Construction Defect Demand Letter - Alaska

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT DEMAND LETTER

STATE OF ALASKA

NOTICE PURSUANT TO ALASKA STATUTE SECTIONS 09.45.881-899

SENT VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND REGULAR FIRST-CLASS MAIL

[DATE]

[CONTRACTOR/BUILDER NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]
Alaska Contractor Registration No.: [NUMBER]

Re: STATUTORY NOTICE OF CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
Property Address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]
Owner: [OWNER NAME]
Original Contract Date: [DATE]
Substantial Completion Date: [DATE]

Dear Sir or Madam:

This firm represents [OWNER NAME] ("Owner" or "Claimant") regarding construction defects at the above-referenced property. If this is a claim by a person who owns or is purchasing a statutory dwelling against a registered contractor, architect, or engineer engaged in designing, constructing, or remodeling that dwelling, this letter is intended as the written notice required by Alaska Stat. § 09.45.881.

YOUR WRITTEN RESPONSE UNDER ALASKA STAT. § 09.45.882 IS DUE WITHIN TWENTY-ONE (21) DAYS AFTER SERVICE OF THIS NOTICE.

I. ALASKA-SPECIFIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK

A. Scope and Notice

Alaska Stat. §§ 09.45.881-.899 apply to a civil action or arbitration claim concerning a defect in the design, construction, or remodel of a covered dwelling when the claimant and construction professional satisfy § 09.45.899. The article defines a dwelling to include a single-family house, duplex, or individual multi-family housing unit and associated systems, components, and improvements. A statutory remodel is a change worth more than 25 percent of the value of the structure being changed. Personal-injury and death claims are excluded by § 09.45.896.

Section 09.45.881 requires the claimant to serve written notice at least 90 days before filing the action. The notice must identify the claim and describe it in reasonable detail sufficient to determine the general nature of the alleged defect and its known results. If requested, the claimant must provide possessed evidence depicting the defect's nature and cause and the nature and extent of necessary repairs, including expert reports, photographs, and video. Under § 09.45.899(8), statutory service means personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the addressee's last known address.

B. Statute of Limitations

The theory, accrual date, contract language, and any other statutory rule must be analyzed claim by claim. A four-year Uniform Commercial Code period should not be assigned to a construction-services claim merely because the project used goods.

C. Statute of Repose

For an action covered by §§ 09.45.881-.899, § 09.10.054(a) bars commencement more than 10 years after substantial completion of the dwelling construction or remodeling that contains or implements the defect. Section 09.10.054(b) tolls a limitation imposed by Chapter 09.10 from service of the § 09.45.881 notice until the claimant should reasonably understand that settlement under the statutory procedure will not succeed.

Section 09.10.055 separately imposes a qualified 10-year repose rule for personal-injury, death, and property-damage actions, measured from the earlier of substantial completion or the last act alleged to have caused the harm. It contains material exceptions, including specified intentional or reckless code/design disregard, intentional act or gross negligence, fraud or misrepresentation, express warranty, defective product, intentional concealment, shorter statutory periods, and contractual waiver. Do not describe that section as an exception-free construction cutoff.

D. Damages in a Covered Action

Except when § 09.45.895(c)'s gross-negligence or reckless-or-intentional-misconduct exception applies, § 09.45.895 limits a covered action to defect-caused reasonable repair costs or actual damages (including necessary engineering or consulting fees), necessary temporary housing during repair, defect-caused reduction in market value, and reasonable and necessary attorney fees and costs. The statute also requires specified homeowner-warranty or homeowner-insurance compensation to be deducted, subject to its exclusions and repayment rule.

E. Contract Notice and Registration

Section 09.45.893 requires a construction professional that wants the article's rights to give the contracting person the prescribed separate-page notice and obtain the required signature. Confirm whether that disclosure was provided. Section 09.45.899 defines a covered construction professional as a registered contractor, architect, or engineer engaged in the business of designing, constructing, or remodeling a dwelling. If a contractor-bond claim under § 08.18.081 is contemplated, subsection (c) separately requires compliance with §§ 09.45.881-.899 when the claim is covered.

II. PROPERTY AND PROJECT INFORMATION

A. Property Description

B. Project Information

C. Parties Involved

General Contractor:

• Name: [NAME]
• Registration Number: [NUMBER]
• Address: [ADDRESS]
• Contact: [PHONE/EMAIL]

Subcontractors:

III. DESCRIPTION OF DEFECTS

For purposes of Alaska Stat. § 09.45.881(b), the following describes each claimed defect in reasonable detail and states its known results:

DEFECT #1: [TITLE - e.g., ROOFING FAILURE]

Location: [Specific location within the property]

Description: [Detailed description of the defect]

Known Results: [Describe water intrusion, movement, deterioration, loss of use, or other known result]

Building Components Affected:
☐ Foundation/Slab ☐ Framing ☐ Roofing ☐ Exterior walls/Siding ☐ Windows/Doors
☐ Plumbing ☐ Electrical ☐ HVAC ☐ Insulation ☐ Drywall/Interior finishes
☐ Flooring ☐ Waterproofing ☐ Drainage ☐ Other: [SPECIFY]

Standards Violated:
☐ Project-specific state or local code and edition identified below
☐ Manufacturer's Installation Instructions
☐ Industry Standards (IRC, IBC, ASTM)
☐ Contract Specifications
☐ Express warranty
☐ Other legal standard identified by Alaska counsel

Date First Observed: [DATE]

Estimated Cost to Repair: $[AMOUNT]

DEFECT #2: [TITLE]

[REPEAT FORMAT ABOVE FOR EACH DEFECT]

IV. SUMMARY OF DEFECTS AND DAMAGES

V. LEGAL BASIS FOR CLAIMS

A. Breach of Contract

You failed to perform the obligations identified in the contract, plans, specifications, and incorporated project requirements: [IDENTIFY EACH PROVISION AND BREACH].

B. Breach of Express Warranty

You provided the following express warranties and failed to perform them: [IDENTIFY EACH WARRANTY AND BREACH].

C. Other Warranty Theory

If Alaska counsel determines that a fact-specific implied warranty applies, identify the warranty, supporting current authority, parties entitled and bound, scope, any disclaimer, and breach here: [INSERT VERIFIED THEORY].

D. Negligence

To the extent Alaska law recognizes a duty independent of the contract under the facts of this project, the acts and omissions described above may support a negligence claim. Duty, breach, causation, recoverable harm, and the economic-loss boundary require counsel's analysis; a contract breach should not automatically be relabeled as negligence.

E. Project-Specific Code Violations

The work appears to violate the provisions listed below. Verify the code, edition, effective date, state or local adopting authority, amendment, and section before use.

VI. STATUTORY RESPONSE AND SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE

A. Written Response Due Within 21 Days

Under Alaska Stat. § 09.45.882, within 21 days after service of this notice, the construction professional must serve a written response that does one of the following:

1. Offers to inspect the dwelling within a specified time to decide whether to offer repair, pay money in compromise and settlement, or dispute the claim;
2. Offers monetary compromise and settlement without inspection; or
3. Disputes the claim and states that the construction professional will neither repair nor pay money to settle it.

If the claim is disputed or no timely response is served, § 09.45.883 permits the claimant to bring the noticed claim without further notice. The claimant will separately calendar § 09.45.881's 90-day language, § 09.10.054, and every event-based filing provision; no single sentence in this letter should be treated as a universal filing-date calculation.

B. Inspection and Post-Inspection Response

If the Claimant accepts an inspection offer, § 09.45.885 requires reasonable access during normal working hours for the construction professional and its contractors or agents to inspect the dwelling and alleged defect. Within 14 days after completing the inspection, § 09.45.886 requires the construction professional to serve one of the following:

1. A no-charge repair offer containing the inspection scope, findings and results, necessary repairs, and a completion schedule;
2. An offer to compromise and settle by paying money; or
3. A statement that the construction professional will not repair the defect.

Section 09.45.887 identifies when the claimant may proceed without further notice after a missing post-inspection response, failure to complete agreed repairs satisfactorily and on time, failure to provide a monetary offer under § 09.45.886(2), or a statement that no repair will be made.

C. Acceptance, Rejection, and Mitigation

Under § 09.45.888, a claimant who rejects a post-inspection repair or monetary offer must serve written notice stating the basis for rejection, after which the claimant may bring the noticed claim without further notice. Under § 09.45.890, a repair offer must be accepted in writing within a reasonable period not exceeding 30 days, and an accepting claimant must provide reasonable working-hours access for the repairs.

An unreasonable rejection or failure to provide a reasonable repair opportunity after acceptance may cap recovery and affect attorney-fee awards under § 09.45.889. Failure to allow a reasonable requested inspection or provide a good-faith written response to specified offers creates the rebuttable mitigation presumption in § 09.45.891. Section 09.45.892 limits a noncompliance defense by a construction professional that failed, without good cause, to respond in good faith to the notice.

VII. INSPECTION ACCESS

If your timely § 09.45.882 response offers inspection, the Claimant will provide the reasonable access contemplated by § 09.45.885. In the response:

1. State the proposed inspection scope and specified timeframe
2. Propose dates and times during normal working hours
3. Identify all persons and experts who will attend
4. Identify any testing, sampling, opening, or destructive activity proposed
5. Describe how inspected areas will be protected and restored

Contact Information:
[LAW FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

VIII. PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE

Preserve all documents and materials relating to construction, including:

• All contracts and subcontracts
• Plans, specifications, and drawings
• Inspection reports and quality control records
• All correspondence
• Construction photographs
• Daily logs and progress reports
• Warranties and insurance documents

This is a preservation request. The availability of any evidentiary remedy is reserved for determination under the law and rules applicable to a later proceeding.

IX. SETTLEMENT DEMAND

To resolve this matter without litigation:

Option A - Repair by Contractor:

1. Complete repair of all defects within [NUMBER] days
2. All repairs warranted for [NUMBER] years
3. Payment of engineering or consulting costs to the extent recoverable or agreed: $[AMOUNT]
4. Payment of attorney fees and costs to the extent recoverable or agreed: $[AMOUNT]

Option B - Monetary Settlement:
Payment of $[AMOUNT] within 30 days.

X. CONCLUSION

Please serve the written response required by Alaska Stat. § 09.45.882 within 21 days after service of this notice. The Claimant reserves all rights following a dispute, non-response, rejected offer, failed repair, or other event addressed by §§ 09.45.881-.899 and applicable law.

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: _________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Alaska Bar No. [NUMBER]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]
[TELEPHONE]
[EMAIL]

Attorneys for [OWNER NAME]

ENCLOSURES:
☐ Photographs of defects
☐ Expert report(s)
☐ Repair estimates
☐ Copy of construction contract

cc: [OWNER NAME]
[INSURANCE CARRIER]
[OTHER RECIPIENTS, IF ANY]

ALASKA-SPECIFIC PRACTICE NOTES

Scope and Service (Alaska Stat. §§ 09.45.881, .896, and .899):

• Confirm that the claimant, recipient, property, work, and claim fit the statutory definitions. The procedure does not cover personal-injury or death claims.
• Serve by personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the addressee's last known address.
• Describe the general nature of every defect and its known results in reasonable detail. A later-discovered defect requires additional compliance before an action on that defect under § 09.45.894.
• If requested, provide possessed expert reports, photographs, videos, and other evidence depicting the nature and cause of the defect and necessary repairs.

Procedure:

• Serve notice at least 90 days before filing under § 09.45.881; the written response is due within 21 days after service under § 09.45.882.
• A timely initial response must offer inspection within a specified time, offer money without inspection, or dispute the claim.
• If inspection is accepted, provide reasonable working-hours access. The construction professional's post-inspection response is due within 14 days after inspection completion and must offer a documented repair, offer money, or state that no repair will be made.
• A claimant rejecting an inspection or settlement offer must serve a written rejection stating the basis. A repair offer must be accepted within a reasonable time not exceeding 30 days.
• Read the filing provisions together: §§ 09.45.883, .884, .887, and .888 address different dispute, non-response, rejection, and performance events.

Deadlines:

• For covered claims, serve notice within one year after discovery and do not assume the process can extend beyond § 09.10.054(a)'s 10-year substantial-completion cutoff.
• Section 09.10.054(b) tolls Chapter 09.10 limitations during the statutory settlement process until the claimant should reasonably understand settlement will not succeed. Document that event.
• The general three-year contract and two-year tort summaries are starting points, not universal accrual conclusions. Analyze contract waiver, theory, accrual, and other statutes.
• Section 09.10.055 has substantial exceptions; do not use it as a categorical 10-year bar.

Offers and Damages:

• Evaluate an offer under §§ 09.45.889-.891 before rejection or acceptance. Unreasonable rejection, denied access, or lack of a good-faith response can affect recoverable damages, fees, and mitigation findings.
• Section 09.45.895 contains a claim-specific damages list and collateral-source deductions, with an exception for gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct.
• Do not demand categories outside § 09.45.895 as automatically recoverable in a covered action. Separately identify any contract or other legal basis.

Contract Disclosure and Registration:

• Check whether the construction professional supplied the separate-page, signed notice prescribed by § 09.45.893; the statute conditions use of the article's construction-professional rights on that disclosure.
• Confirm current contractor, architect, or engineer registration. If pursuing a contractor bond under § 08.18.081, subsection (c) incorporates the statutory claim procedure for a covered claim.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Alaska Legislature — current Title 9 PDF
• Alaska Legislature — current Title 8 PDF
• Alaska Legislature — current §§ 09.10.040-.110 text
• Alaska Legislature — current Chapter 09.45 text
• Alaska Legislature — enrolled H.B. 151 (2003), enacting §§ 09.10.054 and 09.45.881-.899
• Alaska Legislature — C.S.H.B. 340(JUD) am (2004), amending §§ 09.45.893 and .895
• Alaska Stat. §§ 09.45.881-.899 — 2025 current-text mirror
• Alaska Stat. § 08.18.081 — 2025 current-text mirror

This template is for informational purposes only. Consult a licensed Alaska attorney before use.