Anchorage, AK Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Before January 2023, Anchorage required ADU owners to sign a sworn affidavit (Affidavit of Owner-Occupancy ADU, on a Municipality-provided form) promising to live on the property for more than six months of each year. Assembly Ordinance AO 2022-107 (As Amended) repealed this requirement as part of a broader housing-supply package responding to Anchorage's housing shortage. Under the current Title 21 framework: (1) no owner-occupancy affidavit is required at permit application; (2) property owners may build an ADU on a rental property where the principal dwelling is also rented; (3) both units may be leased independently to separate tenants; (4) the property may be sold without affecting the ADU's legal status; (5) the ADU may be used as a short-term rental subject to applicable AMC rules and lodging tax. Alaska does not have a state preemption statute on ADU owner-occupancy (unlike California's AB 671 or Idaho's HB 79); Anchorage's reform was a purely local home-rule action. Private restrictions remain enforceable: HOA covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) recorded against title under Alaska Statute Title 34 (Property) may still mandate owner-occupancy. Many Anchorage subdivisions (including Hillside, Eagle River master-planned communities, Turnagain neighborhoods with active HOAs) have pre-existing CC&Rs that may restrict ADU rental or require resident-owner status. Pre-2023 Affidavits of Owner-Occupancy previously recorded against title are no longer enforceable by the Municipality but should be reviewed in title searches.