Alaska Statutes.
Title 34. Property
Chapter 3. Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
Section 260. Disposition of Abandoned Property.
previous: Section 250. Landlord Liens; Distraint For Rent Abolished.
next: Section 270. Remedy After Termination.

AS 34.03.260. Disposition of Abandoned Property.

(a) Except as otherwise agreed, if, upon termination of a tenancy including but not limited to a termination after expiration of a lease or by surrender or abandonment of the premises, a tenant has left personal property upon the premises, and the landlord reasonably believes that the tenant has abandoned this personal property, the landlord may

(1) give notice to the tenant demanding that the property be removed within the dates set out in the notice but not less than 15 days after delivery or mailing of the notice, and that if the property is not removed within the time specified, the property may be sold; if the property is not removed within the time specified in the notice, the landlord may sell the property at a public sale; the landlord may dispose of perishable commodities in any manner the landlord considers fit;

(2) if the tenant has left personal property that is reasonably determined by the landlord to be valueless or of such little value that the cost of storing and conducting a public sale would probably exceed the amount that would be realized from the sale, the landlord may notify the tenant that the property be removed within the date specified in the notice but not less than 15 days after delivery or mailing of the notice, and that if the property is not removed within the time specified, the landlord intends to destroy or otherwise dispose of the property; if the property is not removed within the time specified in the notice, the landlord may destroy or otherwise dispose of the property; in the notice, the landlord shall indicate an election to sell certain items of the tenant's personal property at public sale and to destroy or otherwise dispose of the remainder.

(b) After notice as provided in (a) of this section, the landlord shall store all personal property of the tenant in a place of safekeeping and shall exercise reasonable care of the property, but is not responsible to the tenant for loss not caused by the landlord's deliberate or negligent act. The landlord may elect to store the property on the premises previously demised, in which event the storage cost may not exceed the fair rental value of the premises. If the tenant's property is removed to a commercial storage company, the storage cost shall include the actual charge for the storage and removal from the premises to the place of storage.

(c) After landlord's notice under (a) of this section, or otherwise, if the tenant makes timely response in writing of an intention to remove the personal property from the premises and does not do so within the time specified in the landlord's notice or within 15 days of the delivery or mailing of the tenant's written response whichever is later, it shall be conclusively presumed that the tenant has abandoned the property. If the tenant removes the property after notice, the landlord is entitled to the cost of storage for the period the property has remained in the landlord's safekeeping.

(d) The landlord is not liable in damages in an action by a tenant claiming loss by reason of the landlord's storage, destruction, or disposition of property under this section. A landlord who deliberately or negligently violates the provisions of this section is liable for actual damages and penal damages of an amount not to exceed actual damages.

(e) A public sale authorized under this section shall be conducted under AS 09.35.140 . The landlord may dispose of any property upon which no bid is made at the public sale.

All content © 2008 by Touch N' Go/Bright Solutions, Inc.

Note to HTML Version:

This version of the Alaska Statutes is current through December, 2007. The Alaska Statutes were automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, but this can not be guaranteed. If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Statutes be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. For statutes adopted after the effective date of these statutes, see, Alaska State Legislature If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful.