No Heat, Water or Power, and a Lockout
AS 34.03.210 — a lockout or a shutoff by the landlord, and up to one and one-half times the actual damages
If the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply running water, hot water, heat, sanitary facilities or other essential services, the tenant may give written notice of the breach and then immediately do one of three things.
Who handles this in Alaska: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Alaska directory.
- Get reasonable amounts of the missing service and take the actual, reasonable cost off the rent.
- Recover damages for the lost rental value.
- Find reasonable substitute housing, owing no rent while it lasts, and recover what it costs over the rent.
None of this arises until the written notice is given, or if the tenant, their family or their guest caused the problem.
A lockout or a shutoff. If the landlord unlawfully removes or locks out the tenant, or willfully cuts off electric, gas, water, sanitary or another essential service, the tenant may get back in or end the lease, and in either case recover up to one and one-half times the actual damages.
Sources for this section (2)
- AS 34.03.180 — Wrongful failure to supply heat, water, hot water or essential services
- AS 34.03.210 — Tenant's remedies for landlord's unlawful ouster, exclusion, or diminution of service
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Alaska attorney.