Can an Alabama city require owners to register vacant buildings?
An Alabama act lets the governing body of a Class 1 city adopt an ordinance that sets up a vacant property registration and maintenance program for homes and commercial buildings. The act takes effect on October 1, 2026.
Such an ordinance must create a citywide database of registered vacant properties and name a program administrator to run it.
Under the act, a building counts as vacant when no one with a legal right to be there is regularly present, or lawful use has stopped for 90 days in a row, and the property shows signs of neglect. Signs of neglect the act lists include overgrown or dead plants, piled-up trash and visible decay of the building.
- The ordinance may give owners 30 days to register after a property becomes vacant or after they take ownership, and 90 days when they took it through foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
- The program administrator posts a placard at least 24 inches square on the street side of a building it believes is vacant, saying it may need to be registered and how to reach the administrator.
- The first year's registration charge can be no more than $250; each later year's charge can be at most 150 percent of the year before, up to $1,000.
- The ordinance must exempt a property that is being advertised in good faith for sale or lease, for periods the ordinance sets.
Unpaid registration fees and fines become a lien on the property, but only once a notice of the lien is recorded in the probate office. Fines for breaking the ordinance can be up to $1,000 per violation.
Who keeps up a vacant Alabama building after foreclosure under the 2026 registry act?
A later owner who isn't related to the prior owner and who buys the property in good faith, forecloses on it or takes a deed in lieu of foreclosure takes on the prior owner's obligations under the ordinance.
The ordinance may require the owner to close up and secure the vacant property and then keep it up to state and city minimum standards.
The ordinance may let the city, after at least 30 days' notice to the owner, bring the property up to standard or otherwise end the nuisance. The owner has to pay the reasonable cost of repairs, demolition and upkeep the city carries out.
Holding a vacant Alabama house while the mortgage slips behind? Read how foreclosure runs in Alabama before deciding what to do with it.
How do Birmingham and Huntsville deal with unsafe or neglected houses?
In Birmingham, the condemnation and demolition team inspects buildings that may be unsafe enough to be a public nuisance under the city's code. In Huntsville, if an owner won't fix grass, junk or housing code violations, the city fixes the problem and puts a lien on the property, with City Council approval.
Birmingham's Code Enforcement Division covers zoning, housing, condemnation and demolition, and environmental code enforcement.
Signs that can lead Birmingham to condemn a building include fire damage, missing doors and windows, a collapsing roof, sagging floors and parts of the building falling in.
Overgrown weeds, junk cars and buildings slated for demolition are declared a nuisance by the Birmingham City Council and cleared by outside contractors. Code cases, including ones over dilapidated buildings, are heard in Birmingham's Environmental Court every Wednesday at 9 a.m. in municipal court.
Huntsville's Community Development Office enforces the city's rules on unsafe buildings, substandard housing, junk and litter, and tall grass and weeds.
What happens in Alabama when the property taxes on a house go unpaid?
Alabama holds a public tax auction every year, usually on the first Monday in May, and property with taxes still unpaid is sold to the highest bidder.
When someone buys tax-delinquent land the state is holding, they get an assignment of the tax sale certificate if the state has held it less than three years, and a tax deed if it has held it longer. Neither an assignment nor a tax deed gives the holder clear title to the land.
Where do you report an abandoned house in Alabama?
In Birmingham, you report a code violation by calling 311 or using the 311 portal, giving the address and the date you saw it. Huntsville takes nuisance property reports through its Huntsville Connect app.
A city inspector then goes out to investigate, and the magistrate's office decides whether there was a violation.
Birmingham's 311 lets you hide your identity when you submit a request.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.