How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in Alaska?

7 days. The written notice states the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate, and the tenancy ends if the tenant does not pay in full within those 7 calendar days. Serving the notice by mail rather than delivering it adds three days, making the period 10 (AS 34.03.220(b); AS 09.45.090(c)).

How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in Alaska?

10 days. Those 10 days are both the termination date and the cure deadline. The written notice to quit must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 10 days after service, and the tenancy survives if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before that date (AS 34.03.220(a)(2)).

How long does an eviction take in Alaska?

Roughly 10 to 25 days from notice to lockout in the best case. That is a floor built from statutory and court-rule minimums for the commonest case - nonpayment of rent, notice delivered in person, tenant never appears - and contested cases run materially longer.

How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in Alaska?

No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes).

Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in Alaska?

No — Alaska bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Alaska bars self-help by statute, and the ban names utility shutoff. A landlord may not take possession by action or otherwise, including by interrupting electricity, gas, water, sanitary, or other essential services, except on abandonment, surrender, energy conditions beyond the landlord's control, or as the chapter itself permits (AS 34.03.280).

What is the eviction process and timeline in Alaska?

Verified July 25, 2026 All Alaska topics →

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measure would change it:

HB 115 (34th Legislature, 2025-2026) — Would add AS 34.03.020(f): a landlord could not raise rent more than once per calendar year and would have to give written notice at least 90 days before the increase takes effect; if a tenancy ends without that notice having been given, the unit could not be re-rented above the old rent until 90 days after termination (anti-evasion clause). Applies to rental agreements entered into on or after the effective date. Would convert Alaska from a derivation state (no express rent-increase notice statute) to an express 90-day state.Status: Introduced 2025 (Rep. Gray); referred to House State Affairs and Labor & Commerce 2025-02-26; no committee action since. As of 2026-07-12 the official BASIS bill page still showed status (H) STA with an unchanged status date. Alive until the 34th Legislature adjourns sine die. (checked 2026-07-12).

To evict a tenant in Alaska for unpaid rent, serve a written seven-day notice to pay or quit under AS 34.03.220(b) and then file a forcible entry and detainer (F.E.D.) case in the district court on the eighth day; for a lease violation the notice period is ten days under AS 34.03.220(a)(2).

Cited to AS 34.03.220 (b) and 49 more Alaska statutes · Verified July 25, 2026

Alaska splits its notice periods sharply by ground: 7 days for nonpayment, 10 days for general material noncompliance with cure allowed right up to that same tenth day, 5 days for a repeat of substantially the same violation within six months, 5 days when a utility is shut off because the tenant did not pay it with a 3-day window to reinstate, 24 hours to 5 days for deliberate damage over $400 or for prostitution or other illegal activity, 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy on a rent due date, and 14 days for week-to-week. Add three days to any notice served by mail. Nonpayment takes only one document, because the AS 34.03.220(b) notice legally counts as the notice to quit. The court must set the eviction hearing no more than 15 days after filing and the summons must be served at least two days before it, and that hearing decides possession only - the 20-day answer deadline on the summons governs the landlord's money claims. If the tenant does not leave by the date the judge sets, the landlord gets a Writ of Assistance and a peace officer removes the tenant. Self-help is barred outright: AS 34.03.280 forbids a landlord from taking possession 'by action or otherwise,' including shutting off electricity, gas, water or sanitary service, and AS 34.03.210 lets the tenant recover possession or terminate the lease plus up to one and one-half times actual damages.

Alaska eviction process at a glance

Nonpayment notice (pay-or-quit)	7 days
Nonpayment notice rules (day counting, cure rights, service)	The written notice states the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate, and the tenancy ends if the tenant does not pay in full within those 7 calendar days. Serving the notice by mail rather than delivering it adds three days, making the period 10 (AS 34.03.220(b); AS 09.45.090(c)). AS 34.03.220(b): once rent is 'unpaid when due' the landlord may serve a written notice of the nonpayment and of the intention to terminate; if the tenant 'fails to pay rent in full within seven days after written notice,' the tenancy terminates and the landlord 'may terminate the rental agreement and immediately recover possession of the rental unit.' There is NO arrears precondition - the notice may issue the day rent is late, so the real statutory minimum is the 7 days and nothing more. ONE DOCUMENT, ONE CLOCK: AS 09.45.100(b)(1) provides that service of the AS 34.03.220(b) notice 'constitutes notice to quit, and service of a separate notice to quit is not required,' and (b)(2) that it also satisfies AS 09.45.100(c) and AS 34.03.310(c). COUNTING - CALENDAR DAYS: Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a) governs any period 'prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute'; the first day is excluded and the last day included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Seven days is not 'less than seven days,' so intermediate weekends and holidays count - the Alaska Court System's own CIV-720 eviction booklet says so directly (at 6): 'Day 1 of 7 is the day after you hand the notice to the tenant, and you should include Saturdays, Sundays and holidays when you count the seven days. Civil Rule 6.' By contrast AS 01.10.080, the general statutory computation rule, excludes only a last day that is a 'holiday,' and AS 44.12.010(a)(13) makes every Sunday - but not Saturday - a legal holiday; the court rule is the operative regime. MAIL ADDS THREE DAYS: AS 09.45.090(c) - 'When a landlord who is required to provide written notice to a tenant or person in possession under (a) or (b) of this section, provides notice by mail, notwithstanding any other provision of law, three days must be added to the period.' A mailed nonpayment notice therefore runs 10 days, not 7. CONTENT: AS 09.45.105 requires the notice to state the nature of the breach, the remedial action and 'the date and time by which the corrective actions must be completed,' the date and time the tenancy will terminate, a direction to quit not later than that date and time, and a warning that the landlord may commence a civil action to remove the tenant. SERVICE: AS 09.45.100(c) - delivered to the tenant, left at the premises in case of absence, or sent by registered or certified mail. CURE is payment of the rent in full within the period. AS 34.03.220(b) further provides that 'only one written notice of default need be given the tenant by the landlord as to any one default,' and that a landlord who has given notice 'may accept a partial payment of the rent due under the rental agreement and extend the date for the eviction accordingly.' Accepting rent with knowledge of the default waives the right to terminate for that breach (AS 34.03.240). FILING OFFSET: the tenancy terminates on day 7, but the holding becomes unlawful only when the tenant 'fails or refuses to vacate or pay the rent within seven days' (AS 09.45.090(a)(1)), and AS 09.45.110 permits commencement only 'on or after the date the tenant or person in possession unlawfully holds possession' - i.e. the eighth day (CIV-720 at 6: 'the landlord can file a lawsuit on the eighth day'). The 7-day figure is the notice period, not the filing day. PREPAID-RENT OVERLAY: AS 09.45.130 bars an action until the period for which rent was paid in advance expires, and requires a notice 'at least 10 days before the date the rent is due again in case of a month-to-month tenancy or at least three days before in the case of a week-to-week tenancy.'
Lease-violation notice period	10 days
Lease-violation notice rules (cure vs. termination)	Those 10 days are both the termination date and the cure deadline. The written notice to quit must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 10 days after service, and the tenancy survives if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before that date (AS 34.03.220(a)(2)). THE 10-DAY FIGURE IS THE TERMINATION DATE for general material noncompliance under AS 34.03.220(a)(2): the landlord 'may deliver a written notice to quit to the tenant under AS 09.45.100 - 09.45.110 specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and specifying that the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than 10 days after service of the notice.' Alaska is NOT the two-number 'terminate in 30 / cure in 14' shape on this ground: the cure window is defined by reference to the same date, not by a second figure - 'if the breach is remediable by repairs or the payment of damages or otherwise and the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement will not terminate.' Cure window and termination date are the same day 10. OTHER DAY-FIGURES IN THE SAME AND ADJACENT SUBSECTIONS, none of them the 10-day general-noncompliance figure: (1) REPEAT VIOLATION, in the same sentence of (a)(2) - 'in the absence of due care by the tenant, if substantially the same act or omission that constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was given recurs within six months, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement upon at least five days' written notice to quit specifying the breach and the date of termination of the rental agreement' - 5 days, six-month lookback, no second cure right. (2) AS 34.03.220(e), UTILITY SERVICE DISCONTINUED FOR THE TENANT'S NONPAYMENT, which IS a genuine two-number provision in the classic shape - 'the tenancy will terminate five days after the landlord's service of the notice. If, within three days from the service of the notice, the tenant reinstates the discontinued service and repays the landlord for any amounts paid by the landlord to reinstate service, and if damage did not occur to the rental unit as a result of the discontinuance of service, the rental agreement will not terminate.' Termination date 5, cure window 3; a repeat within six months drops the notice to 'at least three days.' (3) AS 34.03.220(a)(1), deliberate substantial damage or illegal activity - termination 'on a date that is not less than 24 hours or more than five days after service of the notice' (note the statutory MAXIMUM, which is unusual). (4) AS 34.03.300(a), tenant's refusal of lawful access - written notice 'at least 10 days before the date specified in the notice.' WHAT COUNTS AS MATERIAL NONCOMPLIANCE: material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement, or noncompliance with the AS 34.03.120 tenant obligations 'materially affecting health and safety,' other than deliberate infliction of substantial damage and other than the utility case in (e). DAY-UNIT SPLIT INSIDE THE STATE: under Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a) the 10-day period is calendar days (intermediate weekends and holidays counted), but every period of 'less than seven days' - Alaska's 5-day and 3-day notices and the 2-day summons gap - EXCLUDES intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, making those effectively business days. Add three days to any of these periods if the notice is served by mail (AS 09.45.090(c)). ENFORCEMENT LINK: AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(A) makes the holding unlawful only when the tenant, after service of the written notice to quit, 'fails or refuses to remedy the breach or to deliver up the possession of the premises within the number of days provided for termination under AS 34.03.220(a)(2)'; AS 09.45.110 then permits filing on or after that date.
Unconditional-quit grounds	Alaska has short-fuse grounds but almost no truly unconditional ones. (1) DELIBERATE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE or ILLEGAL ACTIVITY - AS 34.03.220(a)(1): where the tenant or someone in the tenant's control 'deliberately inflicts substantial damage to the premises' in breach of AS 34.03.120(a)(5), or the tenant 'engages in or permits another to engage in prostitution or another illegal activity at the premises' in breach of AS 34.03.120(b), the landlord may deliver a written notice to quit 'specifying that the rental agreement will terminate on a date that is not less than 24 hours or more than five days after service of the notice.' No cure right is stated. 'Substantial' is statutorily defined: damage is substantial 'if the loss, destruction, or defacement of property attributable to the deliberate infliction of damage to the premises exceeds $400.' AS 34.03.120(b) supplies the closed list of qualifying illegal activity - prostitution, an illegal activity involving a place of prostitution, alcoholic beverages, gambling or promoting gambling, a controlled substance, or an imitation controlled substance - each defined in AS 34.03.360(6)-(10), (17). IMPORTANT SPLIT: the two branches of (a)(1) do not accrue alike for filing. For deliberate substantial damage, AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(B) makes the holding unlawful when the tenant fails to deliver up possession 'by the date set out in the written notice to quit under AS 34.03.220(a)(1)' - so a 24-hour notice can support filing the next day. For AS 34.03.120(b) illegal activity, and for use of the unit for an illegal purpose under AS 34.03.310(c)(3), AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(G) requires that the tenant 'fails or refuses to deliver up the possession of the premises within five days' - so the effective pre-filing wait on that branch is five days no matter how short a date the notice states. (2) REPEAT VIOLATION - AS 34.03.220(a)(2): substantially the same act or omission recurring within six months of a prior notice supports termination on 'at least five days' written notice to quit,' with no further cure opportunity; AS 34.03.220(e) sets the parallel repeat figure at three days for the utility ground. (3) UTILITY DISCONTINUANCE - AS 34.03.220(e): five-day termination, curable within three days by reinstating the service and repaying the landlord, and only if no damage resulted from the interruption. (4) COURT-ORDERED ABATEMENT - the only no-notice ground: AS 34.03.220(d) - 'An order of abatement entered by a court under AS 09.50.170 terminates a rental agreement on the premises subject to the order of abatement' - and AS 09.45.090(a)(3) makes the holding unlawful 'when, without a notice to quit, a tenant or person in possession continues in possession of the premises after the tenancy has been terminated by issuance of an order of abatement under AS 09.50.210(a).' AS 09.45.135 makes a certified copy of the abatement order prima facie evidence of unlawful holding. (5) ABANDONMENT OR SURRENDER - AS 34.03.230(b)-(c) with the AS 34.03.360(1) definition (absence of seven or more continuous days without notice, plus default in rent) lets the landlord treat the agreement as terminated without a notice period. (6) NO VALID RENTAL AGREEMENT - AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(H): a person continuing in possession 'without a valid rental agreement, as that term is defined in AS 34.03.360, and without the consent of the landlord' holds unlawfully once a written notice to quit has been served, with no day count attached.
Court and action	The action is FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER (F.E.D.), pleaded as 'unlawful holding by force' under AS 09.45.060 - 09.45.160, with the substantive residential grounds in AS 34.03 (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). It is heard in the DISTRICT COURT: AS 22.15.030(a)(6) gives the district court civil jurisdiction 'for the recovery of the possession of premises in the manner provided under AS 09.45.070 - 09.45.160 when the value of the arrears and damage to the property does not exceed $100,000.' Jurisdiction is nominally CONCURRENT with the superior court but AS 22.15.030(b) resolves it in one direction: 'Insofar as the civil jurisdiction of the district courts and the superior court is the same, the jurisdiction is concurrent. Except for a petition for a protective order under AS 18.66.100 - 18.66.180, an action that falls within the concurrent jurisdiction of the superior court and the district court may not be filed in the superior court, except as provided by rules of the supreme court.' Above the $100,000 arrears-and-damage ceiling the case belongs in the superior court, and Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(b) lets the superior court refer an F.E.D. down to a district court for trial 'when the amount does not exceed the jurisdiction of district court.' District court matters may be heard by a district judge or by a magistrate (AS 22.15.020). GOVERNING PROCEDURE: Alaska R. Civ. P. 85 ('Forcible Entry and Detainer'), under which 'the practice and procedure shall be as in other civil actions, subject to' its own complaint, summons, continuance, appearance, service and dismissal provisions; AS 34.03.285 directs that in an action for possession under AS 34.03 'the summons and complaint shall be served under the provisions of Rule No. 85 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.' TITLE IS NOT TRIED: AS 09.45.150 - 'there shall be no inquiry into the merits of the title' - and AS 22.15.050(1) removes any action 'in which the title to real property is in question' from district-court jurisdiction. A nonprofit housing corporation may prosecute an F.E.D. through a designated non-attorney officer or employee (AS 09.45.158). Official Alaska Court System forms: CIV-730 complaint, CIV-105 summons, CIV-300 judgment for possession, CIV-575 writ of assistance, CIV-735 tenant's answer, CIV-720 procedural booklet.
Filing to hearing	The window runs FROM FILING OF THE COMPLAINT, and it is set by court rule, not by statute. Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(2): 'Summons shall be served not less than two days before the day of the eviction hearing. The date set for the eviction hearing shall be not more than 15 days from the date of filing of the complaint unless otherwise ordered by the court.' AS 09.45.120 carries the same service floor - 'Summons in actions for forcible entry and detainer shall be served not less than two days before the date of trial.' So two bounds anchor to different events: an outer 15-day bound measured forward from filing, and an inner 2-day bound measured backward from the hearing. The clerk sets the hearing date when the complaint is filed. Note the 'unless otherwise ordered by the court' escape in the rule, and that the 2-day gap, being less than seven days, excludes intermediate weekends and holidays under Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a). THE PROCEEDING IS BIFURCATED, and this is the easiest thing about Alaska to get wrong. The eviction hearing decides POSSESSION ONLY. The 20-day answer deadline printed on the official summons (CIV-105: 'File a written answer to all other claims made in the attached complaint within 20 days after the date this summons was served on you') is the Alaska R. Civ. P. 12(a) deadline for the landlord's MONEY claims; it is not an answer deadline for the eviction, no written answer is required to contest possession, and the tenant keeps the full 20 days on damages even where the eviction hearing falls sooner. Appearance at the eviction hearing is an appearance in the entire matter for default purposes (Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(4)). CONTINUANCES: Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(3) and AS 09.45.120 cap a continuance at two days unless the defendant gives an undertaking for rent that may accrue; for property governed by AS 34.03, AS 34.03.285 adds that 'a continuance may not be granted plaintiff or defendant except for good cause shown.' A case pending more than 180 days from filing with no trial or hearing scheduled and no default application may be dismissed by the clerk for want of prosecution, without prejudice (Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(6)).
Writ of possession and lockout	The judgment is a JUDGMENT FOR POSSESSION (official form CIV-300). If the tenant does not leave by the date and time the judge sets at the eviction hearing, the landlord obtains a WRIT OF ASSISTANCE (official form CIV-575) - the name Alaska uses in practice; it appears in the court system's forms and booklet rather than in the statute, and the form cites Civil R. 85, AS 09.45.070, AS 34.03.260, AS 22.10.020(a) and AS 22.15.090(b) as its authority. Statutorily the instrument is a writ of execution 'for the delivery of the possession of real or personal property,' which 'shall require the officer or person to deliver the possession of the property, describing it, to the party entitled to it' (AS 09.35.030(4)); Alaska R. Civ. P. 69(a) provides that 'process to enforce a judgment shall be by a writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise'; and AS 22.15.090(b) gives the district court 'all power and authority necessary to carry into complete execution all its judgments, decrees, and determinations in all matters within its jurisdiction.' WHO EXECUTES - A PEACE OFFICER. CIV-575 is addressed 'To Any Peace Officer, State of Alaska' and orders 'that any peace officer of the State of Alaska to whom this writ is delivered shall turn over to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's agents or representatives the possession of the premises described above, and that the officer shall eject and remove therefrom all persons holding or detaining the same or any part thereof against the plaintiff.' The landlord arranges enforcement with the local law-enforcement agency, which may charge a fee. TIMING - NO STATUTORY MINIMUM WAIT. The writ states 'This writ will take effect on ___ (date and time)', which the judge fills in, and the landlord may ask for the writ at the eviction hearing itself. The one general brake is Alaska R. Civ. P. 62(a): 'Except as to judgments entered on default or by consent or on confession, and except as stated herein, no execution shall issue upon a judgment nor shall proceedings be taken for its enforcement until the expiration of 10 days after the date shown in the clerk's certificate of distribution on the judgment.' Because a tenant who does not appear loses possession by default, that 10-day automatic stay does not bite in the uncontested case. An appeal does not of itself stay the eviction; the tenant must move for a stay and the court may require a bond or cash deposit (Alaska R. Civ. P. 62(d)). PERSONAL PROPERTY LEFT BEHIND is the landlord's responsibility and must be handled under AS 34.03.260 - notice demanding removal 'not less than 15 days after delivery or mailing of the notice,' then safekeeping, public sale under AS 09.35.140, or destruction or disposal as elected in the notice.
Appeal window	No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes)
Best-case uncontested timeline (derived from statutory minimums — contested cases run longer)	Roughly 10 to 25 days from notice to lockout in the best case. That is a floor built from statutory and court-rule minimums for the commonest case - nonpayment of rent, notice delivered in person, tenant never appears - and contested cases run materially longer. The floor comes from adding those minimums: 7 days of notice (AS 34.03.220(b); calendar days, first day excluded) + 1 day, because suit may be commenced only on or after the day the holding becomes unlawful, i.e. the eighth day (AS 09.45.090(a)(1); AS 09.45.110; CIV-720 at 6) + at least 2 days between service of the summons and the eviction hearing (Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(2); AS 09.45.120) = a possession judgment is theoretically available around day 10, with the hearing required to be set not more than 15 days from filing, which puts the outer bound of that step near day 23. The judge then sets the move-out date and time at the hearing and may issue the writ of assistance at once, because Alaska R. Civ. P. 62(a)'s 10-day automatic stay of execution excepts default judgments. ADDITIVE STEPS THAT RAISE THE FLOOR, none of which may be omitted: +3 days whenever the notice is served by mail rather than delivered, 'notwithstanding any other provision of law' (AS 09.45.090(c)), which makes the nonpayment notice 10 days; +3 days for a lease-violation case, whose notice runs 10 rather than 7 days (AS 34.03.220(a)(2)); a no-cause month-to-month termination runs at least 30 days AND must expire on a rental due date, after which a separate notice to quit must be served before suit (AS 34.03.290(b)-(c)); a no-fault or landlord-purpose ground requires the tenant to fail to vacate within 'the longer of 30 days or the period of notice ... set out in the rental agreement' (AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(D)); and where rent was paid in advance, AS 09.45.130 bars the action until that period expires and imposes its own 10-day or 3-day notice lead time. Contested cases run materially longer - the damages half of the case is a separate track with a 20-day answer window and its own trial setting, and a case with no hearing scheduled is not dismissed for want of prosecution until 180 days (Alaska R. Civ. P. 85(a)(6)). These are derived statutory minimums, not an observed average and not a promise.
Self-help eviction (lockout, utility shutoff) barred	Yes
Self-help scope and tenant remedies	Alaska bars self-help by statute, and the ban names utility shutoff. A landlord may not take possession by action or otherwise, including by interrupting electricity, gas, water, sanitary, or other essential services, except on abandonment, surrender, energy conditions beyond the landlord's control, or as the chapter itself permits (AS 34.03.280). Express statutory prohibition, and it names utility shutoff. AS 34.03.280 ('Recovery of possession limited'): 'A landlord may not recover or take possession of the dwelling unit by action or otherwise, including wilful diminution of services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of electricity, gas, water, sanitary, or other essential services to the tenant, except in case of abandonment, surrender, circumstances beyond the control of the landlord due to energy conditions, or as permitted in this chapter.' The bar therefore reaches both a lockout ('or otherwise') and a utility cutoff, subject to four narrow carve-outs. TENANT REMEDY: AS 34.03.210 - 'If the landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant from the premises or wilfully diminishes services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of electric, gas, water, sanitary, or other essential service to the tenant, the tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement and, in either case, recover an amount not to exceed one and one-half times the actual damages.' On termination the landlord must return all prepaid rent and security deposits recoverable under AS 34.03.070. Attorney fees are allowed to the prevailing party in any proceeding arising out of the chapter or a rental agreement (AS 34.03.350). A SECOND, OLDER BAR applies to all real property, URLTA or not: AS 09.45.060 - 'A person may not enter upon any land, tenement, or other real property except in cases where entry is given by law. In those cases the entry may not be made with force but only in a peaceable manner' - with AS 09.45.070(a) giving the person entitled to the premises an action to recover possession where 'a forcible entry is made upon a premises, or when an entry is made in a peaceable manner and the possession is held by force.' Unlike the URLTA-less states, Alaska does not have to rely on that forcible-entry provision alone: AS 34.03.280 supplies the express prohibition. RETALIATION: AS 34.03.310(a) bars a landlord from retaliating by raising rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening a possession action after the tenant complained of an AS 34.03.100 violation, sought to enforce chapter rights, organised or joined a tenants' union, or complained to a housing or rent-control agency; AS 34.03.310(b) gives the tenant the AS 34.03.210 remedies plus a defense to possession. AS 34.03.310(c) lists the seven grounds on which the landlord may still sue after serving a notice to quit under AS 09.45.100 - 09.45.105.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Alaska Eviction Process Laws (verified July 25, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/eviction-process/alaska/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Alaska statute in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

The sharpest Alaska trap: two day-counting regimes that disagree — AS 01.10.080, the general statutory rule, excludes the first day and includes the last 'unless the last day is a holiday,' and AS 44.12.010(a)(13) makes every Sunday — but not Saturday — a legal holiday. Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a), by its own terms, reaches any period set 'by any applicable statute,' rolls the last day forward past a Saturday as well, and excludes intermediate weekends and legal holidays from any period of less than seven days. Which regime governs a pre-filing notice period is a genuine judgment call, resolved here toward Rule 6 because the court system's own eviction booklet says so in terms (CIV-720 at 6) — though no Alaska appellate decision applying Rule 6(a)'s sub-seven-day exclusion to a pre-litigation notice to quit was located, and CIV-720 is an official court publication, not a holding.
Calendar days vs. effective business days, inside one statute — The consequence is a day-unit split INSIDE Alaska: the 7-, 10-, 14-, and 30-day periods run in calendar days, but the 5- and 3-day notices and the 2-day summons gap are all 'less than seven days' and therefore exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays — effectively business days. Both headline notice figures (7 and 10) are in the same unit, calendar days; neighbouring periods in the same statute are not.
Mail adds three days — once — Mail service adds three days to every AS 09.45.090 notice period 'notwithstanding any other provision of law' (AS 09.45.090(c)), so a mailed nonpayment notice runs 10 days rather than 7. That addition is separate from — and must not be double-counted with — the three calendar days Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(c) adds for litigation documents served by non-electronic mail.
A flat '24-hour notice for illegal activity' would be wrong — AS 34.03.220(a)(1) permits a notice terminating in as little as 24 hours, but on the illegal-activity branch AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(G) requires a five-day failure to vacate before the holding becomes unlawful — so the 24-hour floor is operative only for the deliberate-damage branch (damage over $400) under AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(B).
The 20 days on the summons is not the eviction answer deadline — The eviction hearing decides POSSESSION ONLY. The 20-day answer deadline printed on the official summons is the Rule 12(a) deadline for the landlord's MONEY claims, tried on a separate track — reading it as the eviction answer window is the single easiest mistake to make about Alaska's process.
The 10-day lease-violation notice is one clock, not two — AS 34.03.220(a)(2) carries a single figure: the agreement terminates on a date not less than 10 days after service, and the cure is remedying the breach 'before the date specified in the notice' — the same day 10, not a separate cure window. Alaska's genuine two-number provision is AS 34.03.220(e), a different ground (a utility discontinued for the tenant's own nonpayment): terminate in 5, cure in 3. And a repeat of substantially the same act within six months drops the notice to at least five days, in the very sentence carrying the 10.
How many documents, per ground — Nonpayment: ONE document, one clock — service of the AS 34.03.220(b) notice 'constitutes notice to quit, and service of a separate notice to quit is not required' (AS 09.45.100(b)(1)). Lease violation, deliberate damage, illegal activity, and the utility ground: one document, the notice to quit itself, meeting the AS 09.45.105 content rules. Periodic-tenancy termination: TWO documents — the 14-day (week-to-week) or 30-day (month-to-month) termination notice, then a notice to quit before suit. No statute says whether that second notice may be served simultaneously or must follow the first's expiry — the sequencing is genuinely unresolved — and a landlord who serves only one document risks the AS 09.45.100(a) bar on maintaining the action.
Month-to-month termination is date-anchored, not merely 30 days — AS 34.03.290(b) requires written notice 'at least 30 days before the rental due date specified in the notice,' so the termination date must itself be a rent due date. The week-to-week 14-day notice is available only 'while rent is current.' For the no-fault and landlord-purpose grounds of AS 34.03.310(c)(2) and (c)(4)-(7) — code-compliance work, the landlord's good-faith personal use, substantial alteration or demolition, withdrawal from the rental market for at least six months, or a good-faith sale — AS 09.45.090(a)(2)(D) requires the tenant to fail to vacate within the LONGER of 30 days or the notice period set out in the rental agreement.
The appeal window is a court rule, and it depends on the court — AS 22.15.240(a) grants the right to appeal to the superior court but sets no period; the 30-day figure comes from Alaska R. App. P. 602(a)(1), a general rule for civil appeals from the district court (the F.E.D. article's own appeal section was repealed in 1974, so nothing eviction-specific survives). An appeal does not automatically stay the eviction. And an eviction tried in the SUPERIOR court — arrears and damage above $100,000, or a case not referred down — is appealed to the supreme court instead.
Mobile home parks run a parallel scheme — AS 34.03.225 sits inside the URLTA chapter but imposes its own closed list of eviction grounds plus a 270-day notice, with a quit date not earlier than May 1 and not later than October 15, for a change in the use of the land — and expressly authorises a municipality to require a longer period or to compensate from a relocation fund. Because 'dwelling unit' includes a mobile home and, in a park, its lot or space (AS 34.03.360(3)), the ordinary AS 34.03.220 grounds also reach park tenants; 34.03.225 adds restrictions rather than replacing the chapter. None of its figures is blended into the headline numbers here.
Non-URLTA property has its own notice ladder — Property excluded from the URLTA by AS 34.03.330(b) — institutional residence incidental to detention or medical, geriatric, educational, counseling or religious services; purchaser occupancy under a contract of sale; fraternal or social organization housing; hotels, motels and transient lodgings; employees whose occupancy is conditioned on employment for services, maintenance or repair; condominium owners and cooperative proprietary lessees; primarily agricultural premises; and sponsored transitional or supportive housing — falls under AS 09.45.090(b)'s separate ladder: 7 days for nonpayment, 10 for a lease breach, a date not less than 24 hours after demand for deliberate substantial damage, 5 for illegal purpose, and 30 for farming or agricultural premises. It happens to match the URLTA figures on the two headline grounds but is a distinct scheme and should be treated as such.
Local overlays are contemplated, not barred — No Alaska statute preempting municipal landlord-tenant regulation was found, and there is no state-level just-cause or rent-control scheme — but several sections expressly contemplate municipal action (AS 34.03.310(a)(4) and (d)(1); AS 34.03.120(a)(9), referring to ordinances under AS 29.35.125; AS 34.03.225(a)(4)). No official state registry of adopting municipalities exists, so no list of localities is published here.
Waiver, fees, and two unresolved wrinkles — Accepting rent with knowledge of a default, or performance varying from the agreement, waives the landlord's right to terminate for that breach unless otherwise agreed after the breach (AS 34.03.240), and attorney fees go to the prevailing party in any proceeding under the chapter (AS 34.03.350). Two open points: the continuance provisions are not identical (AS 09.45.120's two-day cap, AS 34.03.285's 'good cause shown' standard for URLTA property, and Rule 85(a)(3) restating the cap) and should be read together; and whether a writ of assistance is 'execution' subject to Rule 62(a)'s 10-day stay in a CONTESTED case is unresolved on the text — the rule excepts default judgments, so the point is academic when the tenant never appears.
Sources and currency — These answers rest on the Alaska Legislature's own online infobase, which carries its own disclaimer that the official Alaska Statutes are the PRINT edition — no free, directly readable, self-declared-official Alaska code exists. No section these answers rest on has been amended since 2014 (AS 34.03.220) or 1994 (the F.E.D. article), AS 34.03.280 and .285 are untouched since 1974, and no supreme court order since the Fall 2025 rules edition touches Civil Rule 6, 62, 69, or 85 or Appellate Rule 602. Three bills of the 34th Legislature touch these chapters and none became law: HB 115, HB 159, and SB 207 (unlawful-occupant removal, the furthest along, which would amend Rule 85(a) — the source of the 15-day hearing window). As of 2026-07-25 nothing in them is law and nothing in them is reflected here.

Common questions: Alaska eviction process

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in Alaska?: 7 days. The written notice states the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate, and the tenancy ends if the tenant does not pay in full within those 7 calendar days. Serving the notice by mail rather than delivering it adds three days, making the period 10 (AS 34.03.220(b); AS 09.45.090(c)).
How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in Alaska?: 10 days. Those 10 days are both the termination date and the cure deadline. The written notice to quit must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 10 days after service, and the tenancy survives if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before that date (AS 34.03.220(a)(2)).
How long does an eviction take in Alaska?: Roughly 10 to 25 days from notice to lockout in the best case. That is a floor built from statutory and court-rule minimums for the commonest case - nonpayment of rent, notice delivered in person, tenant never appears - and contested cases run materially longer.
How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in Alaska?: No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes).
Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in Alaska?: No — Alaska bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Alaska bars self-help by statute, and the ban names utility shutoff. A landlord may not take possession by action or otherwise, including by interrupting electricity, gas, water, sanitary, or other essential services, except on abandonment, surrender, energy conditions beyond the landlord's control, or as the chapter itself permits (AS 34.03.280).

Statute citations

AS 34.03.220 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.220 (a)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.220 (a)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.220 (e) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.220 (d) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.225 (a)(4), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.230 (b), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.120 (a)(5), (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.210 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.240 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.260 (a)(1), (e) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.270 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.280 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.285 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.290 (a), (b), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.300 (a) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.310 (a), (b), (c), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.330 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.350 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 34.03.360 (1), (3), (6)-(10), (17), (19) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.060 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.070 (a) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.090 (a)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.090 (a)(2)(A)-(H) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.090 (a)(3) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.090 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.090 (c) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.100 (a), (b), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.105 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.110 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.120 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.130 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.45.135 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 22.15.030 (a)(6), (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 22.15.090 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 22.15.240 (a) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 09.35.030 (4) (verified 2026) Official source
AS 01.10.080 (verified 2026) Official source
AS 44.12.010 (a)(13) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska R. Civ. P. 85 Rule 85(a)(1)-(a)(6), (b) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska R. Civ. P. 6 Rule 6(a), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska R. Civ. P. 62 Rule 62(a), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska R. Civ. P. 69 Rule 69(a) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska R. App. P. 602 Rule 602(a)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Court System form CIV-575, Writ of Assistance (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Court System form CIV-105, Summons - Forcible Entry and Detainer items 1-2 (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Court System CIV-720, Eviction Booklet at 6 (day counting; earliest filing day) and at 18 (writ at hearing) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Legislature SIRS, bills affecting AS 34.03.220, 34th Legislature (currency) (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Legislature, SB 207 (34th Leg.) bill detail - status (S) FIN, 05/13/2026, not enacted (verified 2026) Official source
Alaska Legislature, Passed Legislation list, 34th Legislature (confirms HB 115, HB 159, SB 207 not enacted) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Alaska State Legislature site (www.akleg.gov, Alaska Statutes 2024 infobase, read via its print-format section pages): AS 34.03.070, 34.03.140, and 34.03.290 each read twice through independent paths (the single-section view plus a different-range view) with byte-identical results, and AS 34.03.020 read twice to verify the negative (no rent-increase language). The complete chapter (all 44 sections, 34.03.010-34.03.380) was read in one pass and every section heading enumerated for the verified-negative sweeps (no late-fee, grace-period, interest, unconscionability, rent-control, or preemption provision). Every figure that decides an answer here was additionally reconciled against three more sources: the enrolled text of HB 282 (28th Leg.), Ch. 27 SLA 2014, read in full on the official BASIS bill-text system (pins the pet-deposit subsection, the per-tenant trust-accounting rules, and the 30-day damages exception to the 14-day return track, all added 2014); the Alaska Department of Law's official 2024 pamphlet 'The Alaska Landlord & Tenant Act: what it means to you' (law.alaska.gov); and the Alaska Court System's PUB-30 handbook (public.courts.alaska.gov, 10/18 ed.). FindLaw's mirror (current through 2025-01-01) matched the official 34.03.070 text verbatim as a second-path check. Preemption negative run against a single-pass official sweep of AS Title 29 (Municipal Government, chs. 29.10-29.71 including 29.35 powers and 29.40 planning): zero rent-control or landlord-tenant provisions. Legislative check 2026-07-11 on official BASIS: all 97 bills passed by the 34th Legislature (2025-2026, status dates through 2026-07-09) enumerated - none on-topic (SB 50, Ch. 19 SLA 25, is municipal comprehensive planning only); full introduced-bill sweep found one pending on-topic bill, HB 115 (90-day rent-increase notice), idle in House State Affairs since 2025-02-26 - flagged, not incorporated.