Security Deposit Not Returned in Alaska: What Can I Do?
This page covers what happens to your security deposit after you move out of a rental in Alaska. It explains the deadline to get your money back. It also covers what your landlord can take out and what you can do if the landlord breaks the rules.
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Before you move out, take dated photos of every room. Keep a copy of any notice you give your landlord. These records help if your landlord takes money from your deposit.
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Suppose you or your landlord gave a written notice ending a week-to-week or month-to-month rental, as AS 34.03.290 describes. Your landlord must mail the written list and your refund within 14 days. The 14 days start after the rental ends and you hand over the home. The landlord gets 30 days to mail the refund if costs are taken out for damage from your not following AS 34.03.120.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord has 30 days to mail the refund if costs are taken out for damage from your not following AS 34.03.120. This applies when notice that follows AS 34.03.290 was given. The 30 days start when the rental ends.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If you did not give notice that follows AS 34.03.290, your landlord must mail the written notice and refund within 30 days. The 30 days run from when the rental ends, you hand back the home, or the landlord becomes aware that the unit is abandoned.
✓ Sources checked October 3, 2026
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Your landlord must mail you a written list of the rent owed and the damage charged. It goes to your last known address, with the amount due to you, within the deadline.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord mails the list and refund to your last known address. Give your landlord your new mailing address in writing when you move out.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord may not have your mailing address. The landlord may know or have reason to know how to contact you. Then the landlord must make a reasonable effort to deliver the list and refund.
✓ Sources checked October 3, 2026
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Your landlord may take unpaid rent and damage costs from your deposit or prepaid rent. Damage means the home or its contents got worse. Normal wear and tear (wear from normal use) is not damage.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Normal wear and tear (wear from normal use) comes from using the rental unit as intended. It happens without negligence (lack of care), carelessness, accident, misuse, or abuse. This covers you, your household, and your invitees or guests.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord cannot charge you when the home got worse because the landlord did not prepare for expected conditions. The same is true if the landlord did not do something this Alaska law requires of landlords.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If you have a pet that is not a service animal, your landlord may charge an extra deposit of up to 1 month's rent. The landlord may use it only for damage directly related to your pet.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord may take rent you owe out of your deposit. The landlord may also take damage it suffered because you did not follow AS 34.03.120. The landlord must mail you a written list of them, with the amount due you, within the time limit. If your landlord wilfully (on purpose) fails to do this, you may recover (get through court) up to twice the actual amount withheld (kept back). If $500 was kept back, twice that is $1,000. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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The holder of the landlord's interest in the home when the rental ends must follow the same deposit rules.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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