The Alaska Landlord and Tenant Act Page 4

Late charges

The Landlord and Tenant Act does not state whether landlords may assess late charges when the rent is late or fees when a check is returned for insufficient funds. It may be legal for the rental agreement to specify a small flat-rate late charge or NSF fee that reasonably approximates the landlord’s actual costs caused by the tenant’s failure to pay rent on time or writing a bad check. Remember, no automatic late charge or NSF fee is legally enforceable unless it has been agreed upon beforehand. Also, even if the late fees are enforceable, a tenant cannot be evicted for failure to pay late fees if the tenant is current on rent payments.