Property Owners Rights in Alabama
- Owning property presents a world of financial options to an individual. Each state governs the rights of property owners, deciding what they can and cannot do with their land. A property owner in Alabama can do many things with her property, from using it as a residence, renting, selling or disposing it.
- Governments in Alabama may not use the power of eminent domain to take an owner's private property for the private use by another person instead of for use by the general public. They also may not condemn property to create any residential, commercial, retail, industrial or office buildings not meant for governmental use. When a government wants to use the power of eminent domain, it must have the property appraised to determine the value that the owner could sell the property for. It must also give the owner the option to accompany the appraiser during the appraisal. After an appraisal, the owner must receive 90-days notice before he has to surrender his property, but he does not have to surrender his property until he receives compensation.
- Property owners in Alabama have the right to become landlords and rent their property to tenants, provided the property has working heat, electricity, water and a garbage receptacle. Landlords may break a lease with a tenant, giving seven days' notice in cases of missed rent and 14 days' notice for other lease violations. Unlike in some other states, landlords in Alabama do not have to pay interest on security deposits and have 35 days to refund them. Property owners have the right to terminate a tenancy of any lease not lasting longer than one year or operating on a month-to-month basis if he gives 10 days' notice in writing. After giving notice, he has the right to reclaim his property if the tenant performs any unlawful actions on the premises.
- Alabama offers a property owner several different mortgaging options to help pay off the cost of her home. Home buyers in Alabama qualify for both federal and state loans from the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Borrowers of a large mortgage amount (an amount higher than conventional loans) can get a guaranteed fixed-rate mortgage. Lenders cannot charge owners interest prior to one day before recording the mortgage. Points and fees cannot exceed 6 percent of the total principal. Persons with disabilities or those caring for them may also take advantage of mortgage loans.
- If the dwelling on an owner's property in Alabama is abandoned, Section 35-12A-9 of the Code of Alabama gives that owner several rights for what she may to do with it. She can sell the land that the dwelling is on either publicly or privately, destroy or dispose of the dwelling if it has a value lower than $1,500, or do a combination of the two.