Subletting Laws in Alaska
Alaska lays out clear guidelines for subletting in its state laws. Tenants must get their landlord's approval to sublet—but landlords can only reject a potential candidate for a handful of reasons.
Most states have few, if any, laws relating to subletting. Not so in Alaska, which clearly lays out the guidelines for tenants hoping to sublease their rental unit.1 The most important thing to understand is that—unless the lease includes a clause that explicitly allows subletting—a tenant must get written consent from their landlord to legally sublet. Landlords are not allowed to outright ban subletting, either. They can only refuse a potential subletter for one of the following reasons:
- Insufficient credit or financial responsibility
- Too many people for the residence
- Unwillingness of the prospective subletter to abide by the terms of the existing lease
- Proposed pets
- Proposed commercial activity
- A letter from a previous landlord detailing the prospective subletter's previous poor behavior as a tenant (which must accompany the rejection)
The law also sets out a relatively detailed timeline for a sublet request. First, each potential subletter has to make a written offer to the landlord containing the following information:
- Name, age, and present address
- Marital status
- Occupation, place of employment, and name and address of employer
- Number of people who would normally reside with the prospective subletter
- Two credit references (or responsible people who will confirm the financial responsibility of the prospective subletter)
- Names and addresses of all landlords of the prospective subletter during the last three years
The landlord has two weeks to make their decision once the offer(s) have been delivered. If the landlord doesn't send a signed, written rejection after 14 days, then it's assumed they agree to the sublease.
If the landlord does refuse the proposed subtenant, the written rejection must include a reason. If the landlord didn't give a reason—or they gave a reason other than the ones listed above—then the rejection isn't legally valid. At that point, the original tenant has two options:
- Go ahead with the proposed sublease.
- Break their lease. This must be done in writing, without "unnecessary delay," and must be given to the landlord at least 30 days before the move-out date specified by the notice.
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