Free Alaska Sublease Agreement Template

An Alaska sublease agreement is the contract between a tenant and the person taking over their rental. Alaska is one of the few states with a statute written specifically for this, at section 34.03.060 of the Alaska Statutes, inside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

The Act also settles who everyone is. A landlord includes a person subleasing a property to a sublessee, and a tenant includes sublessees. Sublet, and you become a landlord yourself.

Alaska turns landlord consent into a defined process with a deadline attached, rather than leaving it to the landlord’s discretion.

Consent Is Required, and the Lease Sets the Terms

Subleasing is only allowed if the landlord agrees. The Act expects the rental agreement to cover the rules on subleasing, so the original lease is the first thing to read.

The Prospective Subtenant Makes a Written Offer

Where the rental agreement allows subleasing, the tenant may identify one or more people willing to take over. Each prospective occupant makes a signed written offer to the landlord setting out their name, age and present address; their occupation, current employment and their employer’s name and address; how many people will live with them; two credit references, or two people who can confirm their financial responsibility; and the names and addresses of every landlord they have had for the past three years.

Fourteen Days, and Silence Counts as Yes

Once the landlord has that information, the landlord has fourteen days to approve or deny. No answer within fourteen days is the same as consent, and the tenant may go ahead and sublease.

Only Six Reasons Will Do

A refusal must be in writing, and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. The only lawful grounds are insufficient credit standing or financial responsibility; too many people for the rental unit; unwillingness to accept the terms of the rental agreement; unacceptable pets; proposed commercial activity in the unit; or a bad report from a former landlord.

Where the landlord refuses without giving one of those reasons, the tenant may either go ahead with the sublease anyway, or terminate the lease and move out on thirty days’ written notice, acting promptly after the denial.

Deposits You Take as a Sublessor

Since a sublessor is a landlord under the Act, the deposit rules apply. Except for units renting above two thousand dollars a month, a security deposit and prepaid rent together may not exceed two months’ rent, with up to one further month available as a pet deposit for animals other than service animals. Deposits must sit in a trust account at a bank or savings and loan, or with a licensed escrow agent.

Tip: In the Municipality of Anchorage a sublease applicant may not be asked their age, so local rules can narrow what the statewide form asks for. Figures and periods are statutory and can change, so confirm the current text before relying on one.

The subtenant gets nothing. Where a tenant re-rents the unit, or a room in it, without first obtaining the landlord’s consent, the tenant remains fully liable on the lease and the new person acquires no rights as a tenant.

The Alaska Department of Law spells out how that plays out. If the new person pays rent to the tenant, and the tenant keeps the money and does not pay the landlord, the landlord may terminate the tenancy for non-payment and the new person has to move out. Their only recourse is a claim against the tenant who took the money.

That is the practical case for doing the consent process properly before anyone moves in or hands over a deposit.

1. Read the rental agreement first and find its rules on subleasing.
2. Find a prospective subtenant and have them prepare a signed written offer with the details the statute requires.
3. Deliver that offer to the landlord and note the date, because the fourteen-day clock runs from delivery.
4. Wait for a written answer. Silence past fourteen days counts as consent.
5. If the refusal names none of the six lawful grounds, decide promptly whether to proceed or to give thirty days’ written notice and move out.
6. Once consent is settled, sign the Alaska sublease agreement and put any deposit into a trust account.

For an Alaska sublease agreement, the terms worth setting down are:

• The dates the sublease starts and ends, against the original lease term
• The rent, who it is paid to, and by when
• The deposit amount and where it is held
• A copy of the landlord’s written consent, attached
• Which duties under the original lease pass to the subtenant