A: Yes. According to the Alabama Highway Beautification Act (“the Act”), signs placed for purposes of being read from interstate highways or state highways outside of urban areas are prohibited if they are placed beyond 660 feet of the nearest edge right-of-way of those highways, unless the signs meet one of the Act’s exceptions. One exception worth noting is that signs advertising the sale or lease of the property upon which they are placed don’t have to meet the right-of-way requirement. However, in this case since the signs weren’t placed on properties that were for sale, they should have been placed more than 660 feet of the right of way. Signs placed within 660 feet are subject to certain size, lighting, and spacing limitations, among other general requirements.

State officials have the right to remove incorrectly placed signs without notice to the person who placed them there. Also, the Act has withstood First Amendment challenges because it does not discriminate based on viewpoint or content but merely the manner in which people may display highway signs.

Laws: Ala. Code §§ 23-1-273(3); 23-1-278(a); Corinth Baptist Church v. State Dep't of Transp., 656 So. 2d 868 (Ala. Civ. App. 1995); Ala. Code § 23-1-274.

A: First, under Alabama real estate license law, licensees such as salespersons or associate brokers must advertise themselves with the name of their qualifying broker or company under whom they are licensed appearing prominently on the advertisement. In addition, for questions regarding real estate advertising rules, it is always recommended to contact the Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC) to make sure you are fully in compliance.

You should also ensure that if you are using the term REALTOR® and/or the REALTOR® logo (collectively, the “marks”) on your advertisements or signs, that you are using the marks in compliance with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) trademark rules.

NAR has specific requirements governing the use of the marks by its members, among which are that the REALTOR® logo meets the identification, color, spacing and size requirements established by NAR. For your convenience, the following NAR resources on proper use of the marks are listed below:

• The NAR proper logo is available here.

• Video tutorials on the proper use of the marks, which can be viewed here.

• The NAR Membership Marks Manual, which contains the complete set of rules on the proper use of the marks, is available here.

Laws: Ala. Code § 34-27-36(15); NAR Bylaws, Article V; NAR Membership Marks Manual.

A: The federal program providing Section 8 benefits to Veterans is available through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Under the HUD-VASH (VA Supportive Housing) program, eligible low-income Veterans receive a Section 8 rental voucher as well as case management and supportive services from the VA.

While HUD-VASH targets the chronically homeless Veteran who is the most vulnerable and often has severe mental or physical health problems and/or substance use disorders, other homeless Veterans who have diminished functional capacity and the resultant need for case management are also eligible for the program. The VA determines clinical eligibility for the program, and the public housing authority (PHA) determines if the Veteran participant meets HUD’s regulations for this program, including eligibility based on income limits.

To obtain HUD-VASH program benefits, the Veteran should call the VA Housing Coordinator (Montgomery), who can be reached at (334) 558-8543/8599/7740; (334) 318-7956; or (334) 657-5498.

Further HUD contact information that may be helpful is found below:

HUD Alabama.

HUD Page on Homeless Information.

Finally, the VA has other programs that provide financial assistance to Veterans, including the “Grant Per Diem” program. Information about that program can be found here. The Montgomery Regional Office of the Veterans Benefit Administration can be found here. Local Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs contact information can be found here.

Alabama does not have a general housing assistance program for Veterans. However, please consider reaching out to the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, which can provide additional information on the resources for Veterans in the state. The website for the Department of Veterans Affairs can be found here or call (334) 242-5077. 

Laws: 73 F.R. 25026

A: Alabama law provides for several types of easements that may apply. One is where an owner agrees to an easement over his or her property, which can be recorded for posterity. Another type of easement prevents landlocked property from remaining landlocked, allowing an easement for access by necessity. While this may be the case in the scenario above, the landlocked property and the access property must have been owned by the same owner as a single piece of property in the past. A third type is a prescriptive easement, which is very similar to adverse possession and allows an owner to acquire an easement by simply using the other property for 20 years. However, the difficulty with prescriptive easements is that the use must be without permission of the owners of the property being used. In other words, the owner of the access property cannot have given permission for his or her property to be used.

For additional information on the types of easements, as well as other property concepts, see an article from the Legal Helpdesk here. An experienced legal professional can determine which easement applies and the proper avenues for ensuring the easement does not cloud the title when the property is sold. Due to the fact-dependent nature of the laws related to this request, please contact a licensed real estate attorney for a fact-dependent legal analysis.

Laws: Hall v. Hall, 216 So. 3d 1274 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016); Roberts v. Monroe, 75 So. 2d 492 (Ala. 1954).