Alabama Squatters Rights: Adverse Possession and How Removal Actually Works

Alabama recognizes two routes. Adverse possession by prescription, a creature of case law, requires 20 years of actual, exclusive, open, notorious, hostile, and continuous possession under a claim of right. Statutory adverse possession under Ala. Code § 6-5-200 cuts that to 10 years, but only if the claimant has a deed or other color of title recorded for 10 years, has annually listed the land for taxation in the proper county for 10 years, or derives title by descent or devise from a predecessor in possession. A bare squatter with no paperwork and no tax listing is stuck with the 20-year prescription period.

Alabama joined the 2024 wave with Act 2024-237 (HB182), effective June 1, 2024, codified at Ala. Code §§ 35-9B-1 through 35-9B-3. The owner of a dwelling, or the owner's agent, submits a sworn affidavit to a law enforcement agency in the county attesting that an individual unlawfully entered and remains in the dwelling, is not a tenant or holdover tenant, is not an immediate family member, has ignored a demand to vacate, and that no litigation is pending between the parties. The agency verifies record ownership and, after at least 24 hours, serves a notice to immediately vacate and removes the occupant — no eviction lawsuit needed. The same act made squatting with $1,000 or more in damage third-degree burglary (a Class C felony), made presenting a fake lease or deed second-degree perjury, and created the Class A misdemeanor of fraudulent sale or lease of residential real property. An owner who swears falsely or misuses the procedure is liable to the removed person for actual damages, penalties, costs, and attorney fees.

The affidavit procedure expressly excludes anyone who is a tenant as defined in Ala. Code § 35-9A-141 or a holdover tenant — which covers anyone who ever had a rental agreement, written or oral, or ever paid rent. Those occupants can only be removed through an unlawful detainer action under § 35-9A-421, with the seven-business-day notice and a court judgment. Using the squatter affidavit against a former tenant exposes the owner to damages, penalties, and attorney fees.

Against a tenant, changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off essential services is illegal under Ala. Code § 35-9A-407: the tenant may recover possession plus the greater of up to three months' periodic rent or actual damages, plus attorney fees. Against a true squatter, the safe route is the § 35-9B-2 affidavit — physically ousting an occupant yourself still risks criminal and civil liability if their status is disputed.

Act 2024-237 (HB182), signed by Governor Ivey in May 2024 and effective June 1, 2024, created the law-enforcement affidavit removal process at Ala. Code §§ 35-9B-1 to -3, expanded third-degree burglary to cover squatters who cause $1,000+ in damage, made presenting a forged lease second-degree perjury, and criminalized fraudulently selling or leasing property the seller does not own.

The two mistakes Alabama owners make cut in opposite directions. Some still file a full unlawful detainer against an obvious break-in squatter, spending weeks on a case the 2024 affidavit procedure resolves in days. Others try the affidavit against someone who once paid rent or had a key with permission — that person is a tenant or holdover, the affidavit is unavailable, and false statements in it are made under penalty of perjury with civil liability attached. Also remember the affidavit covers dwellings only, not vacant land or commercial buildings.

• Ala. Code § 6-5-200
• Act 2024-237 (HB182), codified at Ala. Code §§ 35-9B-1 to -3
• Ala. Code § 35-9A-407