Housing · Repair and Deduct

Repair and Deduct in Alabama

How much of the rent a tenant can spend on a repair and subtract in Alabama, how often, the notice required, and the alternative if the state has no statutory remedy. Cited to the statute.

Confirmedagainst Ala. Code §35-9A-405 · code chapter read; no provision sets this — the law is silentReviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026

Repair and deduct from rent? · Alabama

Alabama gives tenants no repair-and-deduct remedy and no right to withhold rent. A tenant who wants relief must keep paying and sue for damages, or raise a counterclaim only after paying all rent due into court.

No repair-and-deduct

Cost capNo repair-and-deduct

Notice before suing14 days

StatuteAla. Code §35-9A-405

How repair and deduct works in Alabama

The cost cap or the alternative remedy, the notice steps, and the limits that apply.

How it works	What it means
No self-help repair right exists	Alabama’s landlord-tenant act gives a tenant no power to pay for a repair and subtract the cost from rent. The section that governs the dispute, §35-9A-405, is about counterclaims, not self-help.
Put the repair request in writing first	A tenant should notify the landlord in writing and allow 14 days, or less in a genuine emergency. That notice opens a claim for damages rather than any right to fix the problem and deduct.
Rent must be paid into court to be heard	If the landlord sues for possession or rent, the tenant may counterclaim, but under §35-9A-405 the tenant must pay all rent due into court for that counterclaim to be considered.

Limits and alternatives	What it means
Stay and sue for damages	The tenant may remain in the rental and sue for damages, measured as the difference between the rent stated in the lease and the value of the rental in its uninhabitable condition.
A frivolous counterclaim carries a cost	A counterclaim the judge finds frivolous can expose the tenant to the landlord’s attorney fees under §35-9A-405, so the claim should be a real one supported by evidence.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps if the landlord will not repair in Alabama. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Put the problem in writing to the landlord
Send a dated written notice describing the defect and asking for repair. Keep a copy. This is the record your later damages claim will rest on.
Give the landlord 14 days, less in an emergency
Allow a reasonable time, generally 14 days, before treating the failure as a breach. Do not fix the problem and deduct the cost, because Alabama does not allow that.
Keep paying rent and save every receipt
Do not withhold rent. If you plan a counterclaim you will have to pay all rent due into court, so keep paying and keep records of the defect and any costs.
Talk to an Alabama attorney or legal aid
A licensed Alabama attorney or a legal-aid office can value a damages claim and advise on paying rent into court. The resources below can point you to help.

Find help in Alabama

Repair remedies have strict notice steps, and using the wrong one can put your tenancy at risk. This resource can connect you with a tenant hotline or a licensed attorney.

→ Alabama Legal Help

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Notice steps, caps, and local ordinances can change the answer, so confirm your situation with a tenant resource or a licensed attorney.

What Alabama tenants get wrong about repair and deduct

Alabama gives renters a remedy that requires them to keep paying, which is close to the opposite of repair-and-deduct. There is no right to fix a defect and subtract the cost from rent, and there is no right to withhold rent while a landlord drags out a repair. The route the statute leaves open is a damages claim, where a renter who stays in the unit can sue for the gap between the rent they pay and what the rental is actually worth in its uninhabitable state. A renter can also raise the problem as a counterclaim if the landlord sues first, but §35-9A-405 conditions that on paying every dollar of rent due into the court before the counterclaim is heard. That is a hard rule for the very renter this could help, because someone short on cash after paying for a repair themselves is in exactly the wrong position to use it. A counterclaim the judge finds frivolous can also make the tenant liable for the landlord’s attorney fees. The practical message is simple. Do not repair and deduct, do not withhold, document everything, and get advice before you go to court.

Common questions

Can I fix a repair myself and take it off the rent in Alabama?

No. Alabama has no repair-and-deduct remedy. Deducting a repair from your rent is treated as unpaid rent and can put you at risk of eviction.

What happens if I withhold rent in Alabama?

Alabama does not recognize rent withholding. Withheld rent is simply overdue, and a landlord can move to evict. The lawful route is to keep paying and sue for damages.

What does paying rent into court mean?

To have a counterclaim about the condition heard, §35-9A-405 requires you to deposit all rent due with the court. The money is held while the case is decided rather than paid to the landlord directly.

What is my damages claim actually worth?

Roughly the difference between the rent you paid and the reduced value of the rental in its defective state, over the period it was uninhabitable. An attorney can estimate it from your facts.

Primary source

→ Ala. Code §35-9A-405

Ala. Code §35-9A-405 (via Justia mirror) · law.justia.com

Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

Embed this explainer

Paste this on your own site. The embed stays in sync with this page, so any update here shows up there too.

<iframe
  src="https://plainstatute.com/embed/statute/repair-and-deduct-limit--alabama"
  title="Alabama statute explainer by PlainStatute"
  loading="lazy"
  height="640"
  style="width:100%;max-width:640px;border:1px solid #e4e2d9;border-radius:12px"
  data-plainstatute="repair-and-deduct-limit--alabama"></iframe>
<script>
  window.addEventListener('message', function (e) {
    if (e.origin !== 'https://plainstatute.com') return;
    var d = e.data || {};
    if (d.type !== 'plainstatute:embed-height') return;
    var f = document.querySelector('iframe[data-plainstatute="' + d.slug + '"]');
    if (f) f.height = d.height;
  });
</script>

Repair and deduct · other states

Florida·Georgia·Tennessee·Mississippi·California·Texas·All states →