Winston County, Alabama Eviction Risk: Very Low

Winston County, Alabama eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10, placing it in the Low risk tier and ranking it 54th out of 67 Alabama counties, where rank 1 is the highest-risk. That position means 53 counties across the state carry more risk for landlords than Winston County does, and only 13 are more landlord-friendly. For investors evaluating small rural markets, that translates to a county that sits comfortably in the lower-risk third of Alabama eviction laws, with average rent of $721 and a rent burden averaging 27.5% of renter household income. Those fundamentals suggest tenants here are not over-stretched by rent relative to many Alabama eviction laws markets.

Across the county's 6 tracked cities, individual scores span a modest range from 1.6 to 2.2 out of 10. That compressed band tells landlords that risk does not swing wildly from one town to the next, though the differences are still meaningful at the street level. A renter share of 41.4% of households means demand for rental units is real, and the small population base of roughly 7,340 residents keeps the market manageable for landlords operating a handful of units.

The cities inside Winston County

The highest-risk city in the county is Addison, which scores 2.2/10 and has a population of 649. Just behind it, Haleyville (population 4,271) and Double Springs (population 1,068) each score 2.1/10. Haleyville is by far the county's largest city and the most active rental market, making its 2.1/10 rating worth watching closely. Arley also comes in at 2.1/10 with a population of 523.

At the lower end of the range, Lynn scores 1.9/10 (population 780) and Natural Bridge scores 1.6/10 (population 49). The gap between Addison's 2.2 and Natural Bridge's 1.6 illustrates that even within a low-risk county, risk is hyper-local. Landlords should evaluate each city individually rather than treating Winston County as a uniform block.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord operating in Winston County operates under Alabama eviction laws state law, specifically the Ala. Code § 35-9A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). Under that statute, landlords must give tenants 7 days written notice to pay or vacate for non-payment of rent, 14 days notice to cure a lease violation, and 30 days notice for an end-of-term no-cause termination. Alabama eviction laws does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent control, so no municipality in the county can cap rents. Landlords must give 48 hours advance notice before entering a unit, per the habitability statute at Ala. Code § 35-9A-204.

The Alabama eviction laws eviction process, once filed, runs 30 to 45 days for an uncontested case and 60 to 120 days if the tenant contests. Alabama eviction costs include court filing fees of $200 to $300, sheriff lockout fees of $30 to $150, and attorney fees typically ranging from $500 to $2,500. Alabama security deposit limits and Alabama tenant protections are governed at the state level, giving landlords statewide consistency rather than a patchwork of local rules. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Alabama eviction laws fair housing law as administered by the Alabama eviction laws Attorney General, Consumer Protection division.

With a poverty rate of 25.7% across Winston County, landlords should underwrite tenant screening carefully; the city-by-city grid above breaks down individual market conditions for each of the 6 tracked cities.