Security Deposit Law
What Alabama landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
One month's rent, with extra deposits allowed for pets, alterations to the premises, or increased liability risks.
Interest
No. Alabama does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits.
Return deadline
60 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession.
Alabama caps the general security deposit at one month's periodic rent. Additional deposits for pets, changes to the premises, or activities that increase liability risks to the landlord or premises sit outside the cap, so a pet deposit can lawfully push the total above one month's rent.
Ala. Code § 35-9A-201 contains no interest provision at all, so any interest earned on deposit funds belongs to the landlord unless the lease says otherwise.
The landlord must deliver an itemized written notice of any rent and damages withheld, together with the amount due, within 60 days of termination and delivery of possession. If the landlord does not refund the entire deposit, the itemized list of amounts withheld must also be provided within the same 60-day window. Mailing the refund and/or accounting by first-class mail within 60 days to the forwarding address the tenant provided in writing is sufficient compliance.
Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act imposes no trust-account, escrow, or segregation requirement for security deposits; the full text of § 35-9A-201 is silent on where deposit funds must be held.
If the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or accounting within the 60-day period, the statute requires the landlord to pay the tenant double the amount of the tenant's original deposit. The section also preserves both parties' rights to recover any other damages they are entitled to.
No city or county security-deposit ordinances were identified in Alabama; the statewide Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Ala. Code Title 35, Chapter 9A) governs. None of the well-known local-overlay cities (Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore) are in Alabama.
The base deposit cannot exceed one month's periodic rent, but separate deposits for pets, tenant changes to the premises, or activities that increase liability risk are excluded from the cap. Document the reason for any deposit above one month's rent.
Deductions are limited to accrued rent and damages from the tenant's noncompliance with § 35-9A-301 (tenant maintenance obligations), and everything withheld must be itemized in a written notice with the balance refunded within 60 days of move-out.
The tenant must give a written forwarding address at move-out; if they don't, the landlord mails the refund or accounting first-class to the tenant's last known address or to the rental property itself. Any deposit the tenant leaves unclaimed, and any outstanding check, is forfeited by the tenant after 90 days.
Mailing the refund or itemized accounting by first-class mail within 60 days to the address the tenant provided in writing is, by statute, sufficient compliance with the chapter. Keep proof of the mailing date.
Whoever holds the landlord's interest in the property when the tenancy ends is bound by the section, so a buyer of an occupied rental takes on the refund obligation. Collect deposit ledgers at closing.
Automatic statutory penalty: the landlord must pay the tenant double the original deposit, regardless of how legitimate the deductions were.
A partial refund without the required itemization within 60 days is not a 'timely accounting,' exposing the landlord to the double-deposit penalty in subsection (f).
The demand violates the subsection (a) cap; only the listed carve-outs justify exceeding one month's periodic rent.
The statute still requires first-class mailing to the tenant's last known address, or to the rental property address if none is known; skipping the mailing forfeits the subsection (e) safe harbor and risks the double-deposit penalty.
One month's periodic rent is the cap for the general deposit. You can charge additional deposits on top of that for pets, tenant alterations to the premises, or activities that increase liability risks (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a)).
60 days after the tenancy terminates and the tenant delivers possession. Within that window you must mail the refund and, if you withheld anything, an itemized list of the amounts withheld.
You owe the tenant double the amount of their original deposit under § 35-9A-201(f), even if your deductions would otherwise have been valid. Calendar the deadline from the move-out date.
No on both counts. The statute has no interest requirement and no trust-account or escrow requirement, though keeping deposits separate from operating funds is still good practice.
Mail the refund or itemized accounting by first-class mail to their last known address, or to the rental property address if you have nothing else. A deposit the tenant leaves unclaimed, or a check left outstanding, is forfeited to you after 90 days.
Accrued unpaid rent and damages caused by the tenant's failure to meet their maintenance obligations under § 35-9A-301. Every deduction must appear on the itemized written notice you deliver within 60 days.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 11, 2026.
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