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Alaska Roommate Agreement

The Alaska rules that shape the document: no owner-occupied fair housing exemption, no lodger or roommate-sharing statute, and the Anchorage overlay.

Find out where you stand in Alaska

Where are you with your roommate arrangement?

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Introduction

A roommate agreement is a private contract between co-tenants who share a home. It is not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change what the lease says. In Alaska, the sharpest state rule is not about eviction, it is about who you can choose: AS 18.80.240 carves out no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption at all, so picking a roommate by a protected trait can be unlawful even for a room in your own home, and Anchorage's municipal code layers on more protected classes with no exemption of its own. Alaska also has no lodger statute, no roommate-sharing statute, and no statute setting joint-and-several rent liability or a security deposit split between roommates, so those questions are left to the lease and to this Agreement. Everything else, the rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours, is covered by the national template.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Alaska's fair housing law (AS 18.80.240) has no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption of any kind, unlike the federal Mrs. Murphy rule many readers assume applies. A room rented out of your own Alaska home is fully covered real property, so choosing a roommate by a protected trait can be unlawful there too.

  2. 2

    Alaska protects marital status, change in marital status, and pregnancy in roommate selection alongside the federal classes, but the advertising-content rule (AS 18.80.240(7)) omits those three, so an ad's wording rules and the actual selection rules are not identical.

  3. 3

    Inside Anchorage, Municipal Code 5.20.020(A)(1) adds sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and familial status as protected classes beyond the state list, and a 2021 ordinance repealed the municipal code's own prior housing exemption, so Anchorage has no shared-living exemption either.

  4. 4

    Under AS 34.03.220(f), a roommate added without the landlord's written consent does not become a co-tenant and acquires no rights as a tenant under the Alaska Landlord and Tenant Act, while the original signer stays fully liable for the whole lease.

  5. 5

    AS 34.03.060(a) requires the landlord's consent before a tenant sublets or adds a roommate, unless the lease provides otherwise. A written sublet offer starts a 14-day clock, and consent is deemed given if the landlord does not respond.

  6. 6

    No Alaska statute sets a default rule on whether roommates who sign the same lease are jointly and severally liable for rent. That gap is left to the lease and to this Agreement, so state each roommate's payment share explicitly.

  7. 7

    No Alaska statute addresses splitting a security deposit between roommates or a faster process for removing an unwanted co-tenant. AS 34.03.070 covers only the landlord's own bookkeeping, and self-help removal should be avoided; assume the formal eviction process applies.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Alaska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.

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Alaska Roommate Agreement (Compact State Terms)

Use this compact set with the full national Roommate Agreement template, which covers general co-tenant terms: parties, rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours. What follows covers only what Alaska law changes. This Agreement is between the co-tenants named in it. It is not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or alter the lease.

1. Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Alaska.

2. Landlord Consent to Add a Roommate. Under AS 34.03.060(a), a tenant may not sublet or add a roommate without the landlord's consent, unless the lease says otherwise. A written offer to sublet starts a 14-day clock; no response means consent is deemed given.

3. Co-Tenant or Unauthorized Occupant Status. Under AS 34.03.220(f), a person added without the landlord's written consent does not become a co-tenant and acquires no tenant rights under the Alaska Landlord and Tenant Act. The original signing tenant stays fully liable for the whole lease regardless of any split agreed here. Confirm landlord consent, or that all roommates are on the lease, before relying on this Agreement.

4. No Right to Add a Roommate Over Landlord Objection. No Alaska statute gives a tenant a right to add an occupant if the landlord objects, unlike New York's Roommate Law. Section 2 and the lease control whether a new roommate may move in.

5. Rent Liability Among Roommates. No Alaska statute sets a default on joint and several liability. The lease controls what the landlord can collect from each tenant. Between themselves, each Roommate is responsible for this share of rent: [specify].

6. Security Deposit Between Roommates. AS 34.03.070 governs only how the landlord holds separate tenants' deposits; it does not address splitting a refund or reimbursing damage. The deposit will be contributed and returned among the parties as follows: [specify].

7. Removing a Roommate. Alaska has no lodger statute and no faster removal process for an unwanted co-tenant, including an occupant under Section 3. No Party shall change the locks, remove another Party's belongings, or attempt any other self-help removal. Removing an occupant claiming a right to stay should be assumed to require the landlord's formal eviction process under AS 34.03.220 and AS 09.45.060-.160.

8. Roommate Selection; Anchorage Overlay. Alaska's fair housing law (AS 18.80.240) has no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption, so choosing a roommate by sex, marital status, change in marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, disability, color, or national origin can violate state law, even for a room in the parties' own home. Its advertising rule (18.80.240(7)) omits marital status, change in marital status, and pregnancy, but that narrower ad rule does not make refusal on those three lawful. Inside Anchorage, Municipal Code 5.20.020(A)(1) also bars refusal based on sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or familial status, with no exemption of its own.

9. No Effect on the Lease. This Agreement binds only the signing co-tenants. It does not modify the lease, bind the landlord, or obligate the landlord to accept a new occupant.

10. Execution. This Agreement is effective when signed by all Roommates. Alaska law does not require notarization or witnesses for it to be enforceable between the parties.

This compact Alaska set supplements the national Roommate Agreement template. It is general information, not legal advice; attorney review is available.

Alaska Requirements for Roommate Agreement

Alaska Has No Shared-Living Fair Housing Exemption

AS 18.80.240 contains no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption, so refusing a roommate based on sex, marital status, change in marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, disability, color, or national origin can violate state law even for a room in the parties' own home.

Anchorage Adds Protected Classes With No Exemption

Anchorage Municipal Code 5.20.020(A)(1) adds sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and familial status as protected classes beyond state law, and a 2021 ordinance repealed the code's own prior housing exemption, so no shared-living exemption applies inside Anchorage either.

Alaska Landlord Consent to Add a Roommate

AS 34.03.060(a) requires the landlord's consent before a tenant sublets or adds a roommate, unless the lease says otherwise. A written sublet offer starts a 14-day clock, and consent is deemed given if the landlord does not respond in that time.

Alaska Unauthorized Occupant Has No Tenant Rights

Under AS 34.03.220(f), a person added to the tenancy without the landlord's written consent acquires no rights as a tenant under the Alaska Landlord and Tenant Act, and the original signing tenant remains fully liable for the whole lease.

Alaska Has No Joint-and-Several Rent Default

No Alaska statute sets a default rule on joint-and-several rent liability among roommates. Draft the payment clause to state each roommate's share explicitly rather than assuming an Alaska statutory default.

Alaska Has No Deposit-Split or Fast-Removal Statute

AS 34.03.070 governs only the landlord's handling of deposits and does not divide a shared deposit among roommates. Alaska also has no lodger law or faster removal process for an unwanted co-tenant; assume the formal eviction process applies and avoid self-help removal.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is a private contract between co-tenants sharing a home in Alaska. It sets the rent split, chores, and house rules, and addresses gaps Alaska's Landlord and Tenant Act (AS 34.03) leaves open, such as how roommates divide a security deposit. It is separate from the lease and does not involve the landlord.

No. An Alaska roommate agreement binds only the co-tenants who sign it. It does not modify the lease, does not add anyone to the lease, and does not obligate the landlord to accept a new occupant. Any change to who is a tenant of record must go through the landlord directly.

Alaska has no lodger law and no statute describing a faster process for removing an unwanted co-tenant. No Alaska statute or reported decision confirms that an unauthorized occupant can be removed without the formal eviction process, so self-help removal, such as changing the locks, is legally risky. Assume the landlord's formal eviction process under AS 34.03.220 applies.

It depends on the landlord's paperwork, not this agreement. Under AS 34.03.220(f), a person added to the tenancy without the landlord's written consent does not become a co-tenant and acquires no rights as a tenant under Alaska's Landlord and Tenant Act, and the original signer stays fully liable for the lease.

Alaska has no statute setting a default rule on this. AS 34.03 defines a tenant in the singular and does not use the phrase joint and several liability, so whether each roommate owes the full rent or only a share depends on the lease. State each roommate's payment share explicitly in the agreement.

Alaska law does not say. AS 34.03.070 regulates only how the landlord holds and accounts for deposits, including an anti-commingling rule between different tenants' trust funds, but it does not divide a shared deposit among roommates. Your roommate agreement is what actually governs that split.

No. No Alaska statute gives a tenant an affirmative right to add an occupant over the landlord's objection. Under AS 34.03.060(a), adding a roommate requires the landlord's consent, given directly or through a 14-day deemed-consent window after a written sublet offer.

No. Alaska's fair housing law (AS 18.80.240) protects marital status, change in marital status, and pregnancy alongside race, religion, sex, disability, color, and national origin, and unlike federal law, Alaska has no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption that would allow refusing on those grounds.

Yes. Anchorage Municipal Code 5.20.020(A)(1) adds sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and familial status as protected classes beyond what Alaska state law covers, and, after a 2021 ordinance, carries no owner-occupied or shared-living exemption of its own, matching the state's approach.