Alaska Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, the 7-day rent notice, 24-hour entry, 30-day month-to-month notice and the FED eviction timeline in Alaska, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Alaska runs on a version of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, written into AS 34.03. Evictions run on a separate old statute, the forcible entry and detainer sections at AS 09.45.060 through 09.45.160.

Two things surprise new Alaska landlords. Tenant deposits have to sit in a trust account, with no exemption for the owner of a single duplex. And the notice periods are short, seven days for unpaid rent, two days of summons before a trial.

Here is what a small landlord in Alaska has to get right, with the section behind each rule.

Security deposits

The cap is two months' rent. You may not demand or receive prepaid rent and a deposit worth more than two months' periodic rent (AS 34.03.070(a)). The cap drops away for units renting above $2,000 a month.

A pet deposit sits on top. You may take one more month's rent from a tenant with a pet, held separately and applied only to pet damage (§ 34.03.070(h)).

It goes in a trust account. Deposits and prepaid rent go into a trust account at a bank, a savings and loan, or a licensed escrow agent. You can't mix that money with your own, and you can't use one tenant's deposit to cover another tenant's bill (§ 34.03.070(c)).

Fourteen days to return it, or thirty. When the tenant gave you the written notice of termination the law asks for, you have 14 days after the tenancy ends and possession comes back. When the tenant did not give that notice, you have 30 days (§ 34.03.070(g)). Read that subsection against your own facts before you rely on the shorter clock.

Mail an itemised statement. Send written notice to the tenant's last known address showing accrued rent and each deduction. Normal wear and tear is not damage, and neither is deterioration you caused by not keeping up the unit (§ 34.03.070(b)).

The penalty is double. Willfully failing to follow the return and itemisation rule lets the tenant recover up to twice the amount you withheld (§ 34.03.070(d)).

Late fees

Alaska's landlord-tenant act sets no late-fee cap and no grace period. Rent is payable at the start of each period in advance, on the same date each month for a periodic tenancy (§ 34.03.020). Put the fee in the lease, keep it reasonable, and keep it small enough that a judge reads it as a fee rather than a penalty.

Rent increases and rent control

No Alaska statute caps a residential rent increase. There is no state rent control program.

Changing the rent on a month-to-month tenancy is a change of terms, so the safe route is the 30-day written notice in § 34.03.290. A raise that follows a tenant complaint can be attacked as retaliation, and Alaska bars retaliatory rent increases and evictions outright (§ 34.03.310).

Entering the unit

Twenty-four hours' written notice. Give at least 24 hours' notice of intent to enter, and enter only at reasonable times. Emergencies are the exception, along with cases where notice is impracticable (§ 34.03.140).

Tenants can't unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs, services or showings. Push that too far and it cuts the other way, since both sides have remedies for abuse of access (§ 34.03.300).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Either side ends a month-to-month with written notice given at least 30 days before the rental due date named in the notice. A week-to-week takes 14 days (§ 34.03.290).

A tenant who holds over willfully and not in good faith can owe up to one and a half times your actual damages (§ 34.03.290).

When rent isn't paid

Seven days. Serve written notice that the rent is unpaid and that the tenancy ends if the full amount isn't paid inside seven days (§ 34.03.220(b)).

That written rent demand counts as the notice to quit, so you don't serve a second one (AS 09.45.100). The notice has to name the breach, say what fixes it and by when, give the date and time the tenancy ends, and warn that you can sue for possession if the tenant stays (AS 09.45.105).

Other notice periods under § 34.03.220 are worth knowing. A material lease breach gets a written notice naming the violation and a cure period of 10 days. The same breach again within six months takes only five days' written notice. Deliberate damage over $400, or illegal activity in the unit, ends the tenancy on a date not less than 24 hours and not more than five days after service.

The eviction (FED) timeline

Serve the notice. Seven days for rent, or the period that matches the breach (§ 34.03.220, AS 09.45.105).
File. File a forcible entry and detainer complaint in the district court for the area where the property sits (AS 09.45.070).
Serve the summons. The summons goes out no less than two days before the trial date (AS 09.45.120).
Hearing. The court hears possession first. A continuance runs no more than two days without the tenant posting a bond covering rent that comes due (AS 09.45.120).
Money later. Back rent and damages are usually handled in a second part of the case after possession is decided.

Two lines you do not cross. You may not take back the unit by lockout, by removing belongings, or by cutting electricity, gas, water or sanitary service (§ 34.03.280, AS 09.45.060). Do it anyway and the tenant can recover possession or end the lease, plus up to one and a half times actual damages and every dollar of deposit and prepaid rent back (§ 34.03.210).

Repairs and habitability

You have to keep the place fit and habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, keep electrical, plumbing, heating and kitchen equipment in working order, arrange rubbish removal, supply running water, reasonable hot water and heat, and fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms (§ 34.03.100).

Tenants get real remedies once they put the complaint in writing. A tenant can serve notice ending the lease if you don't fix a breach within 10 days (§ 34.03.160). For heat, water, hot water or sanitary service, a tenant can buy the service elsewhere and deduct the reasonable cost from rent, sue for the drop in value, or take temporary housing and stop paying rent for that stretch (§ 34.03.180).

The short version

Deposit cap of two months' rent, with no cap above $2,000 a month
Deposits in a trust account, never mixed with your own money
14 days to return with an itemised statement, or 30 days when the tenant gave no proper notice
Double the amount withheld if you get the return wrong on purpose
No late-fee cap and no rent cap in the statutes
24 hours' notice before entry
30 days to end a month-to-month, 14 days for a week-to-week
7 days' written notice for unpaid rent, which doubles as the notice to quit
FED summons served at least 2 days before trial

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who'd rather not keep the statute book open on the desk. It tracks the 14-day deposit clock, sends rent reminders before the seven-day notice is ever needed, takes maintenance requests at 2am, and keeps the written record an Alaska district court judge will ask for. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your borough or city may add rules. Talk to an Alaska attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.