CSHB 282(JUD): "An Act relating to the rights and obligations of residential landlords and tenants; and relating to the taking of a permanent fund dividend for rent and damages owed to a residential landlord."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 282(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to the rights and obligations of residential landlords and tenants; and 02 relating to the taking of a permanent fund dividend for rent and damages owed to a 03 residential landlord." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 34.03.020(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) If required by the landlord, the landlord and the tenant shall include within 07 the rental agreement, incorporate by reference in the rental agreement, or add as a 08 separate attachment to the rental agreement a premises condition statement, setting out 09 the condition of the premises, including fixtures but excluding reference to any of the 10 other contents of the premises, and, if applicable, a contents inventory itemizing or 11 describing all of the furnishings and other contents of the premises and specifying the 12 condition of each of them. In the premises condition statement and contents inventory, 13 the landlord and tenant [PARTIES] shall describe the premises and its contents at 14 the commencement of the term of the period of the occupancy covered by the rental
01 agreement. When signed by the landlord and tenant [PARTIES], the premises 02 condition statement and contents inventory completed under this subsection become 03 part of the rental agreement. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 34.03.070(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) Except as provided in (h) of this section, a [A] landlord may not demand 06 or receive prepaid rent or a security deposit, however denominated, in an amount or 07 value in excess of two months' periodic rent. This section does not apply to rental units 08 where the rent exceeds $2,000 a month. 09 * Sec. 3. AS 34.03.070(b) is amended to read: 10 (b) Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord 11 as prepaid rent or as a security deposit may be applied to the payment of accrued rent 12 and the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's 13 noncompliance with AS 34.03.120. The accrued rent and damages must be itemized 14 by the landlord in a written notice mailed to the tenant's last known address within the 15 time limit prescribed by (g) of this section, together with the amount due the tenant. In 16 this subsection, "damages" 17 (1) means deterioration of the premises and, if applicable, of the 18 contents of the premises; 19 (2) does not include deterioration 20 (A) that is the result of normal wear and tear [THE 21 TENANT'S USE OF THE PREMISES BY NORMAL, NONABUSIVE 22 LIVING]; 23 (B) caused by the landlord's failure to prepare for expected 24 conditions or by the landlord's failure to comply with an obligation of the 25 landlord imposed by this chapter. 26 * Sec. 4. AS 34.03.070(c) is amended to read: 27 (c) All money paid to the landlord by the tenant as prepaid rent or as a security 28 deposit in a lease or rental agreement shall be promptly deposited by the landlord, 29 wherever practicable, in a trust account in a bank, savings and loan association, or 30 licensed escrow agent, and the landlord shall provide to the tenant the terms and 31 conditions under which the prepaid rent or security deposit or portions of them may be
01 withheld by the landlord. Nothing [; NOTHING] in this chapter prohibits the landlord 02 from commingling prepaid rents and security deposits in a single financial account; 03 however, the landlord shall separately account for prepaid rent and security 04 deposits received from each tenant. The landlord may not commingle prepaid 05 rent and security deposits with other funds. The landlord may not use money 06 held for one tenant in a trust account to 07 (1) refund the security deposit of another tenant; 08 (2) apply to the payment of another tenant's accrued rent; 09 (3) apply to damages suffered by the landlord because of another 10 tenant's noncompliance with AS 34.03.120. 11 * Sec. 5. AS 34.03.070(g) is amended to read: 12 (g) If the landlord or tenant gives notice that complies with AS 34.03.290, the 13 landlord shall mail the written notice and refund required by (b) of this section within 14 14 days after the tenancy is terminated and possession is delivered by the tenant, 15 except the landlord shall have 30 days after the tenancy is terminated to mail the 16 refund if costs are deducted for damages that the landlord has suffered because 17 of the tenant's noncompliance with AS 34.03.120. If the tenant does not give notice 18 that complies with AS 34.03.290, the landlord shall mail the written notice and refund 19 required by (b) of this section within 30 days after the tenancy is terminated, 20 possession is delivered by the tenant, or the landlord becomes aware that the dwelling 21 unit is abandoned. If the landlord does not know the mailing address of the tenant, but 22 knows or has reason to know how to contact the tenant to give the notice required by 23 (b) of this section, the landlord shall make a reasonable effort to deliver the notice and 24 refund to the tenant. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 34.03.070 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 26 (h) Notwithstanding the limitation on the amount of prepaid rent or security 27 deposit in (a) of this section, a landlord may demand or receive an additional security 28 deposit from a tenant who has a pet on the premises that is not a service animal. The 29 additional security deposit 30 (1) may not exceed the periodic rent for one month; and 31 (2) shall be accounted for separately from prepaid rent or a security
01 deposit received under (a) of this section and may be applied only to the amount of 02 damages that are directly related to the pet of the tenant. 03 (i) In this section, 04 (1) "normal wear and tear" means deterioration that occurs from the 05 intended use of the rental unit and without negligence, carelessness, accident, misuse, 06 or abuse of the premises or contents by the tenant, members of the household of the 07 tenant, or the invitees or guests of the tenant; 08 (2) "service animal" means an animal that is individually trained to do 09 work or perform tasks that are directly related to and for the benefit of an individual 10 with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other 11 mental disability. 12 * Sec. 7. AS 34.03.090(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) The tenant shall [AS A CONDITION OF DELIVERY OF POSSESSION 14 OF THE PREMISES TO THE TENANT, THE LANDLORD MAY REQUIRE THE 15 TENANT TO] acknowledge or verify by the tenant's signature the accuracy of the 16 premises condition statement and contents inventory prepared under AS 34.03.020(e). 17 The [BEFORE REQUIRING THE TENANT'S SIGNATURE, THE LANDLORD 18 SHALL FIRST ADVISE THE TENANT THAT THE] premises condition statement 19 and contents inventory 20 (1) may be used by the landlord or tenant as the basis 21 (A) to determine whether prepaid rent or a security deposit 22 shall be applied to the payment of damages to the premises when authorized by 23 AS 34.03.070(b); and 24 (B) to compute the recovery of other damages to which the 25 parties may be entitled under this chapter; and 26 (2) is, in an action initiated by a party to recover damages or to obtain 27 other relief to which a party may be entitled under this chapter, presumptive evidence 28 of the condition of the premises and its contents at the commencement of the term of 29 the period of occupancy covered by the rental agreement. 30 * Sec. 8. AS 34.03.100(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) The landlord shall
01 (1) make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the 02 premises in a fit and habitable condition; 03 (2) keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe 04 condition; 05 (3) maintain in good and safe working order and condition all 06 electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, kitchen, and other 07 facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by 08 the landlord; 09 (4) provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for 10 the removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste incidental to the occupancy of 11 the dwelling unit and arrange for their removal; 12 (5) supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water and heat 13 at all times, insofar as energy conditions permit, except where 14 (A) the building that includes the dwelling unit is so 15 constructed that heat or hot water is generated by an installation within the 16 exclusive control of the tenant and supplied by a direct public utility 17 connection; or 18 (B) the premises does not have a well or water provided by 19 a direct public utility connection and the rental agreement specifically 20 states that the duty of the landlord to supply running water or hot water 21 to the premises is waived by the tenant; 22 (6) if requested by the tenant, provide and maintain locks and furnish 23 keys reasonably adequate to ensure safety to the tenant's person and property; and 24 (7) provide smoke detection devices and carbon monoxide detection 25 devices as required under AS 18.70.095. 26 * Sec. 9. AS 34.03.120(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) The tenant 28 (1) shall keep that part of the premises occupied and used by the tenant 29 as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit; 30 (2) shall dispose all ashes, rubbish, garbage, and other waste from the 31 dwelling unit in a clean and safe manner;
01 (3) shall keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the 02 tenant as clean as their condition permits; 03 (4) shall use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, 04 heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, kitchen, and other facilities and appliances, 05 including elevators, in the premises; 06 (5) may not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, 07 impair, or remove a part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so; 08 (6) may not unreasonably disturb, or permit others on the premises 09 with the tenant's consent to unreasonably disturb, a neighbor's peaceful enjoyment of 10 the premises; 11 (7) shall maintain smoke detection devices and carbon monoxide 12 detection devices as required under AS 18.70.095; 13 (8) may not, except in an emergency when the landlord cannot be 14 contacted after reasonable effort to do so, change the locks on doors of the premises 15 without first securing the written agreement of the landlord and, immediately after 16 changing the locks, providing the landlord a set of keys to all doors for which locks 17 have been changed; in an emergency, the tenant may change the locks and shall, 18 within five days, provide the landlord a set of keys to all doors for which locks have 19 been changed and written notice of the change; [AND] 20 (9) may not unreasonably engage in conduct, or permit others on the 21 premises to engage in conduct, that results in the imposition of a fee under a municipal 22 ordinance adopted under AS 29.35.125; and 23 (10) may not allow the number of individuals occupying the 24 premises to exceed the number allowed by applicable law, by a covenant limiting 25 the landlord's use of the premises, or the rental agreement. 26 * Sec. 10. AS 34.03.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (c) When terminating the tenancy, the tenant shall leave the premises in 28 substantially the same condition, except for normal wear and tear, as the condition of 29 the premises at the beginning of the tenancy, including, in the landlord's discretion, 30 professionally cleaning the carpets if the carpets were professionally cleaned 31 immediately before the tenancy began. In this subsection, "normal wear and tear" has
01 the meaning given in AS 34.03.070. 02 * Sec. 11. AS 34.03.220(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) Except as provided in this chapter, 04 (1) if the tenant or someone in the tenant's control deliberately inflicts 05 substantial damage to the premises in breach of AS 34.03.120(a)(5) or the tenant 06 engages in or permits another to engage in prostitution or another illegal activity 07 at the premises in breach of AS 34.03.120(b), the landlord may deliver a written 08 notice to quit to the tenant under AS 09.45.100 - 09.45.105 specifying the act or 09 activity constituting the breach and specifying that the rental agreement will terminate 10 on [UPON] a date that is not less than 24 hours or more than five days after service 11 of the notice; for purposes of this paragraph, damage to premises is "substantial" if the 12 loss, destruction, or defacement of property attributable to the deliberate infliction of 13 damage to the premises exceeds $400; 14 (2) if there is a material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental 15 agreement, or if there is noncompliance with AS 34.03.120, other than deliberate 16 infliction of substantial damage to the premises or other than noncompliance as to a 17 utility service for which the provisions of (e) of this section apply, materially affecting 18 health and safety, the landlord may deliver a written notice to quit to the tenant under 19 AS 09.45.100 - 09.45.110 specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach 20 and specifying that the rental agreement will terminate on [UPON] a date not less than 21 10 days after service of the notice; if the breach is not remedied, the rental agreement 22 terminates as provided in the notice subject to the provisions of this section; if the 23 breach is remediable by repairs or the payment of damages or otherwise and the tenant 24 adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental 25 agreement will not terminate; in the absence of due care by the tenant, if substantially 26 the same act or omission that constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was 27 given recurs within six months, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement upon 28 at least five days' [DAYS] written notice to quit specifying the breach and the date of 29 termination of the rental agreement. 30 * Sec. 12. AS 43.23.065(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) An exemption is not available under this section for permanent fund
01 dividends taken to satisfy 02 (1) child support obligations required by court order or decision of the 03 child support services agency under AS 25.27.140 - 25.27.220; 04 (2) court ordered restitution under AS 12.55.045 - 12.55.051, 05 12.55.100, or AS 47.12.120(b)(4); 06 (3) claims on defaulted education loans under AS 43.23.067; 07 (4) court ordered fines; 08 (5) writs of execution under AS 09.35 of a judgment that is entered 09 (A) against a minor in a civil action to recover damages and 10 court costs; 11 (B) under AS 09.65.255 against the parent, parents, or legal 12 guardian of an unemancipated minor; 13 (6) a debt owed by an eligible individual to an agency of the state, 14 including the University of Alaska, unless the debt is contested and an appeal is 15 pending, or the time limit for filing an appeal has not expired; 16 (7) a debt owed to a person for a program for the rehabilitation of 17 perpetrators of domestic violence required under AS 12.55.101, AS 18.66.100(c)(15), 18 AS 25.20.061(3), or AS 33.16.150(f)(2); 19 (8) a judgment for unpaid rent or damage owed to a landlord by 20 an eligible individual that was a tenant of the landlord; in this paragraph, 21 "tenant" has the meaning given in AS 34.03.360. 22 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 23 read: 24 APPLICABILITY. Sections 1 - 11 of this Act apply to a residential rental agreement 25 for a period beginning on or after the effective date of this Act.