Housing Authority of the Birmingham District v. Durr

In Housing Authority of the Birmingham District v. Durr, 735 So. 2d 469 (Ala. Civ. App 1998), HABD terminated Durr's lease because Durr's brother had been arrested on the premises. 735 So. 2d at 470. Durr received, pursuant to HUD guidelines, a utility-reimbursement check, from which she was required to pay her utilities. Id. HABD had been deducting $ 40, as rent, from Durr's utility-reimbursement check and continued to do so after notifying Durr that her lease had been terminated. Id. at 471. The Court of Civil Appeals stated that "an essential element of an unlawful detainer action is that the tenant have no possessory interest in the property." Id. Therefore, "HABD could not continue to accept rent and simultaneously maintain an unlawful detainer action because Durr has a possessory interest in her tenancy for each month that HABD accepts rent." Id. at 472.