Breaking a Lease Early in Alaska: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you leave early without a legal reason, you usually still owe the rent for the rest of the lease. That changes if the home can be subleased (rented to someone else by you) or rented again earlier.

   Source:

   1. The Alaska Landlord & Tenant Act: what it means to you, What is a lease?, Alaska Department of Law. A government guide.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   For example, say you have 6 months left on your lease at $1,000 a month. You leave without a legal reason. Your landlord rents the home to someone new after 2 months. Your landlord can claim about $2,000 for those 2 months. If no one rents it, your landlord can usually claim the rest, about $6,000.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. The Alaska Landlord & Tenant Act: what it means to you, What is a lease?, Alaska Department of Law. A government guide.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

3. 3

   Your home counts as abandoned if you leave it and your belongings for 7 days or more in a row. Rent is unpaid and you gave no required notice. Your landlord must try to rent it at a fair rental value (the average rent in the community for similar homes). Your agreement ends when a new rental begins. If your landlord does not try, it ends when your landlord learns the home is abandoned.

   Sources:

   1. AS 34.03.230(c), Alaska Legislature. Law.
   2. AS 34.03.360(4), Alaska Legislature. Law.

When you can leave early

4. 4

   Your landlord may seriously break the rental agreement, or break the repair law in a way that seriously affects health and safety. Send a written notice that says what is wrong. The law gives your landlord 10 days after getting it to fix the problem. If your landlord does not, your agreement ends on the date in your notice, at least 20 days after your landlord gets it.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.160(a), Alaska Legislature. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

5. 5

   You can end your agreement if your landlord does not use due care and substantially the same problem comes back. It must come back within 6 months of a problem you gave notice about. Send a written notice that names the problem and the end date, at least 10 days before that date.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.160(a), Alaska Legislature. Law.
6. 6

   Your landlord may fail to supply running water, hot water, heat, or other essential services. The failure must be on purpose or careless, and against your rental agreement or the repair law. Send a written notice that says what is wrong. You can then rent reasonable substitute housing right away. You do not owe rent for the time of the failure.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.180(a), Alaska Legislature. Law.
7. 7

   You can end your rental agreement if your landlord enters unlawfully or in a way that is not reasonable. You can also end it if your landlord keeps asking to enter in a way that is not reasonable. Send your landlord a written notice at least 10 days before the end date in the notice.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.300(b), Alaska Legislature. Law.
8. 8

   You cannot end your agreement over a landlord's failure to follow it if you caused the problem. The same goes if a family member or someone at the home with your permission caused it. Causing it on purpose or by carelessness counts.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.160(a), Alaska Legislature. Law.

How to leave

9. 9

   If you rent month to month (no end date, paid monthly), you can end the tenancy (your rental) with a written notice. Send it at least 30 days before the rent due date named in the notice. Your landlord can end it the same way.

   Source:

   1. AS 34.03.290(b), Alaska Legislature. Law.

After you move out

10. 10

    Your landlord can use your deposit or prepaid rent for rent you owe and for damage from not keeping your renter duties. Normal wear and tear (normal use over time) is not damage. Your landlord must mail you a written list of these charges, with any money due to you. If your agreement ended because your landlord broke it, your landlord must return all prepaid rent and deposit you can recover under the deposit law.

    Sources:

    1. AS 34.03.070(b), Alaska Legislature. Law.
    2. AS 34.03.160(d), Alaska Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

11. 11

    Without proper notice to end your rental, the law gives your landlord 30 days to mail your refund and a list of charges. The days start when your rental ends or you hand over the home. They also start if your landlord learns the home is abandoned (you left your belongings and were gone 7 days or more). With proper notice, it is 14 days, or 30 if damage costs are taken out.

    Sources:

    1. AS 34.03.070(g), Alaska Legislature. Law.
    2. AS 34.03.360(1), Alaska Legislature. Law.
12. 12

    If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
13. 13

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.