How to Evict a Non-Paying Tenant or Squatter in Mobile, AL: A 2026 Guide for Landlords

At Heartland Buys, we talk to landlords across Mobile and Baldwin County who are done. Not with real estate — just with this house and this headache. This guide lays out exactly how eviction works in Alabama (and Florida, since we buy in Pensacola and Panama City too), what it actually costs you in time and money, and the option most people don’t realize they have: selling the house as-is, tenant or squatter still inside, and letting us deal with it.

First, Which Problem Do You Actually Have?

The right process depends on who’s in your house, and people mix these up constantly.

A non-paying tenant is someone who signed a lease or had your permission to be there, but has stopped paying rent or broken the lease. They have legal rights as a tenant, which means you have to go through the court eviction process — you cannot just change the locks or shut off the power. Doing that (“self-help eviction”) is illegal in Alabama and can get you sued.

A squatter is someone occupying the property with no lease and no permission — they broke in, never left after a lease ended, or moved into a vacant home. Alabama and Florida both recently made squatting a crime and created a fast-track removal process that skips the courtroom. More on that below.

Get this classification right before you do anything, because the paths are very different.

How to Evict a Non-Paying Tenant in Alabama (Step by Step)

Alabama’s process is landlord-friendlier than most states, but it still runs through the district court and it still takes weeks.

Step 1 — Serve a 7-day notice to pay or vacate. For unpaid rent, Alabama law requires a written 7-day notice giving the tenant the chance to pay the full balance or move out. If they pay in full inside those 7 days, the eviction stops and they stay.

Step 2 — File an Unlawful Detainer. If the 7 days pass with no payment, you file an Unlawful Detainer complaint in the district court for the county where the property sits. Filing fees typically run $175–$225 depending on the county and whether you’re also suing for the back rent.

Step 3 — Tenant is served. The sheriff’s department or a process server delivers the complaint and summons. The tenant then has 7 days to respond after being served.

Step 4 — Court hearing. If the tenant contests, the court sets a hearing, usually within a week or two. If they don’t respond, you can seek a default judgment.

Step 5 — Judgment and the 7-day appeal window. Win, and the judge issues an eviction order — but the tenant has 7 days to appeal, which pauses everything.

Step 6 — Sheriff executes the eviction. No appeal, and the court issues a Writ of Possession. The sheriff (not you) physically removes the tenant and lets you retake the property.

Realistic timeline: In a clean, uncontested case, the fastest you’re removing a tenant is about 3 weeks. Add an appeal, a contested hearing, or a crowded court docket and you’re at 6 weeks or more — during which you collect nothing.

How Eviction Works in Florida (Pensacola & Panama City)

If your rental is in Escambia, Santa Rosa, or Bay County, Florida’s process is similar but the notice is shorter and the filing is a little more formal.

1. 3-day notice to pay or vacate for nonpayment — and it’s 3 business days, so weekends and holidays don’t count, and the day you deliver it doesn’t count.
2. If they don’t pay or leave, you file an eviction lawsuit in county court.
3. Court sets a hearing, usually within a week or two of filing.
4. Win, and the judge issues a final judgment; the clerk issues a Writ of Possession and the sheriff removes the tenant.

Realistic timeline: Most uncontested Florida evictions run 3–4 weeks, and 4–6 weeks is common once you account for service and court scheduling.

How to Remove a Squatter in Alabama and Florida

This is where the law changed in your favor recently.

Alabama (HB 182). Alabama passed a law making squatting a crime and creating a fast removal path. Instead of a full eviction lawsuit, the property owner can submit a sworn affidavit to local law enforcement stating the occupant is a squatter under the Act. Law enforcement can then remove the squatter without a court eviction order. This can turn a months-long civil fight into a matter of days — but the facts have to be clean (no lease, no permission, no landlord-tenant relationship), which is why classification matters so much.

Florida (§ 82.036). Florida did the same thing: property owners can use a statutory removal request through the sheriff instead of a formal eviction, squatting is now a crime, and presenting a fake lease is a first-degree felony.

One caution: if the person can show any colorable claim to be a tenant — a text where you accepted money, a partial lease, a prior rental history — law enforcement may bounce it back to civil court and you’re into the eviction process above. When it’s murky, talk to a landlord-tenant attorney before filing the affidavit.

(About adverse possession, since landlords always ask: a squatter can’t “own” your house overnight. Alabama requires 10 years of continuous, open possession; Florida requires 7 years plus other conditions. Regular check-ins and clear “No Trespassing” signage defeat these claims. The real cost of a squatter isn’t losing the house — it’s the months of hassle and damage getting them out.)

What Eviction Actually Costs You

The filing fee is the small part. Here’s the real math landlords underestimate:

• Lost rent during the 3–6+ week process — money you’ll almost never recover from a tenant who was already broke.
• Filing, service, and attorney fees — $175–$225 filing plus $500–$1,500+ if you hire counsel for a contested case.
• Turn costs after they leave — non-paying tenants and squatters rarely leave a house clean. Budget for cleanout, damage, changed locks, sometimes a full rehab.
• Your time and stress — court dates, sheriff coordination, phone calls, and the weight of it all.

For a lot of landlords, by the time you add lost rent + legal + turn costs, you’ve spent several thousand dollars and three months just to get back to an empty house that still needs work before it can pay you again.

The Other Option: Sell the House As-Is — Tenant or Squatter Included

Here’s what most landlords don’t realize: you don’t have to win the eviction before you sell. You can sell the property to us with the tenant or the squatter still inside, and the problem becomes ours, not yours.

We buy tenant-occupied and problem-occupied houses across Mobile County, Baldwin County, and the Florida Panhandle all the time. We take on the occupancy, the eviction or removal, the cleanout, and the repairs. You walk away with a cash check and none of the court dates.

This makes sense when:

• The tenant is far behind and you know you’ll never collect it.
• The house needs work on top of the eviction, and you don’t want to pour money into a rental you’re done with.
• You’re an out-of-state or just plain tired landlord who wants the chapter closed.
• You’d rather have certainty and a set closing date than gamble on a court calendar.

It’s not the right move for everyone — if you’ve got a good long-term rental and one late month, ride out the eviction and re-rent it. But if this house has become a money pit you dread, selling as-is is often faster and cheaper than fighting it out, once you count the lost rent and turn costs.

Example: How We’ve Helped Landlords Like You

These are representative of the situations we handle. Rhen — swap in 2–3 real anonymized deals with actual numbers/timelines; keep street-level detail vague for privacy.

The three-months-behind tenant in [West Mobile]. A landlord came to us with a tenant [4 months] behind who’d stopped responding. He’d already started the 7-day notice but dreaded the court dates and knew the house needed [a new HVAC and flooring] on top of it. We bought it occupied, closed in [14 days], and handled the eviction and the rehab ourselves. He got a clean cash exit instead of another three months of lost rent.

The squatter in a [Prichard] rental. An out-of-state owner discovered someone living in her late father’s rental with no lease. Rather than fly back and forth for the affidavit and follow-up, she sold it to us as-is. We coordinated the removal and cleanout. [She closed remotely and never had to set foot in Alabama.]

The tired landlord with [three] problem doors. A retiring investor was done managing [a small portfolio] with two chronically late tenants. We bought the occupied properties together on one closing date he chose, so he could exit the landlord business in a single move.

A Few Common Questions

Next Steps

If you’ve got a non-paying tenant or a squatter and you’re tired of watching the house cost you money, you’ve got two good paths: work the legal process above, or sell it as-is and be done this month. We’re happy to talk through which one actually makes sense for your situation — no pressure, no obligation.

Want to know what your property is worth as-is — tenant, squatter, damage and all? Call or text us at (251) 325-1091 or visit heartlandbuys.com for a free, no-obligation cash offer.

About Heartland Buys

Heartland Buys is a local home buying company serving Mobile, Baldwin County, and the Florida Panhandle. We buy houses in any condition — no repairs, no commissions, no hassle. Call us at (251) 325-1091 or visit heartlandbuys.com for a free, no-obligation cash offer.