How to become a landlord in Alaska

At or before the start of the tenancy, disclose in writing the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and of an owner or agent authorized to receive service of process, notices and demands, and keep it current. Give the tenant the terms under which you may withhold prepaid rent or the deposit, and include in the lease a requirement that the tenant tell you of an absence of more than seven days as soon as reasonably possible (AS 34.03.080; AS 34.03.070(c); AS 34.03.150).

• House rules must be posted prominently and are enforceable only if they meet the Act's fairness tests and the tenant had notice of them at signing; a rule adopted later needs reasonable notice and may not substantially change the lease (AS 34.03.130).
• An agreement to mediate or to use binding arbitration must be written into the lease, incorporated by reference, or attached to it (AS 34.03.345).
• If a tenant wilfully fails to give the extended-absence notice the lease requires, you may recover up to one and one-half times your actual damages (AS 34.03.230(a)).
• Skipping the owner and manager disclosure makes the person who signed the lease for you your agent for notices and your duties (AS 34.03.080(c)).See Landlord identity disclosure on the Alaska page

Disclose in writing, at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and of an owner or person authorized to act for the owner for service of process and for receiving notices and demands. Keep the information current; the duty binds any successor landlord, owner or manager (AS 34.03.080).

• If you do not disclose, the person who entered the lease for you becomes your agent for service of process and notices, and for performing your duties with the rent collected (AS 34.03.080(c)).
• A landlord who lives outside Alaska may file a written designation of an in-state agent for service with the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development; it must be the same person disclosed under AS 34.03.080. Without one, process may be served on the commissioner (AS 34.03.340).
• A landlord who sells in good faith is relieved of liability for later events after giving the tenant written notice of the sale, except for the deposit (AS 34.03.110(a)).

AS 34.03, read in full, requires no flood disclosure in a residential lease (AS 34.03.010 to 34.03.380).

At the time of each occupancy, provide working smoke detection devices, and carbon monoxide detection devices in a qualifying unit, and repair or replace them after the tenant reports a problem. The tenant must keep them working by keeping batteries charged, testing them periodically where possible, and not permanently disabling them (AS 18.70.095(b); AS 34.03.100(a)(7)).

• A unit qualifies for a carbon monoxide device if it contains or is served by a fuel-burning appliance, has an attached garage or carport, or is next to a parking space (AS 18.70.095(d)).
• Smoke devices must be a type and installation approved by the state fire marshal; carbon monoxide devices must have an alarm and follow the manufacturer's recommendations (AS 18.70.095(a)).
• If you did not know and were not told a device needed repair, that failure is not evidence of negligence in a later civil action (AS 18.70.095(c)).
• The tenant's duty to maintain the devices is also part of the Act (AS 34.03.120(a)(7)).

If the tenant asks, you must provide and maintain locks and furnish keys reasonably adequate to ensure the safety of the tenant's person and property. The tenant may not change the locks without your written agreement, except in an emergency when you cannot be reached after a reasonable effort; after an emergency change the tenant must give you keys and written notice within five days (AS 34.03.100(a)(6); AS 34.03.120(a)(8)).

• After an agreed lock change the tenant must give you a set of keys immediately (AS 34.03.120(a)(8)).
• In a one- or two-family residence you and the tenant may agree in writing that the tenant provides locks and keys (AS 34.03.100(c)).
• AS 34.03, read in full, sets no rekeying deadline between tenants (AS 34.03.010 to 34.03.380).

You may not demand or receive prepaid rent or a security deposit, however it is named, worth more than two months' periodic rent. The limit covers prepaid rent and deposit together, and it does not apply to a unit that rents for more than $2,000 a month (AS 34.03.070(a)).

• You may also take a separate deposit of up to one month's rent from a tenant who keeps a pet that is not a service animal. Account for it apart from the other deposit and prepaid rent, and apply it only to damage directly related to the pet (AS 34.03.070(h)).
• A service animal is one individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability (AS 34.03.070(i)).
• No section of the Act mentions a nonrefundable fee; the two-month limit applies to money held as prepaid rent or a deposit whatever it is called (AS 34.03.010 to 34.03.380).

Promptly deposit prepaid rent and security deposits, wherever practicable, in a trust account with a bank, savings and loan association or licensed escrow agent, and give the tenant the terms under which you may withhold any of it. AS 34.03 does not require you to pay interest on a deposit. By its terms, AS 34.03.070, including these deadlines, the trust-account rule and the pet deposit limit, does not apply to a rental unit where the rent exceeds $2,000 a month (AS 34.03.070(a); AS 34.03.070(c); AS 34.03.010 to 34.03.380).

• You may keep several tenants' deposits and prepaid rent in one account, but you must account separately for each tenant's money and may not mix it with other funds (AS 34.03.070(c)).
• You may not use money held for one tenant to refund another tenant's deposit or to cover another tenant's rent or damage (AS 34.03.070(c)).

If you require one, include a premises condition statement in the lease, incorporate it by reference or attach it, describing the premises and fixtures at the start of the term, with a contents inventory of the furnishings and their condition where that applies. Once you and the tenant sign it, it becomes part of the rental agreement (AS 34.03.020(e)).

• The tenant acknowledges or verifies the statement and inventory by signing them (AS 34.03.090(b)).
• In a later claim for damages, a signed statement and inventory are presumptive evidence of the condition at move-in unless their authenticity is rebutted by clear and convincing evidence (AS 34.03.335).
• At move-out the tenant must leave the premises in substantially the same condition as at the start, except for normal wear and tear, including professionally cleaning the carpets at your discretion if they were professionally cleaned immediately before the tenancy began (AS 34.03.120(c)).
• After a sale, the statement stays valid between the buyer and the tenant until they sign a new one (AS 34.03.110(a)).

AS 34.03 sets no limit on rental application or screening fees, except in a mobile home park, where a prospective tenant may be charged only a reasonable fee for services actually performed, disclosed in writing before the tenant agrees to move in (AS 34.03.010 to 34.03.380; AS 34.03.040(c)(4)).

• Alaska's human rights law bars asking about or recording an applicant's sex, marital status, changes in marital status, race, religion, physical or mental disability, color or national origin (AS 18.80.240(3)).See Fair housing on the Alaska page
• Before approving an unusual mammal, bird or reptile as a pet, check Fish and Game's current legal-species guidance. The department says species outside its Clean List cannot be imported or kept as pets, and it cannot issue a pet-possession permit for them. Check species identification and separate transport rules; state wildlife permission does not determine the lease's pet permission or an accommodation request (Alaska Fish and Game, wildlife possession guidance).See Fair housing on the Alaska page