No bed bug statute and pests are not named in the landlord's duties — though the Alaska Department of Law's own consumer booklet does list extermination service where roaches, rats, mice or other pests infest the building as a landlord responsibility. Treat that as persuasive guidance rather than statute. The route is 10 days to remedy after written notice, then termination at 20. Alaska has no statewide housing code, so what your local borough or city has adopted matters enormously — and a housing code violation also counts as a breach of the landlord's duties under the Act. You cannot terminate for a condition caused by you, your family or your guests.
Who pays for treatment
Landlord under the fit-and-habitable duty
Landlord response deadline
10 days to remedy, 20 to terminate
Disclosure before lease
No
What the law actually says
No bed bug provision. Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, AS 34.03.010 et seq. AS 34.03.100(a) — the landlord shall (1) make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition; (2) keep all common areas in a clean and safe condition; (3) maintain in good and safe working order all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, kitchen and other facilities and appliances including elevators supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord; (4) provide waste receptacles and arrange removal; (5) supply running water, reasonable hot water and heat at all times insofar as energy conditions permit, subject to exceptions where those are within the tenant's exclusive control or where the premises lack a well or public connection AND the rental agreement specifically states the tenant waives the duty; (6) on request, provide and maintain locks and keys reasonably adequate to ensure safety; (7) provide smoke and carbon monoxide detection devices under AS 18.70.095. Pests are not enumerated. AS 34.03.100(b) exempts a landlord of a single family residence in an undeveloped rural area, or where public sewer or water has never been connected, from liability under (a)(3) or (a)(5). ANTI-SHIFTING: AS 34.03.100(d)-(e) — a separate agreement for the tenant to perform work must not diminish or affect the landlord's obligations to other tenants, and the landlord may not treat performance of such an agreement as a condition to any obligation or performance of the rental agreement. REMEDY: on material non-compliance with the rental agreement, or non-compliance with AS 34.03.100 materially affecting health and safety, the tenant may deliver written notice specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and stating that the agreement terminates on a date not less than 20 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in 10 days; the tenant may NOT terminate for a condition caused by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a family member, or another person on the premises with the tenant's consent. AS 34.03.180 is narrower than some guides suggest — it addresses wrongful failure to supply heat, water, hot water or essential services, not repairs generally. Also: AS 34.03.120 tenant obligations; AS 34.03.190 landlord non-compliance as a defense to an action for possession or rent; AS 34.03.220 seven-day notice for non-payment; AS 34.03.300 remedies for abuse of access; AS 34.03.310 retaliatory conduct prohibited; AS 34.03.320 obligation of good faith; AS 34.03.345 mediation and binding arbitration; AS 34.03.350 attorney fees. NO STATEWIDE HOUSING CODE: Alaska has a statewide fire code but no statewide housing code, and many communities have local codes; per the Department of Law, failure to comply with the housing code also amounts to failure to comply with the landlord's duties under the Act — so the local code is the lever, and in unincorporated areas there may be none. SOURCE WARNING: a site trading as 'Alaska Legal Services Authority' on a .com domain misstates AS 34.03.180 and AS 34.03.300. It follows the same naming pattern as the bogus 'South Carolina Legal Services Authority' flagged on that state's entry — this appears to be a network of sites impersonating legal aid organizations. Alaska's genuine provider is the Alaska Legal Services Corporation. The Department of Law publishes the authoritative consumer booklet at law.alaska.gov.
Hiring someone in Alaska? Check they are actually licensed for structural pest control before you pay a deposit. Verify a Alaska exterminator →
What to do, in order
Photograph everything before you touch it
Live insects, shed skins, dark staining along the mattress seam. Timestamps are the evidence.
Notify the landlord in writing
Email or certified letter, never a phone call alone. Written notice is what starts the clock in every state that has one.
Do not throw out furniture yet
Discarded items can't be inspected, and moving them spreads the infestation down the hallway.
Let the deadline above run
Escalating before it expires generally forfeits the remedy.
Escalate to the housing agency, then to court
An independent inspection report is worth more than your own photographs. Rent withholding rules vary sharply — check the section above before you try it.
Read it yourself
Everything above was written by reading the sections named in the citation, not by summarizing another summary. You should not take our word for it — open the statute and check. Look up the section numbers quoted above.
The state's own legislature or code site. Search it for the section numbers quoted above — they are the whole basis for this page.
Last checked against the Alaska code: . Statutes change every legislative session — if you are reading this long after that date, open the cited sections yourself before relying on them.
Not legal advice. This is a plain-language reference to publicly available statutes, verified against the Alaska code. Liability turns on your lease, your local ordinance and your specific facts. Talk to a tenant attorney or legal aid before withholding rent or filing anything.