Free Alabama Commercial Lease Agreement Template

An Alabama commercial lease agreement is a written contract that rents business property in the state — a storefront, an office suite, a warehouse, a restaurant space — to a tenant who will operate a business there. It fixes the rent, the length of the term, and who carries the cost of repairs, taxes, and insurance.

Alabama’s statutes set only a handful of ground rules for an Alabama commercial lease agreement, and they are covered below. Everything else comes from the document itself, so the wording you agree on is where nearly every right on both sides will live.

Four rules in the Alabama Code shape how these leases are written, signed, and enforced.

Putting the Lease in Writing

Ala. Code § 8-9-2 makes an agreement for an interest in land void unless it is in writing and signed by the party being held to it, or by someone that party authorized in writing. Leases for a term not longer than one year are excepted, so a three-year retail lease has to be written down while a nine-month one does not.

Witnessing and Acknowledgment

Under Ala. Code § 35-4-20, signatures on a conveyance go at the foot of the document and must be attested by one witness, or by two where the signer cannot write. Ala. Code § 35-4-23 treats acknowledgment before an authorized officer, such as a notary public, as satisfying that requirement.

Term Length and Recording

Ala. Code § 35-4-6 caps any leasehold estate at 99 years. The same section makes a lease running more than 20 years void as to the excess unless the lease, or a memorandum of it, is acknowledged or approved the way conveyances of real estate must be, then recorded within one year after execution in the office of the judge of probate for the county where the property sits. Recording fees are set locally and change from time to time, so confirm the current charge with that probate office before you file.

The Landlord’s Lien

Ala. Code § 35-9-60 gives the landlord of a storehouse or other building a lien on the goods, furniture, and effects belonging to the tenant and any subtenant, for rent. The section ranks that lien above all others except liens for taxes, and except as Ala. Code § 7-9A-333 otherwise provides. Ala. Code § 35-9-61 lets the landlord enforce it by suing out an attachment.

Ten days, in most situations. Ala. Code § 35-9-5 lets a landlord end a tenancy by the month, or for any term shorter than a year, by giving the tenant 10 days’ written notice where the tenant holds over without a special agreement. After it runs, the section authorizes recovery of possession through an unlawful detainer action without notifying the tenant again.

Ala. Code § 35-9-6 applies the same 10 days when the tenant defaults on a term of the lease, and it goes further by supplying wording the notice can follow. That form states the default, describes the premises, records the election to terminate, and demands possession within 10 days, over the signature of the landlord or an agent. No other demand is then needed to support unlawful detainer.

A lease that simply runs to the end of its stated term is treated differently. Ala. Code § 35-9-8 provides that where a tenancy is for a certain period and the term expires by the terms of the lease, the tenant is bound to surrender without any notice at all.

1. Settle the business terms first: rent and escalation, the term, renewal options, and who pays taxes, insurance, and maintenance.
2. Put the agreement in writing whenever the term runs longer than one year, as Ala. Code § 8-9-2 requires.
3. Sign at the foot of the document with one witness attesting, or take the signatures before a notary public instead.
4. Record the lease or a memorandum of it with the county judge of probate within one year of signing if the term exceeds 20 years.
5. Give every party a signed copy, and keep yours with your business records.

Most of an Alabama commercial lease agreement is negotiated rather than mandated, so work through this list with the other side before anyone signs:

• Legal names of the landlord and tenant — including the entity, not just the person signing for it.
• A description precise enough to identify the exact space, including any shared areas.
• Rent, the due date, and how and when it increases.
• The term, plus renewal options and what happens if the tenant holds over.
• Which party pays property taxes, carries insurance, and handles repairs.
• Permitted use of the space, and whether subletting or assignment needs consent.
• Default and notice provisions, since the statutory 10 days is a floor rather than a full procedure.