Mobile, AL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)
Key Facts
- Who must repair
- Owner of the abutting property
- Repair notice period
- 10 days after city notice
- If owner doesn't repair
- City repairs, bills owner, files lien
- Failure to repair
- Unlawful under § 57-101
Summary
Mobile, Alabama places the duty to keep sidewalks in repair on the owner of the abutting property, not the city, and makes an owner liable if someone is hurt because the sidewalk was left in disrepair.
All the sidewalks in the city shall be put and kept in repair by the owners of the property abutting thereon and any person who shall be injured in person or property through the failure of any such owner to put or keep the abutting sidewalk in repair shall have a right of action against such owner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67).
Full Breakdown
Under Mobile City Code § 57-99, every sidewalk in the city must be put and kept in repair by the owner of the abutting property, and anyone injured because an owner failed to do so has a right of action against that owner. Section 57-100 backs this up procedurally: if the city engineer finds a sidewalk out of repair, the engineer notifies the abutting owner, who has ten days to fix it before the city repairs it and bills the owner, with the cost becoming a lien on the property collectible as special taxes.
Violations & Fines
Failing to keep an abutting sidewalk in repair is itself unlawful under § 57-101. If an owner ignores the city engineer's ten-day repair notice, the city repairs the sidewalk and assesses the cost against the owner as a lien on the property, collected like special taxes (§§ 57-98, 57-100).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for sidewalk repairs in Mobile, Alabama?
What happens if a Mobile property owner ignores a broken sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mobile
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