Alabama’s deposit deadline is 60 days, not 35
If you have read anywhere that your landlord has 35 days to return your deposit, you have read the repealed version of the law.
This matters because acting on the wrong number cuts both ways. A tenant who thinks the deadline has passed may give up on money they are still owed. A landlord working to 35 days is being harder on themselves than the statute requires. Neither is a small mistake.
What the statute actually says
Alabama Code section 35-9A-201, part of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Four things worth knowing.
- The cap. A landlord “may not demand or receive money as security, in an amount in excess of one month’s periodic rent”. source
- The clock. Sixty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession, the landlord must provide the refund or an itemized accounting of what is being kept. source
- The penalty. “If the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or accounting within the 60-day period, the landlord shall pay the tenant double the amount of the tenant’s original deposit.” source
- Your side of it. On vacating, the tenant has to give the landlord a valid written forwarding address for the deposit or the accounting to be mailed to. Skip that and the clock is being run against an address nobody has. source
Where the 35 came from
Thirty-five days was the wording of the original Act in 2006. It was amended to sixty by Act 2014-279. Pages written against the older text — and there are a lot of them, including some that look authoritative — were never revisited. source
When we were checking this, one search summary managed to state 35 days and 60 days in the same answer. That is the level of care to expect from a page that is not citing the statute, and it is why every regulatory claim on this site links to the source it came from.
What it means for a July move-out
In Tuscaloosa most tenancies end at the same time, because off-campus leases are built around the academic year and run to the end of July. source Sixty days from the end of July is late September — well into the next semester, by which point most people have stopped thinking about the old apartment. That is the single most common reason a deposit quietly goes unchallenged.
Repairing before you hand the keys back
Whether it is worth paying for a repair depends on what is being deducted, which is why the itemized list matters. A filled nail hole that still shows through the paint often gets charged anyway, because the deduction is for the repaint rather than the hole.
We do the wall, door and paint side of this in Tuscaloosa and Northport. Send photos and we will tell you honestly when the repair costs more than the deduction — that answer is free and it is sometimes “do nothing”.
The other deadline people get wrong
The 60-day rule is about getting money back at the end. A separate section governs what happens while you are still living there, and it runs the other way — it is the landlord who gets a window.
- Fourteen days, not seven. Under Ala. Code 35-9A-401, a tenant facing a material breach — or one materially affecting health and safety — may deliver written notice specifying the acts or omissions, stating that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after the landlord receives it if the breach is not remedied in that period. source
- A fix inside the window stops the clock. If the landlord adequately remedies the breach before the date in the notice, the agreement does not terminate by reason of that breach. source
- Two different sections. The 60-day deposit deadline is 35-9A-201. The 14-day cure period is 35-9A-401. They get conflated constantly, and they answer different questions. source
This matters on a turnover job more often than it sounds like it should: a repair that was requested in writing and never made is a different conversation at move-out than one nobody mentioned.
Straight answers
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Alabama?
Sixty days from the termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession. If any of it is withheld, the landlord must provide an itemized list of the amounts within that same 60-day period.
Why do so many websites say 35 days?
Because 35 days was the rule under the original 2006 Act. It was amended to 60 days by Act 2014-279. A lot of rental-advice pages were written against the old text and never updated.
What happens if the landlord misses the deadline?
The statute says that if the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or accounting within the 60-day period, the landlord shall pay the tenant double the amount of the original deposit.
How much can an Alabama landlord charge as a deposit?
A landlord may not demand or receive money as security in an amount in excess of one month periodic rent.
How long does a landlord get to fix something before I can terminate?
Fourteen days. Under Ala. Code 35-9A-401, a tenant may deliver written notice specifying the breach and stating that the agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after the landlord receives it, if the breach is not remedied in that period. If the landlord fixes it in time, the agreement does not terminate. Note this is a different section from the 60-day deposit deadline, which is 35-9A-201.
General guidance, current as of August 2026, and not legal advice. We are a repair company, not your attorney. If a deposit dispute is going somewhere, take the statute and your itemized list to someone qualified.
About the permit and regulatory information. Current as of August 2026 and offered as general guidance, not legal, code or compliance advice. Requirements change, and how they apply depends on the specifics of your property and your job. Confirm anything you plan to rely on with the City of Tuscaloosa Building & Inspections, or the relevant agency, before acting on it.
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