Move-in and move-out repairs in Tuscaloosa
Getting a place back to handover condition, or getting a new one right before the furniture arrives.
Two versions of the same job. On the way out it is about the deposit and what your landlord is entitled to keep. On the way in it is about doing the work while the rooms are still empty, which is the cheapest they will ever be to do. One call, one contractor, somebody actually answers.
What we fix on the way out
The list that shows up on almost every itemized deduction.
- Nail holes, screw holes and anchor damage, filled and sanded so the wall reads flat.
- Doorknob holes, furniture dents and the corner bead somebody caught with a sofa.
- Water-stained ceilings, once whatever caused them has been dealt with.
- Texture matching, which is where most patch jobs give themselves away.
- Repainting, whole walls rather than a dab that dries a different sheen.
- Doors that will not latch, trim that has pulled away, a deck board that failed.
The trades are the same ones on the rest of this site: drywall and ceiling repair, interior painting, and deck and fence repair. Prices and typical ranges are on those pages, and they do not change because the job happens to be a handover.
What Alabama law actually says about your deposit
Worth knowing before you spend money on repairs, in either direction.
- A landlord may not demand or receive a deposit greater than one month’s rent under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. source
- After the tenancy ends and you hand back possession, the landlord has 60 days to return the deposit, or to give you a written itemized list of what is being kept and why. source
- Miss that window and the statute says the landlord owes double the original deposit. source
- The tenant has to give the landlord a written forwarding address on vacating, which is the step people forget and then wonder where the check went. source
- It was 35 days until 2014. The statute was amended and a lot of advice online still quotes the old number, so check the date on anything you read about this. source
General guidance, current as of August 2026, not legal advice. The deposit is between you and your landlord — we do the repairs, we do not arbitrate the deduction.
Landlords: between tenants
The window between one tenant leaving and the next one paying is the whole cost of turnover, so the useful thing is a number and a date, quickly.
- Send photos the day you walk it. You get a range back without waiting on an appointment.
- One quote covering all of it. Patching, paint and the odd door are one job to us, not three trades to coordinate.
- We work to the empty window. Tell us when the next tenant is due and we will tell you straight whether it fits.
The part we do not do
A handover usually needs the place scrubbed as well as repaired, and that is not our trade. Carpets, ovens, windows and the deep scrub at the end are A&A Cleaning Co — a separate company in Tuscaloosa, and the people we would call ourselves. We would rather point you at them than take the work and do it badly.
Straight answers
How long does a landlord have to return my deposit in Alabama?
Sixty days from the end of the tenancy and handing back possession. If any of it is kept, the landlord has to give you a written itemized list inside that same sixty days. Plenty of guides online still say 35 days, which was the rule until the statute was amended in 2014.
How much deposit can a landlord take?
No more than one month’s rent, under the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
Is it worth repairing wall damage before I move out?
It depends what the repair costs against what is being withheld. Ask for the itemized list first, then get a number on the work. We will tell you when the repair costs more than the deduction.
Do you work for landlords between tenants?
Yes. Turnover work is the same trades as any other repair: patching, texture matching, doors, trim and paint.
Tell us about the job
Tell us the address, when the handover is, and send photos of anything that needs putting right.
Water or damage: we call you back within 2 hours, any day. Everything else: a real answer the same business day.
We are insured — general liability coverage, so damage we cause while working in your home is covered.
Office hours
- Mon-Fri
- 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday
- 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Send the form whenever suits you — outside those hours it lands in the same inbox and we pick it up when we open. Water or damage should not wait on the form: call, any day.
Would rather talk? Call (205) 723-3595 or send a text.