Alaska
This article provides a quick overview of some key Alaska Landlord-Tenant laws applicable to residential rental units. We’ve used the Official Alaska Statutes cited below to research this information and it should be a good starting point in learning about the law.
Alaska Commercial Lease Agreement
Alaska Landlord-Tenant Key Rules
Official Alaska Forms:
Security Deposit
| Topic | Rule | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Security Deposit Maximum | 1x monthly rent | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a) |
| Security Deposit Interest | No statute | |
| Separate Security Deposit Bank Account | No statute | |
| Non-refundable fees | No statute | |
| Pet Deposits and Additional Fees | Allowed for pets, alterations to the premises, and tenant activities that increase the risk of liability | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a) |
| Deadline for Returning Security Deposit | Within 60 days of the termination of tenancy. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(b) |
| Permitted Uses of the Deposit | Applicable to owed rent and damages beyond normal wear and tear due to the tenant’s noncompliance with Ala. Code § 35-9A-301 | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(b) |
| Security Deposit can be Withheld | Yes | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(c) |
| Require Written Description/Itemized List of Damages and Charges | Yes. A list itemizing the amounts withheld must be sent via first class mail to the tenant’s last known forwarding address within 60 days. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(d) |
| Receipt of Security Deposit | No statute | |
| Record Keeping of Deposit Withholdings | No statute | |
| Failure to Comply | The landlord’s failure to mail the security deposit or itemized list within 60 days entitles the tenant to receive up to twice the amount of the security deposit paid. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(f) |
Lease, Rent & Fees
| Topic | Rule | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Rent is Due | Due at the beginning of the month unless otherwise agreed to between landlord and tenant. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-161(c) |
| Payment Methods | No statute | |
| Rent Increase Notice | No statute | |
| Late Fees | No statute | |
| Application Fees | No statute | |
| Prepaid Rent | No statute | |
| Returned Check Fees | $30 + additional fees | Ala. Code § 8-8-15 |
| Tenant Allowed to Withhold Rent for Failure to Provide Essential Services | No. Agreement can terminate within 14 days of tenant sending a notice to landlord specifying noncompliance. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-401 |
| Tenant Allowed to Repair and Deduct Rent | No statute | |
| Self-Help Evictions | No statute | |
| Landlord Allowed to Recover Court and Attorney’s Fees | Yes | Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(c) |
| Landlord Must Mitigate Damages | Yes. Does not supersede landlord’s right to rent other vacant units. | Ala. Code § 35-9A-423(c) |
Notices and Entry
| Topic | Rule | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to Terminate Tenancy | 10 day notice is required in writing for lease terms less than one year. | Ala. Code § 35-9-5 |
| Notice to Terminate a Periodic Lease – Week-to-week | 7 day notice | Ala. Code § 35-9A-441(a) |
| Notice to Terminate a Periodic Lease – Month-to-Month | 30 day notice | Ala. Code § 35-9A-441(b) |
| Notice to Terminate Lease due to Sale of Property | No statute | |
| Notice of date/time of Move-Out Inspection | No statute | |
| Notice of Termination for Nonpayment | 7 day notice to remedy or quit | Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(a) |
| Notice for Lease Violation | 7 day notice to remedy or quit | Ala. Code § 35-9A-421(a) |
| Required Notice before Entry | 2 day notice required | Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(c) |
| Entry Allowed with Notice for Maintenance and Repairs | Yes. 2 day notice required | Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(a) |
| Emergency Entry Allowed without Notice | Yes | Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(b)(1) |
| Entry Allowed During Tenant’s Extended Absence | Yes | Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(b)(5) |
| Entry Allowed with Notice for Showing the Property | Yes. 2 day notice required | Ala. Code § 35-9A-303(c) |
| Notice to Tenants for Pesticide Use | No statute | |
| Lockouts Allowed | No statute | |
| Utility Shut-offs Allowed | No | Ala. Code § 35-9A-407 |
| Electronic Notices Allowed | No statute |
Disclosures and Miscellaneous Notes:
- Name and Addresses:
- Copy of the Lease:
- Domestic Violence Situations:
- Landlord’s Duties:
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- Repairs: Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition;
- Common Areas: Keep all common areas of the unit clean and safe;
- Maintenance: Maintain in good and safe working order all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning utilities, as well as other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied; and
- Heat: Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1. Exceptions are cases in which the building that includes the dwelling unit is not required by law to be equipped for that purpose, or the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat or hot water is generated by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant.
- Locks: If requested by tenant, provide and maintain locks and furnish keys adequate to ensure the safety of the tenant’s person and property.
- Smoke Detectors: Provide smoke detection devices and carbon monoxide detection devices as required under §§ 18.70.095.
- Tenant’s Duties:
- Cleanliness: Keep the premises that the tenant lives in and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the unit permit;
- Trash: Dispose of all garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner;
- Plumbing: Keep all plumbing fixtures in the unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;
- Appliances: Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning utilities, as well as other facilities and appliances, including elevators in the premises;
- Damage: Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove a part of the unit or knowingly permit another person to do so;
- Quiet Enjoyment: Conduct oneself and require other persons on the premises with tenant consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises;
- Smoke Detectors: Maintain smoke detection devices and carbon monoxide detection devices as required under {{Statute}}
- Locks: Tenants cannot change the locks on the doors of a rental unit without obtaining an agreement from the landlord, in writing, first. The only exception is if there is and emergency and the landlord cannot be contacted; in that case, the tenant must notify the landlord that the locks were changed within five days. Immediately after changing the locks, the tenant must provide a set of keys to all the doors with changed locks to the doors to the landlord.
- Municipal Fees for Police Response: The tenant may not engage in unreasonable conduct, or permit others on the premises to engage in similar conduct, that results in the imposition of a fee under a municipal ordinance adopted under: {{Statute}}
- Subleasing: Not allowed, unless otherwise agreed to in writing. {{Statute}}
- Retaliation: The landlord must not terminate or refuse to renew a lease to a tenant who has filed an official complaint to a Government Authority, or has been involved in a tenant’s organization. Other actions are prohibited. Read {{Statute}}for more information.
- Lead Disclosure: Landlords must disclose all known lead paint hazards. Landlords must also provide tenants, as an attachment to a written lease, with an information pamphlet on lead-based paint hazards.