Can a landlord terminate the rental agreement if the tenant has remedied the breach of his tenant duties?

Full question:

I had sent a written notice to my tenant informing him that I wish to terminate the rental agreement because he has damaged the fences in the garden and has broken the wall near the front gate of the rental property. However, after my tenant received the notice of termination of rental agreement, the tenant fixed the fences and the wall before the date the rental agreement was supposed to terminate. Can a landlord terminate the rental agreement if the tenant has remedied the breach of his tenant duties.

• Category: Landlord Tenant
• Subcategory: Lease Termination
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Alabama

Answer:

Per Code of Ala. § 35-9A-301 a tenant has the duty to not destroy or damage any part of the rental premises. Per § 35-9A-421, if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, then the landlord cannot terminate the rental agreement.

The relevant sections are reads as follows:
 

“(6) not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises; or knowingly, recklessly, or negligently permit any person to do so. . . .”

Code of Ala. § 35-9A-421  reads:
 

“(a) Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement, an intentional misrepresentation of a material fact in a rental agreement or application, or a noncompliance with Section 35-9A-301 materially affecting health and safety, the landlord may deliver a written notice to terminate the lease to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than seven days after receipt of the notice. An intentional misrepresentation of a material fact in a rental agreement or application may not be remedied or cured. If the breach is not remedied within the seven days after receipt of the notice to terminate the lease, the rental agreement shall terminate on the date provided in the notice to terminate the lease unless the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, in which case the rental agreement shall not terminate.”

You may not be able terminate the rental agreement, as the tenant has remedied the breach within the time specified in the notice period.