Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent articles of this chapter which apply to specific articles or divisions thereof, and unless the context otherwise requires, in this chapter:
(1) "action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, set-off, suit in equity, and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for possession;
(2) "building and housing codes" include any law, ordinance, or governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation, or the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use, or appearance of any premises or dwelling unit;
(3) "day" means calendar day, notwithstanding Rule 6 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure; however, in any case where the application of a time period in this chapter consisting of a specific number of days results in the last day of that time period falling on a weekend or an official holiday, then the last day of that time period shall be considered the next official business day when the court is open;
(4) "dwelling unit" means a structure or the part of a structure, including a manufactured home, that is rented as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one or more persons;
(5) "eviction" means a civil action filed as a remedy, where a tenant has lawfully taken possession of a premises and fails or refuses, after the termination of the possessory interest of the tenant, to deliver possession of the premises to anyone lawfully entitled or to his or her agent or attorney;
(6) "good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction concerned;
(7) "landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part, and it also means a manager of the premises;
(8) "organization" includes a corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, and any business entity;
(9) "owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested (i) all or part of the legal title to property or (ii) all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises. The term includes a mortgagee only when in possession;
(10) "person" includes an individual, individuals, or organization;
(11) "premises" means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is a part and facilities and appurtenances therein and grounds, areas, and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised by the rental agreement to the tenant;
(12) "rent" means all payments to be made to or for the benefit of the landlord under the rental agreement;
(13) "rental agreement" means all agreements, written or oral, and valid rules and regulations adopted under Section 35-9A-302 embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises;
(14) "roomer" means a person occupying a dwelling unit that does not include a toilet, a refrigerator, stove, kitchen sink, and either a bath tub or a shower, all provided by the landlord, and where one or more of these facilities are used in common by occupants in the structure;
(15) "single family residence" means a structure maintained and used as a single dwelling unit. Notwithstanding that a dwelling unit shares one or more walls with another dwelling unit, it is a single family residence if it has direct access to a street or thoroughfare and shares neither heating facilities, hot water equipment, nor any other essential facility or service with any other dwelling unit; and
(16) "tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others.
Last modified: May 3, 2021