Alaska: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
An Alaska landlord's deadline depends on whether you gave proper notice of your move-out date: 14 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession if you did, 30 days if you didn't — and 30 days either way if the landlord is deducting for damage. The combined cap on prepaid rent plus security deposit is two months' rent, but that cap doesn't apply at all once the rent exceeds $2,000 a month. No interest is required, though the money must sit in a trust account at a bank, savings and loan, or licensed escrow agent. A willful failure to return the deposit or itemize deductions lets the tenant recover up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
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This is the general rule in Alaska. Ezel applies current Alaska law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | AS 34.03.070 (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Security deposits and prepaid rent) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | Two tracks. If the tenant gave the landlord proper notice under AS 34.03.290, the landlord must mail the refund/notice within 14 days after the tenancy is terminated and possession is delivered. If the tenant didn't give that notice, the landlord has 30 days after termination, delivery of possession, or the landlord learning the unit is abandoned. EITHER way, if the landlord is deducting for damage under this section, the deadline is 30 days, not 14. |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes — accrued rent and damages must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice mailed to the tenant's last known address, within the applicable 14- or 30-day deadline, together with the amount due the tenant |
| What can be deducted | Accrued (unpaid) rent, and damages meaning deterioration of the premises and their contents caused by the tenant's noncompliance with the tenant's maintenance duties. Excluded from "damages": deterioration from normal wear and tear, and deterioration caused by the LANDLORD's own failure to prepare for expected conditions or to meet the landlord's own statutory obligations. |
| Maximum deposit amount | Combined prepaid rent plus security deposit may not exceed two months' periodic rent — UNLESS the rental unit's rent exceeds $2,000 a month, in which case this cap doesn't apply at all. A separate pet security deposit is allowed on top, capped at one additional month's rent, accounted for separately and usable only for pet-related damage. |
| Interest on the deposit? | No interest required |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | If the landlord WILLFULLY fails to comply with the return/itemization duty, the tenant may recover up to twice the actual amount wrongfully withheld — a bad-faith-style trigger tied to willfulness, not an automatic penalty for any missed deadline |
| Separate account or bond required? | Yes — money paid as prepaid rent or a security deposit must be promptly deposited, wherever practicable, in a trust account at a bank, savings and loan association, or licensed escrow agent. Multiple tenants' funds may be commingled in one account, but the landlord must account for each tenant's money separately and may not use one tenant's funds to refund another tenant's deposit, pay another tenant's rent, or cover another tenant's damages. |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Alaska's deposit rules live in one section of its Uniform Residential
Landlord and Tenant Act, AS 34.03.070 ("Security deposits and prepaid
rent").
Deadline to return the deposit
"If the landlord or tenant gives notice that complies with AS 34.03.290,
the landlord shall mail the written notice and refund... within 14 days
after the tenancy is terminated and possession is delivered by the
tenant." Without that notice, "the landlord shall mail the written notice
and refund... within 30 days after the tenancy is terminated, possession
is delivered by the tenant, or the landlord becomes aware that the
dwelling unit is abandoned." And under either track, "the landlord shall
have 30 days after the tenancy is terminated to mail the refund if costs
are deducted for damages" (§ 34.03.070(g)).
Itemized statement required?
Yes. "The accrued rent and damages must be itemized by the landlord in a
written notice mailed to the tenant's last known address," delivered
within whichever deadline applies, "together with the amount due the
tenant" (§ 34.03.070(b)).
What can be deducted
"Accrued rent and the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by
reason of the tenant's noncompliance" with the tenant's maintenance duties.
"Damages" means "deterioration of the premises and, if applicable, of the
contents of the premises" — but expressly excludes deterioration "that is
the result of normal wear and tear" and deterioration "caused by the
landlord's failure to prepare for expected conditions or by the landlord's
failure to comply with an obligation of the landlord imposed by this
chapter" (§ 34.03.070(b)).
Maximum deposit amount
"A landlord may not demand or receive prepaid rent or a security deposit,
however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of two months'
periodic rent" — but "this section does not apply to rental units where
the rent exceeds $2,000 a month" (§ 34.03.070(a)), meaning higher-rent
units have no statutory cap at all. A landlord may also collect a separate
pet security deposit "not [to] exceed the periodic rent for one month,"
accounted for separately and usable "only [for] the amount of damages that
are directly related to the pet" (§ 34.03.070(h)).
Interest on the deposit?
No. Nothing in the current text of § 34.03.070 requires interest on a held
deposit or prepaid rent.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
"If the landlord wilfully fails to comply with (b) of this section, the
tenant may recover an amount not to exceed twice the actual amount
withheld" (§ 34.03.070(d)) — the multiplier is tied to willfulness, not a
bare missed-deadline trigger.
Separate account or bond required?
Yes. "All money paid to the landlord... as prepaid rent or as a security
deposit... shall be promptly deposited by the landlord, wherever
practicable, in a trust account in a bank, savings and loan association, or
licensed escrow agent." Multiple tenants' money can share one account, but
"the landlord shall separately account for prepaid rent and security
deposits received from each tenant," and can't dip into one tenant's funds
to cover another's refund, rent, or damages (§ 34.03.070(c)).
What trips people up
Your own notice affects the landlord's deadline. Giving proper notice
under AS 34.03.290 actually shortens the landlord's window to 14 days
(absent a damage deduction) — skipping that notice hands the landlord a
longer 30-day window instead.
A damage deduction always stretches the clock to 30 days, even if you
gave the shorter-deadline notice.
High-rent units have NO statutory cap at all. The two-month-rent limit
disappears completely once monthly rent exceeds $2,000 — a landlord could
lawfully demand far more.
The 2x penalty requires willfulness, not just lateness. An honest
mistake or an ordinary missed deadline doesn't automatically double the
liability — the tenant has to show the landlord's noncompliance was
willful.
Common questions
How long does my Alaska landlord have to return my deposit? 14 days if
you gave proper move-out notice and nothing's being deducted for damage;
30 days if you didn't give that notice, or if damage deductions are
involved either way.
Is there a cap on my deposit? Two months' rent combined for prepaid
rent and deposit — unless your rent is over $2,000 a month, in which case
there's no cap at all.
What can I recover if my landlord wrongfully withholds my deposit? The
wrongfully withheld amount, and up to double that amount if the landlord's
failure to comply was willful.
Statutes and sources
- AS 34.03.070(a) — the two-month cap and the $2,000-rent exception.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - AS 34.03.070(b) — permitted deductions and the itemization duty.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - AS 34.03.070(c) — the trust-account requirement.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - AS 34.03.070(d) — the willful-noncompliance 2x penalty.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - AS 34.03.070(g) — the 14-day/30-day dual deadline.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - AS 34.03.070(h) — the separate pet security deposit.
https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-34/chapter-03/article-3/section-34-03-070/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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