How can a lease be terminated under the laws of Alaska?
A fixed term lease cannot be terminated during the term, only at the end of the lease term. If the tenant decides to move during the term, the tenant is still responsible for paying rent for the balance of the lease period, unless the premises can be subleased or re-rented earlier. The landlord must make a good faith effort to re-rent the property and may not charge the original tenant rent after the property is re-rented.
The amount of notice needed to terminate a rental agreements depends on whether the tenancy is week-to-week, month-to-month or year-to-year. To end a month-to-month tenancy, the tenant must give written notice at least 30 days before the next rental due date, whatever date that falls on. Likewise, the landlord must give a full tenancy month's notice to the tenant to vacate the premises. A landlord or a tenant who wants to terminate a week-to-week tenancy must give written notice to the other party at least 14 days before the termination date specified in the notice.
A 1-year written notice is required when a mobile home park operator wishes to require tenants to move their mobile homes because the land is being converted to a common-interest community, such as condominiums. A mobile home tenant may be required to vacate earlier than 1 year if the tenant is evicted for cause.
On what grounds can a landlord evict a tenant in the State of Alaska?
The landlord may evict for failure to pay rent when due, deliberate infliction of substantial damage to the premises, failure to pay utility bills, illegal activity on the premises, breach of the lease / rental agreement or of the tenant's responsibilities under the Act (such as disturbing other tenants or failing to maintain the premises to the point that the health and safety of others are endangered). A landlord can also evict if he/she needs the dwelling vacant to make repairs needed to meet code requirements, if the landlord plans to use the property for something other than a residential dwelling for at least 6 months, the landlord wants to use the property for personal purposes, if he/she wishes to substantially remodel or demolish the premises, or if the property is being sold and the new owner intends to substantially remodel, demolish, use for personal use or change the premises from rental use for at least 6 months.
If a tenant has given a moving notice but fails to move out by the date specified in the notice, the landlord may sue for eviction. If the tenant stays beyond the specified moving date willfully and not in good faith, the landlord may also sue for 1 1/2 times actual damages.
Failure to pay rent when due. A 7-day written notice is required to terminate a tenancy when a tenant is behind in rent. If the rent is paid before the complete 7 days are up, the tenant may stay. If the tenant tries to pay after the 7 days are up, the landlord may refuse to accept the rent and continue with the eviction. If the landlord accepts any payment, the landlord must either make a new written agreement with the tenant to extend the eviction for a specific period of time or begin the eviction process over again.
Deliverate infliction of substantial damage. A minimum 24-hour written notice is required to terminate a tenancy when the tenant or his/her guests have intentionally caused more than $400 damage to the landlord's property.
Illegal activity on premises. A 5-day notice is required to evict a tenant if any illegal activity is conducted on the premises (such as gambling, prostitution, drug or alcohol production or sale).
Failure to pay utility bills. If a utility company discontinues service to the premises because the tenant failed to pay the bill, the landlord may issue a 5-day notice to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant reinstates the service within 3 days after service of the notice and repays the landlord for any payments made to the utility company, and provided the premises were not damaged due to the lapse in service, the eviction process ends and the tenant can stay. However, if the same utility service is disconnected again within 6 months due to a lack of due care by the tenant, the landlord can terminate the tenancy with a 3-day notice, and the tenant has no opportunity to fix the problem.
Breach of duties. A 10-day written notice is required to terminate a tenancy due to the tenant's breach of a material provision of the rental agreement or the tenant's duties under the Act. If the problem is corrected before the notice period expires, the tenant may stay. However, if the tenant is in violation in substantially the same way more than once in a 6-month period, the landlord can evict the tenant with a 5-day notice and the tenant has no right to fix the problem.
A landlord may not coerce a tenant to move by shutting off utilities, changing the locks, taking the tenant's belongings or taking possession of the dwelling by force without a court hearing. Under no circumstances may the landlord seize the tenant's property to satisfy unpaid rent or to cover damages. The landlord may not retaliate against a tenant by raising the rent, decreasing services or starting or threatening to start an eviction proceeding.
Unless the tenant is a mobile home park tenant, a landlord can evict a tenant in winter, including tenants with small children.
Mobile home park tenants can only be evicted for the following reasons: (i) the tenant is behind in space rent and has not paid even after receiving a 7-day written notice; (ii) the tenant has been convicted of violating a law or ordinance, the violation is continuing, and endangers the health, safety or welfare of others in the park; (iii) the tenant has violated a reasonable provision of the rental agreement or lease and does not stop the violation even after receiving written notice from the landlord; or (iv) there will be a change in the use of the land on which the park is located. Reason (iv) requires a notice of at least 270 days for change other than conversion to a common-interest community, and a tenant may not be required to move between October 15 and May 1. With this exception, the same notice periods are required for mobile home park tenants as for other types of tenants.
The foregoing summary is provided for information purposes only and is not to be considered legal or business advice. The information may not be complete, accurate or applicable for any particular situation and should not be relied upon.
[close]
