Can I alter an Alabama month-to-month lease to add a grace period on the late payment?
March 17, 2025
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Understood. You can make changes to the lease by providing your tenant with at least 30 days’ written notice before the changes become effective. This includes adding a grace period for late payments and requiring renter’s insurance.
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Can I alter a month-to-month lease to add a grace period on the late payment?
I understand you want to add a grace period for late payments. Are you looking to make this change to a contract or agreement?
Yes.
Could you please specify the type of document you are referring to?
Month-to-month lease.
Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with your lease modification.
No.
Understood. Connecting you to an attorney now.
Hello and welcome to the site! My name is Barrister, and I am a licensed attorney here to help with your situation. I know your question is important, but there may be a short delay in my responses as I am typically working with several customers at once on the website. I have read your post and understand you want to amend your current lease to include a grace period for late payments.
Are you the landlord in this situation?
Yes. I need to add a few things, such as a grace period in her rental agreement, as well as mandatory renter’s insurance.
Understood. You can make changes to the lease by providing your tenant with at least 30 days’ written notice before the changes become effective. This includes adding a grace period for late payments and requiring renter’s insurance.
What happens if she does not obtain the renter’s insurance? Can I evict for that?
Yes, after the 30-day notice period, if the tenant does not comply with the new lease terms, it constitutes a lease violation. In Alabama, you can issue a 7-day notice to remedy the violation. If the tenant fails to comply within that period, you may proceed with eviction.
The gas and water bills are currently in my name. In her prior lease agreement, we agreed she would keep them in my name and pay accordingly. She has frequently been late paying them, and I don’t want the bills to eventually fall on me. How can I resolve this?
You can issue a 30-day written notice requiring the tenant to transfer the utilities into her name. After 30 days, this becomes a lease condition. Non-compliance would be a lease violation, allowing you to issue a 7-day notice to remedy, followed by potential eviction if unaddressed.
This helps a lot. I am attempting to have her yard cleaned by someone, but she was told verbally in 2024 to get it cleaned up and failed to. If I pay a contractor to clean her yard, could I charge her for the expense?
Unless the lease explicitly states the tenant’s responsibility for yard maintenance, charging her for the expense may not be enforceable. To address this, you can provide a 30-day notice to amend the lease, making yard maintenance her responsibility.
Thank you for your time.
You are very welcome.
