Menu Close

Alaska Tenant Absence, Nonuse, and Abandonment

The Alaska Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act allows a landlord the following remedies if a tenant leaves the rental property for an extended period of time:

Failure to Provide Required Notice

When the rental agreement requires the tenant to give notice to the landlord of an anticipated extended absence in excess of seven days as required in the section Alaska Tenant Use and Occupancy and the tenant willfully fails to do so, the landlord may recover an amount not to exceed one and one-half times the actual damages.

Right to Enter

During an absence of the tenant in excess of seven days, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit at times reasonably necessary as provided in the section Alaska Landlord Right to Enter. The landlord may reenter the dwelling unit and, if there is evidence that the tenant has abandoned the dwelling unit, unless the landlord and tenant have made a specific agreement to the contrary, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

Abandonment

If the tenant abandons the dwelling unit, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental value.  If the landlord rents the dwelling unit for a term beginning before the expiration of the rental agreement, the agreement is considered terminated on the date the new tenancy begins. The rental agreement is considered terminated by the landlord on the date the landlord has notice of the abandonment if the landlord fails to use reasonable efforts to rent the dwelling unit at a fair rental value or if the landlord accepts the abandonment as a surrender.  If the tenancy is from month to month, or week to week, the term of the rental agreement for purposes of this section shall be considered a month or a week, as the case may be.

Article 06. Section 34.03.230.

Return to Alaska Landlord-Tenant Laws.