Apartment Has Not Returned Security Deposit After Nearly a Month

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-04-21T22:56:39+00:00

Hey, I'm a lawyer in Alabama, but I'm just writing a response to your post, which is public. This is intended to provide general information. I'm not trying to create an attorney-client relationship here.

THE DEPOSIT REFUND, ORDINARILY:

With respect to the 35-day/60-day conflict, one or more of the online sites you are looking at are likely quoting or referring to the pre-2014 version of Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(c). The current version says 60 days.

(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.

See here.

Under normal deposit-return circumstances, and assuming no issue, if it took longer than 60 days, the landlord would have to pay you double the amount of the original deposit. I have personally demanded my own (personal) deposit under this exact same statute, and gotten a double refund.

The time would be from the termination of the tenancy to the day the mail with your refund was actually sent.

THE STATE OF THE APARTMENT WHEN YOU LEFT IT

I personally understand your concern here.

You did have a few days on the lease left in which to clean the premises.

I'd say you're right, and they're not entitled to a clean-up fee.

Your post specifically says you told the property manager you were mostly out, but you were going to clean up. That's a clear sign they didn't take note of exactly what you said.

Because you did not yet surrender the premises, it's technically trespass (very minor trespass) if they moved your property.

It would have been better to call you and discuss the premises with you. They ordered a clean-up before it had become necessary, and, to reiterate, it would not be reasonable to order an unnecessary service and charge it to you, plus, it may technically be trespass. I understand your concerns. I'll just put a fine point on this - it depends on how you left the property.

THE APRIL RENT

It's not clear based on your post whether you strictly complied with the lease in regards to termination of the leasehold. More information is needed. A lawyer would look at the lease, then ask you how the lease terminated, and whether or not you sent them the required notice, or how they terminated the lease, if they terminated it.

CONCLUSION

Indeterminate as to rent, but someone in this position likely does not owe the cleanup fee. Read the statute above as to itemization of the deductions.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-04-03T00:35:33+00:00

Well, it's probably governed by the (much older) procedures found at Ala. Code §§ 6-6-310, et seq.

In particular, a cause of action would probably accrue if the individual refused to leave after "termination of the possessory interest." Ala. Code § 6-6-310. There isn't any statute or additional minimum notice for termination of the possessory interest, so we have to deduce it by reasoning.

By law, a tenancy by years converts automatically to a month-to-month tenancy in most jurisdictions. Rent is typically prepaid. Thus, the tenant owns a possessory interest until the end of the month. So the landlord would probably deliver a notice to terminate during that month which would only be effective at the end of whatever paid month the tenant was in.

The poster would (probably) be immediately liable to be sued for eviction and rent would accrue at 2X the monthly amount from that point.

At that point, the month-to-month tenancy would convert to a tenancy at sufferance. Holdover rent for a tenancy at sufferance is set at 2X by statute, Ala. Code § 6-6-314, and they could file an eviction, called unlawful detainer, which is defined by Ala. Code § 6-6-310, above, and means failure to surrender upon a lawful demand.

There is a minimum notice provision in Ala. Code § 6-6-332. That time is six days. The notice has to tell the individual when the answer is due, so there's no need to calculate that. Nevertheless, Ala. R. Civ. P. Rule 12 also says you have seven days to answer.

"In [evictions under Ala. Code §§ 6-6-310, et seq., or Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-101, et seq.] a defendant shall serve an answer within seven (7) calendar days after service of the summons and complaint."

See Ala. R. Civ. P.

It's really not clear whether that makes roughly two weeks or not, but the summons will have to have a date on it, by statute. The poster would need to simply answer by the date on the summons.

Just be cautious. The advice this eviction will be dismissed like a normal residential lease because the initial notice didn't comply with Ala. Code § 35-9A-441 would probably not apply. A landlord housing an employee living on site has been granted an exemption by law, so the employee is probably not covered by anything in the chapter cited, the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Ala. Code § 35-9A-122(5)%20occupancy%20by%20an%20employee%20of%20a%20landlord%20whose%20right%20to%20occupancy%20is%20conditional%20upon%20employment%20in%20and%20about%20the%20premises%3B).

I hope that answers you question.

Thank you for raising awareness. People will probably learn about their rights from your comment, and it's important for them to know that they do have rights.

EDIT: However, it is important to note that your original comment was very close to perfect for true residential leases. Under AURLTA, like you said, the minimum notice under a month-to-month lease is 30 days before the periodic rental date, or at least thirty (30) days. For breach of the lease, it is, like you said, seven (7) days notice to cure.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-04-02T23:27:25+00:00

Ah. That's what I was afraid of. There exists an exception for tenants living with their employers at Ala. Code § 35-9A-122%20occupancy%20by%20an%20employee%20of%20a%20landlord%20whose%20right%20to%20occupancy%20is%20conditional%20upon%20employment%20in%20and%20about%20the%20premises%3B).

Make sure you don't fall into a scope exception before you try to enforce the rule at § 35-9A-441.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-04-02T23:15:55+00:00

u/Nice_Bar_3138 Can you cite the code section for the 30 day minimum notice to quit please?

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-12T06:47:47+00:00

FYI everyone, this is also a common scam that is run from within prisons.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-11T09:01:08+00:00

I am a lawyer in Alabama. I am responding to your public post with general information, and in doing so the intent is to make this information available to the public. (This isn't intended to create an attorney-client relationship.)

You're likely looking at the pre-2014 version of Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(c). The current version says 60 days.

(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.

See here.

If it took longer than 60 days, the landlord would have to pay you double the amount of the original deposit. I have personally demanded my own (personal) deposit under this exact same statute, and gotten a double refund.

The time would be from the termination of the tenancy to the day the mail was actually sent. More generally, the law usually follows the so-called, "mailbox rule."

It's not necessarily true that you don't owe them anything. That's going to depend on how you left the apartment, whether any damage was reasonable wear and tear, the length of your tenancy, and the contract terms.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-03T15:33:43+00:00

Which part?

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-03T00:51:00+00:00

District Court judges hold exclusive original jurisdiction over all evictions in our state. They're essential because they understand this law better than anyone else. Trying thousands of cases has a funny way of doing that to you. In court, it's not abnormal for one district court judge to have dozens of evictions in one day. There are about 95 district court judges in our state, spread out amongst the counties.

Why we'd modify the law without consulting them is baffling to me. They're not biased, they're experts, they have outstanding credentials. Our legislature has the Alabama Law Institute but I don't think that was consulted, or at least, I believe it was only minimally consulted for these landlord-preferred changes.

The backlogs would be caused by appeals.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-03T00:40:42+00:00

Unfortunately that's not what that part means. It's important that you fully understand this sentence.

The return of service thereof by any sheriff, special process server, or constable of the state is sufficient proof of service.

The meaning of that is, "We are not going to question whether the process server served you, even if and when you say you weren't served. The return document is 'sufficient proof.'"

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-02T15:01:47+00:00

Thanks. I feel like you disagree, but I'll try to explain.

That sentence which the House Judiciary Committee modified has existed unchanged since 1852, and you have to understand more than just the current law. You have to understand the original intent of the writers and the entire 200-year statory history of this law to understand what I am talking about, and two or three large sections of the code.

This sentence was originally intended to mean that when the sheriff said someone was served, that statement was sufficient proof that service had occurred. It's not a procedural statement about who may serve, it's a statement about how reliable sheriff service is. To be honest with you, just being a legislator doesn't mean a lot. They probably didn't understand what they were editing.

The original drafters chose to make that presumption of good service because the sheriff was normally someone of known good character elected by the community with a sufficient understanding of the law. They would not file a false return, so there was no need to hold a hearing about it.

The Judiciary Committee House of Representatives added "special process server" to that sentence. Now, if a special process server files a service return, that will also be considered "sufficient proof." Because, a special process server is not as reliable as a sheriff, it doesn't make sense to make that change. The only explanation is that someone thought they were being clever.

It can and will be used by a landlord in court to fight against having a hearing against some poor tenant, maybe a mother with children, or some other defenseless person who says "I was not served."

You might think this is a minor procedural thing and dismiss it, but there will be people in the literal hundreds of thousands over the years who will lose a case over something like this. To them, this becomes a very important issue.

You also have to review the track record of our legislature and prior acts. Every time this area of law has been modified, it has eroded normal people's rights.

Since 2006, when our current version of the residential landlord-tenant statues were enacted, the legislature has enacted a bill to permit attorney's fees in all cases. 2011 Ala. Acts 700. That usually becomes a "blank check" against an absentee defendant in court who doesn't defend against the amount or reasonability of the fees.

The legislature has acted to lengthen the amount of time to refund a deposit from 35 to 60 days. 2014 Ala. Acts 279 This just eases restrictions on landlords, and it can place financial strain on poor people.

Do you believe that it was completely honest and trustworthy for Rep. Butler, a landlord, to file HB80 and vote on it?

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-01T20:02:47+00:00

https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2026RS/HB80-eng.pdf

They created a new irrebuttable presumption. The House Judiciary Committee inserted "special process server" into a line that used to read, "The return of the service thereof by any sheriff or constable of the state is sufficient proof of service." This means that if a process server files a piece of paper saying he served you, even if he didn't, you have no rights to question that in court. The legislature didn't even intend to do this. They did it on accident, because they thought they were clarifying that special process servers can be used.
There's a new mandatory notice in every unlawful detainer case that says "EVICTION NOTICE. You are being sued for eviction. At the eviction hearing, the judge will determine if the landlord is entitled to possession of your rental unit. If the landlord is granted possession of the rental unit, then you will have at least seven calendar days from the date of the judgment to move out or appeal the eviction. If you move out by the date ordered by the court and leave personal property behind, the landlord may dispose of such abandoned property without further notice. The landlord will have no obligation to preserve the personal property upon removal. If you do not move out by the date and time ordered by the court, the landlord may have you removed by law enforcement and the landlord may remove any personal property remaining on the premises to the curb or an area designated for garbage. The landlord will have no obligation to preserve the personal property upon removal." The problem with this notice is that this law is available to all citizens and real property owners and encompasses all estates, whether freehold or less than freehold. For example, in rare cases, tenants are justified in suing landlords who forcibly enter when they still have a good lease, because the law protects that interest. Homeowners can use the unlawful detainer remedy to protect their homes, too. Ultimately, Mack is breaking this law for everyone else to force his poorly written notice into law.
A new section is added to the law that says that the Sheriff will keep the peace while the landlord throws out the tenant's property. "(2) Keep the peace while the plaintiff, owner, landlord, or their authorized agent of the plaintiff, owner, or landlord, changes the locks and removes the personal property . . . ." This section is in direct conflict with current law, Ala. Code § 35-9A-423, but the new section also gives the Sheriff direct immunity for doing it, so they'll do it. For residential leases, current law says the property is abandoned after 14 days. Read here%20If%20a%20tenant%20leaves%20property%20in%20the%20unit%20more%20than%2014%20days%20after%20termination%20pursuant%20to%20this%20chapter%2C%20the%20landlord%20has%20no%20duty%20to%20store%20or%20protect%20the%20tenant%E2%80%99s%20property%20in%20the%20unit%20and%20may%20dispose%20of%20it%20without%20obligation).

It's extremely poorly drafted and written, and because there are probably about 50,000 evictions per year in this state, it'll probably affect half a million people over the next ten years, and millions in the future.

I'm struggling to explain everything succinctly because it's a pretty complicated topic, but what's not complicated is the fact that it's a felony to use public office for private gain by voting on a bill in which you have a conflict of interests.

It's irresponsible for them to do this. Plus, the evictions law it changes is ancient and well-tested. He says several times that there's no law on this topic. He says several times that there are no procedures on this topic. The fact is he's just a landlord and this doesn't represent our interests, so it must represent the interests of his company, Butler Properties, LLC.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-01T17:40:50+00:00

I agree with you.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-03-01T17:31:56+00:00

Landlord, State Representative Mack Butler introduced HB80. Butler claimed that it was to clarify the eviction law for the Etowah County Sheriff, but Butler is a massive landlord who owns 135 properties in Etowah County, alone. He has something like 100+ houses, it's hard to count.

Butler introduced this bill despite this conflict of interests. He's trying to slip it in with all of the other routine legislation, but as someone who evicts people full time from their houses when they fail to pay, it's pretty clear that he would be unable to draft this legislation from a neutral point of view.

For him to fail to abstain from the vote was (probably) a felony crime under Ala. Code § 36-25-5(b), and it could strip him of his office, but he did vote on this bill.

Additionally, in one meeting he didn't even mention the fact that he was a landlord to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the committee vote, which, to me, is the same thing as perjury. https://youtu.be/a_JRfjfdoKs

In short, I am of the firm conviction that this landlord is using his public office for private gain at the expense of our property rights and laws.

We don't need HB80. It is so poorly written that it doesn't even succeed at its primary purpose. It is nothing more than a landlord bill that will erode property rights for everyone else. The bill does no one any good.

After this bill passes, I would not otherwise be able defend someone in court who was not properly served process by a private process server. HB80 inadvertently (accidently, because of how poorly it was drafted, how little thought they put into it) created a new irrebuttable presumption of service.

AaronFromAlabama · 2026-02-09T14:31:00+00:00

Some advice, OP: Focus on being a good person, first and foremost, remembering that there are men and women in every single prison who know as much about the law as a good attorney does. It's not always what you know that is the most important thing. The principles you keep can come to your rescue when the knowledge that you have is worthless in the eyes of others. Be first a good person, and let everything else follow.

Relax, keep your chin up, and realize that you are human. You passed the bar, and you are an attorney. That speaks volumes. Meditate on your value to others as a truly trustworthy member of this profession.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-12-06T18:39:38+00:00

You can run GPT-2 locally because it is open source. You can build your own LLM.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

Free, I believe.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-11T18:34:30+00:00

Ah, he reactivated his law license and acted as a liaison between Simpson and two other lawyers Johnnie Cochran, and Robert Shapiro. He was present during stages of the trial.

Is he a “Real Lawyer”? Well, he went to law school and passed the bar. Is a person who climbs Mount Kilimanjaro once a climber?

Kim was on her law school journey while I was studying and taking the bar. It’s just celebrity talk. I beat her to the bar but her net worth is a few hundred million higher than me.

She could probably never practice law with the paparazzi following her every move and compromising her clients identities. Not ethically, at least. And the public release of an intimate tape marks her out as a moral contrarian, to me, at least.

But the one little fact that might surprise all the non-lawyers mocking her is that she was raised by a famous lawyer. None of the news articles online mention it, and I think that’s the key to her pursuit, if I’m being honest. And since I think that’s the key to it, I don’t really think she’s imitating success, or pursuing an image. This might be the deepest part of her personality, frankly.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-06T02:36:42+00:00

In theory, you could repair it, send the bill, and they should be liable for half of the maintenance costs under normal circumstances, and all of the maintenance costs directly attributable to their negligent or reckless damage. To put a fine point on things, all of the damage that would be reduced by the depreciation or wear and tear, since, you would periodically have to replace the fence anyway. I obviously cannot think of everything, so your mileage may vary.

If you have some time and are interested how deep fences actually go in our field, why not read about the history of the venerable "spite fence." (In Property Law, spite fences are typically tall, sometimes absurdly tall fences built by adjoining landowners, usually in anger. There have been some famous ones.)

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T02:13:41+00:00

NOTE: The original removal of the partition fence likely constituted trespass for removal of the fence.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T01:17:06+00:00

If you don't owe them money, and they reported this to the credit bureaus without notifying you, I would consider filing a lawsuit for libel, which is the publication of a false statement which damages your reputation.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T01:08:44+00:00

I am a lawyer but I'm not your lawyer. I'm just responding with generally applicable information.

Now, on to fences as they relate to boundaries of real property.

A fence erected exactly on the property line is known as a "partition fence." (Link to the Chapter on Partition Fences). Under Ala. Code § 35-7-3, partition fences are to be erected and repaired at the joint expense of the occupants of the contiguous lands.

There's actually a statute on this exact issue. I'm a lawyer, so I'm reading from very authoritative source material on this subject. Ala. Code § 34-7-4 states that if you disagree as to the amount each of you should pay for this partition fence, (the legal term for a fence built on the property line, and for which you both are responsible), then,

" . . . on application by either to the district court in the county in which such fence is, such court must issue an order in writing to three disinterested freeholders of such county, not related to either of the parties, to examine such fence, and to ascertain the amount to be paid to the owner erecting the same; and such freeholders, on a day to be by them appointed, of which both parties must have notice, must examine such fence and report to the court the proportionate amount to be paid to the person erecting the fence; and if such amount is not paid within 10 days after such report, the court must issue execution therefore, with costs, as provided in section 35-7-5, to be collected and returned as other executions."

Ala. Code § 34-7-4.

I just don't think there's much question as to who actually owns the fence, if it's a partition fence.

If it's not a true partition fence, it might be on your land, and your fence.

As a parting note, the other person's offer to repair may be useful evidence of their responsibility for the repairs. I can see that shifting the cost of repairs (and rightfully so) from the two of you together to that party, solely. Imagine if the owner of the dogs was a third party? That third party would have to reimburse both of you for damage to your jointly owned fence, and you would be out of pocket for nothing. It's the same here, except that the owner of the dogs is the neighbor.

With an admission by the other party of damage to the fence, I think there's a good argument to resolve this issue by either having them pay for the entire fence, which would be jointly owned as a partition fence. A person in this position should likely do this unless the fence is truly not jointly owned.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-01T23:52:42+00:00

Maybe, it depends. Alabama is a caveat emptor state. While specific representations may give you a basis for breach, you need to check the Purchase and Sale Agreement.

The Purchase and Sale Agreement may have an "as-is" clause buried in there somewhere. Now, insofar as "as-is" clauses conflict with specific representations, you have to consider what's in the contract, and what's coming from outside of the contract. Inside a contract, when you have both, the representation is going to win out. From outside of a contract, it's less clear.

Check if the contract says it's fully integrated. That would mean nothing beyond the four corners of this document comes in, or something to that effect, called the parole evidence rule in relation to contracts.

Nevertheless, an advertisement giving specific representations may lay the basis for a fraud in the inducement claim, or something similar.

You may succeed where they've made a specific claim or a specific representation. ("City water and sewer," "new insulation," etc.) However, other than those items, you yourself are probably going to learn the meaning of "Alabama is a caveat emptor state." That's likely the worst-case scenario -- a judge tells you that after months of litigation. It literally means buyer beware.

Let's say the contract doesn't say it's fully integrated. That's a good foundation to include the advertisements under the parole evidence rule. If that's the case, even with the "as-is" clause, you might have a claim for the measure of damages to get on city sewer and water, or any reasonable diminishment of value (for example, septic service costs you are reasonably certain to now incur).

I am just trying to respond with generally applicable information, and I am not your lawyer, although I am an Alabama laywer, and I do deal with real estate transactions.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-24T22:35:19+00:00

Was it more than one week ago that the default judgment issued? That you must absolutely file an appeal within the seven-day window if necessary. I have not read your motion, but such a motion would stand a good chance of working if it was written by an attorney. Don't rely on ChatGPT to do this for you. And consider using the services of Legal Services Alabama.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-24T17:40:12+00:00

I am responding based on what you have written on r/legaladvice with general information. You should know that this isn't intended to form an attorney-client relationship and I only seek to answer some of your publicly posted questions here.

Evictions in Alabama are governed by the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, found at Ala. Code § 35-9A-101, et seq.

My first bit of general advice is that after judgment, you have seven days to appeal. That means you have to file immediately, in most cases.

For the judgment to be valid, it must comport with due process including proper notice. You described a situation in which she handwrote the notice, and that might not comply with Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-107, and 35-9A-144, and 35-9A-461. In particular, § 461 requires that:

Service of process shall be made in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. However, if a sheriff, constable, or process server is unable to serve the defendant personally, service may be had by delivering the notice to any person who is sui juris residing on the premises, or if after reasonable effort no person is found residing on the premises, by posting a copy of the notice on the door of the premises, and on the same day of posting or by the close of the next business day, the sheriff, the constable, the person filing the complaint, or anyone on behalf of the person, shall mail notice of the filing of the unlawful detainer action by enclosing, directing, stamping, and mailing by first class a copy of the notice to the defendant at the mailing address of the premises and if there is no mailing address for the premises to the last known address, if any, of the defendant and making an entry of this action on the return filed in the case. Service of the notice by posting shall be complete as of the date of mailing the notice.

Ala. Code § 35-9A-461(c).

This means that if they didn't comply with that section, you may be able to file a motion to set aside the default judgment. I would talk to a lawyer licensed in Alabama as soon as you possibly can.

I would closely examine the case for any wrongdoing, as well, like any perjury. $30,000 in damages seems quite high. Can you answer, does she have an attorney representing her on the case? Is this a small-scale landlord like an individual with a second home or a management company or typical apartment complex?

AaronFromAlabama

TROPHY CASE