Lauri Pine, from DeKalb County (far northeast Alabama, for you folks down on the coast who are not familiar with the mountainous counties) asked me the following question:
How will Alabama’s new immigration law affect real estate agents and investors?
It’s a great question. I’ll do some research on this issue. If you have particular concerns, or questions, please write Comments to this Post, and let me know about them. In about a week, I’ll write an article that tries to address everything I found out, plus your questions and comments.
Will I be able to evict the tenants if they are discovered to be illegal?
Comment by Cynthia Lau — September 30, 2011 @ 10:35 am
Good question. I’ll add it to my blog post, but here’s the quick answer: Under the 2011 Alabama Residential Landlord Tenant law amendments, if a tenant makes a misrepresentation in the lease or their lease application, that is a default and you can evict. The default is not “curable.” Do you ask about citizenship or legal residency status in your lease application?
Comment by Denise L. Evans — September 30, 2011 @ 10:42 am
No I do not. I was really referring to the fact that contracts will be upheld if they sign. So if they don’t pay, can I evict. Thanks.
Comment by Cynthia Lau — October 1, 2011 @ 8:29 pm
please also include an expert opinion on enforcement
Comment by howard ross — October 1, 2011 @ 10:35 pm
Thanks so much Denise. We caqn always count on you. One of the members of my RE association brought this topic up and of course we will all need answers.
Can’t wait for the article.
Lauri Pine
Comment by Lauri Pine — October 2, 2011 @ 10:12 am
You are going to run into problems with Fair Housing if you ask about legal residency status on a lease application – it’ll have a disparate impact on people of certain national origins. I like “are you legally able to rent in the state of alabama” because that will exclude people in a broader class – i.e., instead of just immigrants it’ll also impact people under the age of 19, people under conservatorship, etc.
Comment by Sarah Leopold Taggart — November 4, 2011 @ 10:45 am