The two that got through sideways

Two enacted bills did reach common interest communities, and neither is findable by searching for HOA subject matter — in both cases the relevant language exists only in a committee substitute, not the introduced version.

SB 104 added condominium and HOA units to Alaska's transfer-on-death deed statute. The common interest community language was inserted by Senate Finance in February 2026, a year after a boats-and-vehicles bill was introduced. It became law without the governor's signature on June 18, 2026 and took effect July 1. We covered it in detail: Alaska condo and HOA units can now pass by transfer-on-death deed.

SB 132, an omnibus insurance bill, extended wrap-up insurance eligibility to condominium, townhouse and cooperative construction of at least 40 units and $20 million. See Alaska opens wrap-up insurance to large condo and townhouse projects.

The pattern is worth noting for anyone tracking Alaska legislation: in this session, association-relevant law arrived as amendments to bills about something else. A watch list built on subject tags would have caught neither.

Two bills that look relevant and are not

Both of these will surface in a keyword search and both are traps.

HB 257 — portable solar devices. The title suggests solar access rights. The text amends only AS 42.05, the utility statute governing interconnection and net metering. It does not override a covenant or association rule restricting solar installations, and it would not have done so had it passed. It died in House Energy after three hearings.

SB 190 — Uniform Guardianship and Conservatorship Act. This is the only bill in the entire 34th Legislature whose text cites AS 34.07 and AS 34.08. That is because one section re-enacts all of AS 06.26.020(a), which already contains a paragraph exempting homeowners' associations from Trust Company Act fiduciary licensing. That paragraph is word-for-word existing law. SB 190 made no substantive change to association law, and it died in Senate Finance regardless.

What did move, and where

The absence of state legislation does not mean the Alaska landscape was static. It means the activity happened elsewhere — which is where a 2026 compliance review should be looking.

A lender set a reserve standard the Legislature never has. The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's revised Common Interest Communities Project Guide, effective June 30, 2025, added a reserve-study section and a three-to-five-year update expectation. Alaska statute contains no reserve requirement at all, so AHFC is now the operative standard for any association whose owners want financeable units.

Municipalities moved on land use. Anchorage legalized short-term rentals in every residential zoning district and built a registration scheme; Juneau rewrote the first phase of its land use code including accessory dwelling units. Notably, none of these ordinances mentions covenants, CC&Rs or associations anywhere in its text — so each widens the gap between what a municipality permits and what a declaration allows.

One appellate decision landed. The Alaska Supreme Court decided a single case involving a community association in the entire January 2025 to September 2026 window, on attorney-fee segregation.

The through-line: in 2025 and 2026, the pressure on Alaska associations came from lenders, municipalities and courts — not from Juneau.

What to watch next

The 35th Legislature convenes in January 2027, with prefiling in early January. There are no prefiled bills, no interim committee, no task force and no legislator announcement on association topics. The last substantial Alaska HOA legislation was the 2022 pair extending super-priority lien parity to pre-1986 associations.

One bill that died is worth keeping on a list: HB 230, which would have given manufactured-home park residents a purchase-opportunity right and capped lot rent. It never received a hearing, and a bill that dies unheard can return without prejudice.