USA – ALABAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adam J. Sigman, Crystal H. Walls, Nathan Stotser, Katie Sinclair and Courtney Bradshaw, Dentons
written notice to the tenant specifying the acts or omissions causing the breach in the follow - ing cases: • the tenant’s material non-compliance with the lease; • the tenant’s intentional misrepresentation of a material fact; • the tenant’s material non-compliance with any of their statutory obligations; or • if the tenant does not pay rent when due (Section 35-9A-421(a) and (b)). If the breach arises from unpaid rent or other cur - able breaches, the lease shall terminate within seven business days of receiving the notice if not remedied by the tenant. Other breaches are not curable, including intentional misrepresentation of a material fact and certain acts on the prem - ises (eg, possession of illegal drugs or criminal assault). See Section 35-9A-421(a), (b) and (d). 6.20 Registration Requirements A lease must be either: • properly acknowledged by an authorised officer (for example, a notary public); or • attested by one witness. See Sections 35-4-20 and 35-4-23. If a lease term is 20 years or less, including options to extend, a memorandum of lease is not required to be recorded to be enforceable against a third party, if that third party had actual or con - structive knowledge of the lease. Leases for more than 20 years, including options to extend, are void for the period of time over 20 years, unless, within one year of the lease’s execution, the lease or a memorandum of the lease is recorded with the probate office in the county where the leased property is situated. See Section 35-4-6.
Transfer taxes are due when the lease (or a memorandum of lease) is recorded in the public records (Section 40-22-1(a)). Transfer taxes are USD1 multiplied by the tax consideration. The tax consideration is calculated as follows: term of lease (in months) multiplied by monthly rent multiplied by percentage from a lease per - centage chart kept by the probate court of the county where the property is located (which is based on the term of the lease), divided by 1,000. See Section 40-22-1(c). To obtain the proper lease percentage table, attorneys should contact the probate court of the county where the property is located. The tax consideration is rounded up to the nearest USD500 (Section 40-22-1(c)). 6.21 Forced Eviction Residential Lease For a residential lease, the landlord must give the tenant seven business days’ notice of default; if the default is not cured, the landlord may file an unlawful detainer action, notice of which must be posted at the leased premises. The tenant then has seven days from the posting of notice to file an answer. Assuming the tenant does not answer, the landlord may file for a writ of execu - tion with the district court for the county where the leased premises are located, which will be issued to the county sheriff, and it may take sev - eral weeks to actually serve and evict the tenant. In total, the process can take several months or longer, based on the case’s specific circum - stances; see Section 35-9A-461. Commercial Lease For a commercial lease, the landlord must give the tenant ten days’ notice of default (or more, if required under the lease); if the default is not
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