Renting a dry cabin in Fairbanks

A dry cabin has no plumbing: no indoor toilet, no shower, no running tap. Most have electricity and some kind of heat. They’re common around Fairbanks, especially on the hills and in the valleys outside town, partly because wells and septic systems are expensive to put in and keep from freezing, and permafrost makes it harder.

“Dry” can mean different things from one cabin to the next. Some have a sink that drains to a bucket, a water tank with a hand pump, or a shower house on the property. Ask exactly what’s there.

• You haul it. Most people fill water jugs at a water station or a laundromat that sells water, and keep a few at home. Some cabins have a tank that a delivery service can fill.
• Gray water goes in a bucket under the sink, and you empty it outside. Ask the landlord where it should go.
• Showers and laundry happen in town: laundromats with showers, the gym, or campus if you’re a UAF student.
• Water freezes. Jugs left in the truck overnight in winter are ice by morning, so plan to bring them in.

• Walk the path to it. Is it close, lit, and going to be shoveled? Who does that?
• Ask who deals with it when it fills, and how that’s handled.
• A foam seat makes a real difference at forty below. Many people also keep an indoor bucket with a lid for the coldest nights; ask whether the landlord is fine with that.

Most dry cabins heat with an oil-fired direct-vent heater (a Toyo or Monitor), a woodstove, or both. Each comes with its own questions.

• Toyo and Monitor heaters need electricity to run. If the power goes out, so does the heat, unless there’s a woodstove as backup. A cabin with both is a safer bet.
• Fuel oil: who pays for it, how big the tank is, who calls for delivery, and whether the tank has a gauge you can read. Ask what fuel it’s set up for; the wrong fuel can gel in deep cold.
• Wood: is it supplied or on you? Is it dry, split birch, and is there a covered place to keep it? Green wood burns poorly and builds creosote in the chimney.
• Alarms: there should be a working smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm. With fuel-burning heat, the CO alarm isn’t optional.
• The building itself: look at the insulation, the windows, whether there’s an arctic entry, and whether the door seals. Frost on the inside of the door in October means drafts, and a bigger heating bill.

Need wood or a heater? Look through firewood for sale in Fairbanks and Toyo, Monitor and oil heaters.

The rent is the predictable part. Heat is the big variable, and it depends so much on the cabin, the heater and the winter that nobody can give you a fair number in general. Ask for this one’s:

• What did the last tenant spend on heating oil or wood from December through February? Ask to see receipts.
• Can you see a winter electric bill? Heaters, lights and a plugged-in truck all add up.
• Is there a plug-in for your vehicle, and is it on your meter or the landlord’s? Most people plug in when it gets cold.
• Who plows the driveway, and is the road maintained in winter? What happens during breakup, when it turns to mud?

• What’s included in the rent: electricity, fuel, wood, water delivery, plowing, internet?
• Where do I get water, and where does gray water go?
• Who buys the fuel, and who do I call if the heater fails at night?
• Who maintains the outhouse and the path to it?
• Pets? Many dry cabin landlords allow dogs; ask, and get it in the lease.
• How long is the lease, and is it month-to-month after that?
• What’s the deposit, and what are the conditions for getting it back?
• Is there cell service or internet?

Rental scams copy photos from real listings and post them at a price that’s a little too good. The warning signs:

• The landlord is out of state, deployed, or on a mission, and can’t show you the place.
• They want a deposit or first month’s rent before you’ve seen it, by wire, gift card or payment app.
• They push you to decide today because “lots of people are interested.”

To protect yourself:

• See the cabin in person, or send someone you trust, and meet the landlord there.
• Check who owns it. Fairbanks North Star Borough property records are public; the owner’s name should match the person renting it to you, or they should be able to explain why it doesn’t (a property manager, for example).
• Get a written lease, pay the deposit in a way that leaves a record, and get a receipt.

More on this on our safety page. When you’re ready, browse dry cabins for rent in Fairbanks, all rentals in Fairbanks and the Interior, or dry cabins anywhere in Alaska.