with Ala. Code § 35-9A-144, and remember the count runs from receipt.

Ala. Code § 35-9A-144 does not lock the landlord into one exclusive method. It requires the landlord to take steps reasonably calculated to inform the tenant. In practice, three methods carry the notice cleanly, and because the seven business days run from receipt, the method you choose affects when the clock starts.

Proof of delivery

Keep a record of who delivered the notice, when, where, and by what method. For personal delivery, note the encounter and any witness. For posting, keep the date-stamped photograph. For mail, keep the certified-mail receipt and the return receipt. The original signed notice plus the delivery record become the exhibits supporting the complaint for possession if the tenant does not pay.

Documentation retention

Retain the signed original notice, the delivery record, and any photographs for the duration of the tenancy and through any resulting litigation. If the possession action is filed, the notice and delivery proof are the predicate the court examines first. If the tenant pays before the deadline, the same documentation supports the cure record and the count toward the twice-per-year cure limit.

Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(d) is the Alabama repeat-nonpayment rule, and it changes the character of the notice. It provides that a tenant may cure a breach no more than two times in any 12-month period, except by the landlord’s express written consent. For a serial late-payer, the third nonpayment within a rolling twelve months carries no statutory right to cure.

How the limit works for nonpayment. The first time a tenant misses rent and receives a § 35-9A-421(b) notice, paying within the seven business days cures the breach and the tenancy continues. The second nonpayment within twelve months works the same way. On the third nonpayment inside that rolling year, the tenant has exhausted the two statutory cures, and the notice terminates the tenancy – the tenant has no right to pay and stay unless the landlord agrees in writing.

Why track the count. A landlord who does not track prior cures may inadvertently offer a cure the tenant is not entitled to, or may fail to assert the no-cure termination the statute allows on a third breach. The form on this page includes a cure-eligibility field so the notice reflects whether the tenant may still pay to stay or whether the notice terminates outright. When you rely on the no-cure branch, keep the record of the two prior cures in the file, because the tenant may dispute the count.

If the tenant pays the full amount specified within the seven business days and is still cure-eligible, the breach is cured and the tenancy continues on its existing terms. The landlord cannot refuse a timely, full payment from a cure-eligible tenant.

If the tenant does not pay by the termination date, the rental agreement terminates and the landlord may file an unlawful detainer action for possession in the district court of the county where the property is located. The tenant is served with the summons and complaint and has a statutory window to answer. If the landlord proves the proper notice, the delivery, and the unpaid rent, the court enters judgment for possession and issues a writ of possession authorizing removal.

Self-help is prohibited. An Alabama landlord may not change the locks, remove the tenant’s belongings, or shut off utilities to force a tenant out. The URLTA channels every nonpayment termination through the notice-and-court process, and self-help exposes the landlord to statutory damages. The 7-day notice is the first, indispensable step; the court process is the only lawful path to the actual removal.

• Counting from mailing instead of receipt. The seven business days run from the tenant’s receipt of the notice under § 35-9A-421(b). Counting from the mailing date makes the notice short and the filing premature.
• Treating the seven days as calendar days. The count is in business days – Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded. A calendar-day count produces a defective notice.
• Filing before the termination date. Filing for possession before the seven business days expire defeats the action. Wait until the day after the termination date to file.
• Ignoring the twice-per-year cure limit. Offering a cure on a third nonpayment within 12 months, or failing to assert the no-cure termination the statute allows, mis-states the tenant’s rights under § 35-9A-421(d).
• Inflating the amount owed. The notice may include contractual late fees, but inventing charges beyond the lease or overstating the rent can turn a valid notice into a contestable one.
• Using an unprovable delivery method. A verbal demand or an untracked drop-off leaves no proof of receipt. Use a method under § 35-9A-144 you can document, and keep the record.
• Resorting to self-help. Changing locks or removing belongings instead of going through the notice-and-court process exposes the landlord to statutory damages and does not deliver lawful possession.
• Inconsistent landlord/tenant identification. Name all tenants on the rental agreement, and identify the landlord or agent consistently with the lease and the eviction caption.

Alabama tenants served with a 7-day pay-or-quit notice have statutory rights under the URLTA. Understanding these helps landlords appreciate why procedural precision matters.

Right to cure by paying in full. A cure-eligible tenant who pays the full amount specified within the seven business days cures the breach, and the tenancy continues; the landlord cannot refuse a timely full payment. Right to accurate accounting. If the notice overstates the rent or adds charges the lease does not authorize, the tenant can dispute the amount and defend the possession action on the ground that the notice was improper.

Right to the full statutory period. The tenant is entitled to the full seven business days after receipt, counted excluding weekends and legal holidays. A notice that shortens the period, or a filing before the period expires, gives the tenant a defense. Right to be served with the lawsuit. If the landlord files for possession, the tenant must be properly served with the summons and complaint and has a statutory window to answer before any judgment.

Right against self-help eviction. The URLTA prohibits the landlord from changing locks, removing belongings, or cutting utilities to force the tenant out; a tenant subjected to self-help has remedies including possession and damages. Right to anti-retaliation protection. Section 35-9A-501 bars a landlord from retaliating against a tenant who has complained to a housing-code agency, reported a maintenance violation under Section 35-9A-204, or joined a tenants’ union – a nonpayment notice cannot be used as a cover for a retaliatory eviction.

Right to fair housing protection. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits eviction decisions based on protected characteristics such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. A pay-or-quit notice must rest on the actual nonpayment, not on any protected characteristic of the tenant.

Alabama has no statewide rent control and no local rent-board overlay comparable to some other states, so the state URLTA governs the notice end to end. For the full possession procedure, see our guide to Alabama eviction procedure.

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