Alabama: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
An Alabama landlord has 60 days after your tenancy ends and you deliver possession to send you an itemized written statement and any money owed — one of the longest deadlines in the country. The deposit itself is capped at one month's rent, though a landlord can charge more for pets, changes you make to the unit, or added liability risks. A landlord can deduct unpaid rent and damages tied to your own statutory duty not to deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, or damage the unit, but the statute never actually uses the phrase 'normal wear and tear.' Miss the 60-day deadline, and the landlord automatically owes you double the deposit — no need to prove bad faith.
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This is the general rule in Alabama. Ezel applies current Alabama law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201 (Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Title 35, Ch. 9A) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 60 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes — a written itemized list of amounts withheld, mailed with the deposit balance (if any) within the same 60-day period |
| What can be deducted | Accrued (unpaid) rent, plus damages the landlord suffered from the tenant's noncompliance with the tenant's statutory maintenance duties — chiefly not deliberately or negligently destroying, defacing, damaging, or impairing the unit, and keeping it reasonably clean and code-compliant. The statute never uses the phrase 'normal wear and tear'; the standard is the tenant's own statutory duty of care. |
| Maximum deposit amount | 1 month's periodic rent, except a landlord may charge more for pets, changes to the premises, or increased liability risks |
| Interest on the deposit? | No state-mandated interest |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | If the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or itemized accounting within the 60-day period, the landlord owes the tenant double the amount of the original deposit — an automatic statutory penalty, no bad-faith showing required |
| Separate account or bond required? | No segregated account or bond required |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Alabama's security deposit rule is a single section of the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: Ala. Code § 35-9A-201.
Deadline to return the deposit
The clock is 60 days, running from termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession. § 35-9A-201(b) ties the landlord's itemized-notice-and-payment obligation to "the amount due 60 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession" — both events have to happen before the 60 days starts. That's notably longer than most states' 14-to-30-day windows.
Itemized statement required?
Yes, if the landlord withholds any part of the deposit. § 35-9A-201(c): "If the landlord does not refund the entire deposit, the landlord, within the 60-day period, shall provide the tenant an itemized list of amounts withheld." You need to give the landlord a valid forwarding address in writing when you vacate; if you don't, the landlord is still required to mail the deposit or accounting to your last known address, or to the rental property's own address if nothing else is known.
What can be deducted
Only two things: accrued (unpaid) rent, and damages "by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with Section 35-9A-301" — the chapter's list of tenant duties, which includes keeping the unit clean and code-compliant and, most importantly, not "deliberately or negligently" destroying, defacing, damaging, or impairing the premises. As in a few other states in this survey, Alabama's statute never uses the phrase "normal wear and tear" anywhere — the legal hook is your own duty of care under § 35-9A-301, not a separately named wear-and-tear standard.
Maximum deposit amount
One month's periodic rent is the baseline cap, but § 35-9A-201(a) carves out three exceptions where a landlord can legitimately charge more: for pets, for changes made to the premises, or for increased liability risks the landlord takes on. There's no "small landlord" tier — the cap and its exceptions apply the same way regardless of how many units a landlord owns.
Interest on the deposit?
No. Alabama's statute doesn't require interest on a held deposit.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
If the landlord doesn't mail a timely refund or itemized accounting within the 60-day period, § 35-9A-201(f) is direct: "the landlord shall pay the tenant double the amount of the tenant's original deposit." This penalty doesn't require you to show bad faith or willfulness — simply missing the deadline is enough to trigger it.
Separate account or bond required?
No. Alabama doesn't require a segregated account, an interest-bearing account, or a bond for a held deposit.
What trips people up
A deposit check you never cash can be forfeited after 90 days. § 35-9A-201(d) says "any deposit unclaimed by the tenant as well as any check outstanding shall be forfeited by the tenant after a period of 90 days" — so cash or deposit a refund check promptly once you get it.
The 60-day clock needs BOTH the tenancy ending AND you handing back possession. If you're still holding keys or haven't fully vacated, the clock hasn't started even if your lease term is technically over.
"Normal wear and tear" isn't the actual legal phrase here. Deductions are tested against your own statutory duty of care under § 35-9A-301 — not destroying, defacing, or damaging the unit deliberately or negligently — which reaches roughly the same result as a wear-and-tear standard but is worth knowing if you're reading the statute directly.
Common questions
My landlord never sent anything at all after 60 days — what am I owed? Under § 35-9A-201(f), a landlord who misses the 60-day mailing deadline automatically owes you double your original deposit, regardless of whether any deduction would otherwise have been justified.
Can my landlord charge more than one month's rent if I have a pet? Yes — § 35-9A-201(a) specifically allows an additional deposit for pets, on top of the one-month cap for ordinary tenant obligations.
Do I have to give my landlord a forwarding address? You should, in writing, as soon as you vacate. If you don't, the landlord is still required to mail your refund or accounting to your last known address (or the rental unit's address if nothing else is known) — but giving a clear address avoids any dispute about where the mailing should have gone.
Statutes and sources
- Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a) — 1-month deposit cap and exceptions.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-2/section-35-9a-201/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(b)-(c) — 60-day return/itemization deadline.
https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2014RS/PrintFiles/SB291-Enr.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(d) — forwarding-address rule and 90-day forfeiture of an unclaimed refund.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-2/section-35-9a-201/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(f) — automatic double-damages penalty for a missed deadline.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-2/section-35-9a-201/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ala. Code § 35-9A-301 — tenant's statutory duties that define what counts as deductible damage.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/article-3/section-35-9a-301/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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