# ESA Letter in Unalaska, AK: When Rent Crosses Alaska's $2,000 Line

> Unalaska's median rent sits just past the $2,000 line where Alaska's deposit rules stop. What an ESA letter in Unalaska still secures under federal law.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/alaska-emotional-support-animal/unalaska/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-09-19
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

**In short:** In Unalaska, AK, the median rent sits just past $2,000, and AS 34.03.070(a) says the whole deposit section does not apply above that line: no deposit cap, no pet deposit limit, no return deadline. The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B), applies at any rent and still keeps a pet deposit off your ESA. Check your own lease's rent first.

## Key facts

- Population: 4,407
- Households renting: 69.8%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): No cap above $2,000 rent
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Per building, unregulated
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits and breed or weight limits with a qualifying reasonable accommodation: may be waived or modified, not automatically void (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Is the median Unalaska rent above Alaska's $2,000 deposit-law line?

Two thousand and thirty-four dollars. That is the median gross rent in Unalaska on the Census
Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, with a margin of plus or minus
$148. It is the highest of Alaska's twenty largest cities, and it is the only one of the twenty
whose median sits above $2,000. The state median is $1,419.

Unalaska also rents more than anywhere else on that list. Of 839 occupied homes, 586 (plus or minus
92) are rented, an estimated 69.8 percent, against 33.2 percent statewide. The city sits in the
Aleutians West Census Area, off the road system, with a 2024 population estimate of 4,407.

The number $2,000 matters because Alaska's landlord-tenant act draws a line there, and on one side
of it most of the deposit law a renter would lean on simply is not there.

## Does Alaska's deposit law apply when rent is over $2,000 a month?

**AS 34.03.070(a)** opens by capping prepaid rent and security deposits at "two months' periodic
rent." Then it ends: "This section does not apply to rental units where the rent exceeds $2,000 a
month."

The words are "this section", and the section is all of AS 34.03.070. So the line does not just
lift the two-month cap. For a unit renting above $2,000, the whole deposit section is off.

## What deposit protections does an Unalaska tenant lose above $2,000 rent?

Here is what AS 34.03.070 contains, and what a tenant above $2,000 a month loses with it:

- The two-month ceiling on a deposit and prepaid rent, in (a).
- The rule in (b) that deductions be limited to rent and real damage and itemised in a mailed notice.
- The trust account and the written withholding terms in (c).
- The remedy in (d), up to twice the amount wilfully withheld.
- The return deadlines in (g).
- The one-month limit on an extra pet deposit, in (h).

The rest of Alaska's landlord-tenant act is not in that section and keeps running. A tenant still
answers for real damage under **AS 34.03.120**, for example. But the money rules that most tenants
think of as "the deposit law" are gone, and the lease sets the numbers.

## Does federal law still bar ESA fees on Unalaska rents over $2,000?

None of this touches the federal Fair Housing Act. **42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)** makes it
discrimination to refuse "reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services" that
a person with a disability may need, and it applies whatever the rent is. A deposit or fee demanded
as the price of that accommodation is a refusal by another name.

Alaska's Department of Law puts it in writing in its landlord-tenant handbook, footnote 15: the
federal Act "prohibits charging a pet deposit for a service animal or a support animal, which
includes animals that provide therapeutic emotional support for individuals with disabilities."

The state's disability statute has no rent line either. **AS 18.80.240** bars refusing to rent
because of disability and discriminating in "a term, condition, or privilege" of a rental, at any
price. It has no accommodation clause, so the federal sentence still does the carrying.

## Does Unalaska's median rent decide whether your lease is covered?

The $34 over the line is a fact about the middle of the market, not about your unit. The interval
on Unalaska's median runs from $1,886 to $2,182, so the true middle could sit on either side of
$2,000. And the statute tests each rental unit on its own rent. A studio at $1,700 has the full
protection of AS 34.03.070. A three-bedroom at $2,400 has none of it.

So the first thing to establish is your own number. Look at the monthly rent in your lease, the
figure the landlord charges for the unit. If that is unclear, ask Alaska Legal Services before you
assume you are on either side.

## Why can't Unalaska's renter share be read from its population?

One more figure needs care. The Census table that counts renters counts households, and Unalaska's
839 of them look small next to a population of 4,407. People who live in group quarters, such as
workers housed in bunkhouses, are in the population count but not in the tenure table. Dividing one
number by the other tells you nothing about Unalaska households.

Whether employer-provided housing is a tenancy under Alaska's landlord-tenant act is also a
separate question. **AS 34.03.330(b)(5)** excludes housing "conditioned upon employment substantially
for services, maintenance, or repair to the premises", which is narrower than employer housing in
general. This page does not answer how the act treats other arrangements. A worker in employer
housing with an animal question should put it to ALSC.

## Where can Unalaska renters get help from off the road system?

Unalaska has no Alaska Legal Services office and no Alaska Housing Finance Corporation office. ALSC
takes statewide intake at 1-888-478-2572, and its landlord-tenant helpline runs Monday through
Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., at 1-855-743-1001. The Fair Housing Project of Alaska Legal Services offers
free fair housing help with no income limit at 1-855-679-3247. Alaska 2-1-1 (dial 2-1-1 or
800-478-2221) finds local services. The Aleutian Housing Authority is a regional body serving
Alaska Native and American Indian families from an Anchorage office.

A refusal can go to the State Commission for Human Rights within 300 days (**6 AAC 30.230**),
hotline (800) 478-4692, or to HUD within one year at its Anchorage office, 3000 C Street, Suite 401.
Federal court allows two years. The Commission is not a HUD partner agency, so each filing stands
alone.

## Which rules apply to your Unalaska lease, above or below $2,000?

Take your lease and read the rent. Then follow one branch.

**If your rent is above $2,000 a month.** AS 34.03.070 does not apply to your unit. There is no
state cap on the deposit, no state limit on a pet deposit, no state return deadline and no state
double-damages remedy. What keeps a pet deposit off your emotional support animal is the federal
duty alone, backed by the Department of Law's footnote. Your request should name 42 U.S.C.
§ 3604(f)(3)(B), ask for an exception to the named pet rule, and attach documentation. With no
state deposit rules behind you, that documentation carries more of the weight.

**If your rent is $2,000 or less.** AS 34.03.070 applies in full. Your deposit is capped, returns run
on the 14- or 30-day clock, and wilful withholding can cost the landlord double. But subsection (h)
lets a landlord take an extra month for "a pet on the premises that is not a service animal", and
(i)(2) says a service animal is "individually trained". On its face, the state statute allows that
extra month for an emotional support animal. Federal law, again, is what takes it away, and again
your documentation is what brings federal law in.

Both branches end at the same document. It reports two findings: that you have a disability, which
Alaska defines to include "emotional or mental illness" at **AS 18.80.300(15)(B)**, and that you need
this animal because of it.

A clinician who already treats you is a fine author. Off the road system, the hard part is finding
one: providers are few, the nearest may be far away, and a new appointment can be a long wait. A
provider who has met you once may also, properly, decline to make a finding they have not formed.
Where that is your situation, a licensed evaluation is the route built for it. A licensed clinician
assesses both findings, puts the conclusion in writing and can decide no. That a no is possible is
what a landlord above or below the line has reason to trust.

## What Unalaska landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot refuse a reasonable accommodation to a no-pets rule where it may be necessary to give a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home, under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B). Alaska's own Human Rights Act has no accommodation clause, so this federal duty does the work.
- Cannot refuse to rent because of a physical or mental disability, or discriminate because of disability in a term, condition or privilege of the tenancy, AS 18.80.240(1) and (2).
- Cannot make a written or oral inquiry into, or keep a record of, an applicant's disability, AS 18.80.240(3). Asking whether a need exists for an accommodation is different from asking for a diagnosis.
- Cannot condition an emotional support animal on a pet deposit or monthly pet rent. The federal accommodation duty forbids pricing the exception, even though AS 34.03.070(h) exempts only an individually trained service animal from the state pet deposit.
- Cannot require certification or registration of a service animal from an organisation purporting to certify service animals, 6 AAC 30.610(k), and no Alaska registry for any kind of assistance animal exists.
- Cannot keep a security deposit and prepaid rent above two months' rent, AS 34.03.070(a), unless the rent exceeds $2,000 a month, in which case the whole section, cap included, does not apply.

**Can:**
- Must mail the itemised deposit notice and refund within 14 days, or 30 days where damages are deducted or proper notice was not given, AS 34.03.070(g). A wilful failure can cost up to twice the amount withheld under AS 34.03.070(d).
- May charge an ordinary pet an additional deposit of up to one month's rent, held separately and usable only for pet damage, AS 34.03.070(h).
- May recover for damage an animal actually causes, as with any tenant damage under AS 34.03.120(a)(5). That is a bill for real damage after the fact, not a fee charged in advance.
- May decline where a specific animal would be a direct threat to others' health or safety, or would cause substantial physical damage to others' property, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(9). The judgment has to be about this animal, not its species or breed.
- May be outside the state Act only when renting a room in a home the owner lives in and shares, 6 AAC 30.990(b). An owner-occupied duplex or fourplex is not exempt under Alaska law.

## How to get an ESA letter in Unalaska

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Unalaska. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for Alaska clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation. (Telehealth evaluation)
3. **Complete your evaluation**, The professional considers whether an emotional support animal is clinically appropriate for a condition recognized in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 can inform that assessment, but the housing question is whether you have a qualifying disability and whether the animal is necessary because of it. Honest evaluations: not everyone qualifies. (Most of Our Applicants Qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter**, Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: supporting documentation for a reasonable accommodation that Alaska landlords may lawfully request. (Typically within days of approval)
5. **Send it to your landlord**, Submit the letter with a short reasonable-accommodation request. Where the accommodation is required, ordinary pet-related rules and charges, including pet fees, pet deposits and breed or weight limits, may need to be waived or modified. You remain responsible for any damage the animal actually causes. (Protection under FHA + state law)

## Conditions that can qualify for an ESA

No fixed government list exists. A licensed professional assesses whether an emotional support animal is clinically appropriate for a condition recognized in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 can inform that assessment, but the housing question is whether a qualifying disability is present and whether the animal is necessary because of it. Commonly:

- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Phobias with housing impact
- Chronic stress affecting daily function

## Housing help in Unalaska

- [City of Unalaska](https://www.unalaska.gov/) (city government)
- [Aleutian Housing Authority (regional, Alaska Native and American Indian families)](https://www.ahaak.org/Programs.html) (local housing authority)
- [Alaska Legal Services Corporation: statewide intake and offices](https://www.alsc-law.org/contact-us/) (legal aid)
- [Alaska Legal Services Corporation: Landlord and Tenant Helpline](https://www.alsc-law.org/helpline/) (legal aid)
- [Fair Housing Project of Alaska Legal Services Corporation](https://www.fairhousingalaska.org/services/) (fair housing agency)
- [Alaska 2-1-1](https://alaska211.org/) (housing directory)

## Frequently asked questions

### My Unalaska rent is over $2,000 a month. Can my landlord charge any pet deposit it likes?

For an ordinary pet, Alaska law sets no limit on your unit: AS 34.03.070 "does not apply to rental units where the rent exceeds $2,000 a month", so the one-month cap on a pet deposit is gone. For an emotional support animal the answer is different, because the federal Fair Housing Act does not let a landlord charge for an accommodation, whatever the rent.

### Unalaska's median rent is $2,034. Does that mean the deposit rules never apply here?

No. The median is a figure for the whole market, with an interval of plus or minus $148, so the true middle could be under $2,000. The statute looks at each rental unit's own rent. A unit at $1,800 is fully covered by AS 34.03.070; one at $2,300 is not. Check the rent in your own lease.

### Above $2,000, do I still get my deposit back within 14 or 30 days in Unalaska?

Not under Alaska law. The return deadlines in AS 34.03.070(g), the itemisation rule in (b) and the double-damages remedy in (d) all sit in the section that stops above $2,000 a month. Your lease is what governs the return. Ask Alaska Legal Services, at 1-888-478-2572, what else may apply to your tenancy.

### Does federal fair housing law apply to expensive rentals in Unalaska?

Yes. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) contains no rent threshold, and neither does Alaska's disability statute, AS 18.80.240. A landlord at any price must consider a reasonable accommodation, and the Alaska Department of Law's handbook says the federal Act bars a pet deposit for a support animal.

### I live in housing my employer provides in Unalaska. Does the landlord-tenant act cover me?

That was not researched for this page, and the answer may depend on your arrangement. AS 34.03.330(b)(5) excludes housing conditioned on employment substantially for services, maintenance or repair to the premises, which is a narrower group than employer housing generally. Put the question to Alaska Legal Services before relying on either answer.

### Is there a legal aid or housing office in Unalaska?

Neither Alaska Legal Services Corporation nor Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has an Unalaska office. ALSC takes statewide intake at 1-888-478-2572 and runs a landlord-tenant helpline Monday to Thursday evenings at 1-855-743-1001, and the Fair Housing Project answers at 1-855-679-3247. Alaska 2-1-1 can point to local services.

### Can an Unalaska tenant file a housing complaint without travelling to Anchorage?

Start by phone. The State Commission for Human Rights has a toll-free complaint hotline, (800) 478-4692, which can explain how to file from Unalaska, and a complaint must be filed within 300 days of the act. HUD's Alaska office is at 3000 C Street, Suite 401, in Anchorage, with a one-year deadline. The Commission is not a HUD partner agency, so a complaint to one is not sent to the other.

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