Any person who owns rental property knows that evictions are a necessary evil. Often people who seemed like dream tenants can turn into a nightmare when they refuse to pay or begin to violate the terms of the lease agreement. Although current Alabama law allows property owners to remove non-compliant tenants relatively quickly, there are potential pitfalls if the eviction is not done in compliance with current law.

By now most property owners know that Alabama enacted sweeping changes to the landlord tenant law that took effect in 2007. These changes provide tenants with new rights that were previously not available to them. One important provision of the new law provides that the property owner may not unlawfully remove a tenant from the propery.

Landlords who fail to follow the letter of the law when it comes to evicting tenants face stiff penalties including payment of three month’s rent or the actual damages sustained by the tenant as well as attorney’s fees. Since the laws have recently changed property owners who are facing the prospect of evicting their tenants should seek the advice of a competent attorney to review their lease to ensure that it complies with the new law’s requirements as well as determine if they are giving the proper notice to non-compliant tenants before taking action.