Here you will find the rights and protections provided by Maine law to tenants. Topics include application fees, security deposits, bedbugs, evictions, and more. This information is also available as a downloadable Word file.
Important Terms
The legal relationship between a person who rents their home and their landlord is called a tenancy. A tenant may also be called a lessee, and a landlord a lessor. For consistency, this guide uses the terms tenant and landlord. The terms of a tenancy may be described in a written agreement, often called a lease. Maine law generally does not require written agreements for tenancies. If there is no written agreement, that is known as a tenancy at will.
Tenant Rights
- Becoming a Tenant
Application Fees
Many landlords require applications to evaluate prospective tenants. In Maine, landlords cannot charge application fees.[i] A landlord can require you, an applicant, to pay for the actual cost of one screening process (such as a background check or credit check). However, the landlord can do so only if they have notified you that they are legally required to provide to you a complete copy of all information obtained from that process.
Total Price Disclosure
A landlord must also provide you with a written disclosure of all costs that you will be responsible for paying if you become a tenant.[ii] This Total Price Disclosure must include the total cost of rent, usually stated as a monthly amount, and any mandatory or optional recurring fees, utility service costs, and any other cost for which you are responsible, and it must be signed by both you and the landlord. A model total price disclosure is provided in our model residential lease guide.
Energy Efficiency Disclosure
Before a lease is signed or you pay a deposit to a landlord, the landlord must provide a disclosure to you that includes information about the energy efficiency of the rental property.[iii] Alternatively, the landlord may include in the application for prospective tenants the name of each supplier of energy for the rental property and the following statement: “You have the right to obtain a 12-month history of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption from the energy supplier.”
Other Required Landlord Disclosures
A landlord must[iv] make additional disclosures to you before entering into a tenancy, including:
[i] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6030-H.
[ii] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6030-J. This requirement does not apply if you are not responsible for paying any mandatory recurring fee or optional recurring fee.
[iii] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6030-C.
[iv] Some landlords are exempt from certain disclosures, but for most tenants in Maine these disclosures will be required.
[v] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6030-D; a template notice is available at the Maine Center for Disease Control website.
[vi] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6030-E.
[vii] 24 CFR § 35.88. Further information at the federal Lead Paint Disclosure Rule.
- Security Deposits
During the Tenancy
Most landlords require you to pay a security deposit before the start of a tenancy. A security deposit cannot exceed two months’ rent. During a tenancy, the security deposit must be held separate from the landlord’s assets in a depository account so that it is not subject to claims by the landlord’s creditors.
After the Tenancy
The landlord must return the security deposit or provide a written statement itemizing the lawful reasons for retaining it. Lawful reasons include unpaid rent, repairing damage you caused, and costs of removing or storing items left behind. A landlord cannot retain a security deposit for “normal wear and tear.”[i] A landlord must return a security deposit or provide the written statement within the time required by the lease (which cannot exceed 30 days) or, if there is no lease, within 21 days. Because the written statement can be sent to your last known address, you should give the landlord your new address or make sure your mail will be forwarded. If a landlord fails to return the security deposit or provide a written statement within the required time, the landlord cannot retain any portion of the security deposit.
If a landlord does not comply with these requirements, after providing 7 days’ notice you can bring a lawsuit for damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully retained, plus attorneys’ fees.
[i] “Normal wear and tear” means “the deterioration that occurs, based upon the use for which the rental unit is intended, without negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse of the premises or equipment or chattels by the tenant or members of the tenant's household or their invitees or guests.” 14 M.R.S.A. § 6031(1).
- Rent Increases
For tenants at will, a landlord must provide prior written notice of rent increases. For rent increases of more than 10%, 75 days’ notice is required. For all other increases, 45 days’ notice is required. For tenants with an unexpired lease, rent cannot be increased from what is stated in the lease.
- Illegal Discrimination
It is illegal to refuse to show or rent a unit or impose different terms on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, familial status, any previous actions seeking and receiving an order of protection, or because of the receipt of any kind of public assistance.[i]
Landlords may not refuse to permit the use of an assistance animal,[ii] unless the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or the use of the animal would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others or would substantially interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by others.
For further information or to submit a complaint of discrimination, contact the Maine Human Rights Commission by writing to 51 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0051 or by calling (207) 624-6290.
[i] 5 M.R.S.A. § 4581-A.
[ii] An assistance animal is one that has been determined by a qualified professional as necessary for an individual with a physical or mental disability to mitigate the effects of a physical or mental disability, or that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a physical or mental disability, such as seeing-eye dogs. 5 M.R.S.A. § 4553(1-H).
- Rental Housing Must Be Fit and Safe for Human Habitation- Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability
All rented housing must be fit for human habitation, which means it must be a reasonably safe and decent place to live. This is the Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability.[i] If there is a condition that makes rental housing unfit or unsafe, you can compel the landlord to fix the problem by bringing a lawsuit. For you to prevail in that lawsuit, all of the following must be true:
- The condition must endanger or materially impair the health and safety of tenants.
- The condition was not caused by you or a person under your control.
- You have given the landlord reasonably prompt written notice of the problem and have allowed a reasonable amount of time to fix the problem.[ii]
- You are current in paying rent at the time of the notice to the landlord.
- The landlord failed to fix the problem within a reasonable amount of time after notice.
If the condition can be repaired for less than $500 or an amount equal to half of the monthly rent (whichever is greater), you can correct it at the landlord’s expense.[iii] You must first provide written notice of your intention to correct the condition. If the landlord fails to correct it as promptly as necessary in the case of an emergency or within 14 days for non-emergencies, then you can make the repair or hire someone to make the repair, submit an itemized statement to the landlord, and deduct the actual and reasonable cost of the repair or the fair and reasonable value of the work from rent.
- Rental Housing Must Be Fit and Safe for Human Habitation- Heat
If a landlord has agreed to be responsible for heat, then the heating system must be capable of maintaining an interior temperature of 68 degrees when it is 20 degrees below zero outside.[iv] You can agree to a lower minimum temperature, but that agreement must meet all these criteria:
- Be in a writing separate from a lease,
- Must be revocable,
- Must state the minimum temperature allowed (which cannot be lower than 62 degrees), and
- Must include a fair and reasonable reduction in rent.[v]
Such an agreement is not permitted if someone older than 65 or younger than 5 lives there.
[iv] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6021(6). This temperature is measured at a distance of at least 3 feet from an outside wall and 5 feet above the floor. If you have a medical condition requiring a warmer living space, then the landlord must maintain a minimum temperature sufficient to avoid injury to your health. The heating system must also operate so that other systems (such as water) function properly.
[v] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6021(6-A).
- Rental Housing Must Be Fit and Safe for Human Habitation- Other Utilities
If a landlord fails to pay for a public utility service (such as electric, water, or natural gas) that is in the landlord’s name, then you can pay for the service and deduct the amount paid from rent.[vi] A utility cannot require you to pay a landlord’s utility bill and cannot disconnect service without providing you with notice and opportunity to assume responsibility for future service.[vii]
- Rental Housing Must Be Fit and Safe for Human Habitation- Lead
As mentioned earlier in this Chapter, landlords must provide prospective tenants with a lead paint disclosure. According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection:
Every year, hundreds of children in Maine are poisoned by lead. Children less than six years old are most at risk of lead poisoning. Most lead poisonings in Maine are caused by exposure to dust from old lead paint. Lead can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems that last a lifetime. More than half of Maine homes may have lead paint. Exposure to lead is most common in buildings built before 1950 (when paint contained up to 50% lead), and in buildings built before 1978 when repainting or remodeling is done.[viii]
If you have young children living with you and are concerned about the presence of lead, contact the Maine CDC at 286 Water Street, State House Station 11, Augusta, ME 04333-0011, (207) 287-8016.
There may be financial resources available to abate lead in rental housing where young children are living. Lead abatement must be performed by licensed professionals.
[viii] Maine Department of Environmental Protection Lead Hazard Program.
- Rental Housing Must Be Fit and Safe for Human Habitation- Bedbugs
Maine has a specific law about bedbugs in rental housing.[ix]
A landlord may not offer to rent housing that the landlord knows or suspects is infested and must notify a prospective tenant if a unit adjacent to the housing being offered for rent is infested with or is being treated for bedbugs. You must promptly notify a landlord of a known or suspected infestation.[x] A landlord that receives notice must have an inspection performed within 5 days.
If there is an infestation, the landlord must contact a pest control agent within 10 days and must then take reasonable treatment measures as determined by the pest control agent. You must cooperate with the treatment, which may include moving furniture and washing clothing and linens. A landlord must offer reasonable assistance and disclose the costs of that assistance. If you do not cooperate, the landlord can charge you for all costs of the treatment arising from your failure to comply.
Both you and your landlord can file a lawsuit to enforce these obligations and seek remedies for noncompliance. A landlord’s failure to comply with the bedbug law is a violation of the Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability.
- Landlord Access
Except in the case of an emergency, a landlord must provide reasonable notice before accessing your home. 24 hours’ notice is presumed to be reasonable. A landlord can enter only at reasonable times. You may not unreasonably withhold consent to a landlord’s request for access to inspect the home, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the premises to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgage lenders, tenants, workers, or contractors.
- Evictions
A landlord must go to court to remove you.
A landlord who physically removes you and your belongings without a court order is breaking the law. Preventing your access to your home (for example, by obstructing entry or changing the locks) or rendering the home unlivable (for example, by turning off utilities) is also illegal. The law also prohibits retaliatory evictions, which are evictions motivated by your assertion of protected rights, such as a complaint the landlord has violated the Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability.[i]
These are all illegal evictions, and you should call local law enforcement and notify the Maine Attorney General’s Office if the landlord is threatening to or doing any of these things.
Notice to Quit
The first step in the legal eviction process is the notice to quit, which is the landlord’s formal notice of their intent to terminate the tenancy and evict you. A notice to quit is not a court order; it does not require you to leave your home.
- If you have a lease, then the notice to quit must comply with the requirements of the lease.
- If you have a lease but it expired less than 7 days ago, no notice to quit is required.
- If you have no lease, or if your lease is silent as to any notice to quit requirements, then the landlord can provide a “no cause” 30-day notice to quit or a “for cause” 7-day notice to quit.
- A landlord can issue a “no cause” 30-day notice to quit for no reason.
- A landlord can issue a “for cause” 7-day notice to quit only for specific reasons such as non-payment of rent, damage to the rental property, or danger to other residents.
Court Proceeding
Only after a notice to quit expires can a landlord commence an eviction proceeding in court, known as an action for Forcible Entry and Detainer or FED.
You must be served with court papers, including a complaint and summons. The summons will state the date and time when you and the landlord must go to court. If the landlord does not show and you do, the action will be dismissed. If the landlord shows and you do not, then the court will order an eviction. If both parties show, then the court may ask you to meet with a mediator to attempt to resolve the dispute. Possible resolutions include an agreement for the payment of rent arrears, a postponement of the court date, or an agreed-to eviction that gives you time to find a new home.
If the parties cannot resolve the dispute yourselves, then the court will hold a hearing. During the hearing, both parties can present evidence. The judge may issue a decision immediately after the hearing or they may take the matter “under advisement” and issue a decision later. If the judge decides that the landlord has met the requirements for an eviction, then the judgment will be in the landlord’s favor. If the judge decides that the landlord has not met the requirements for an eviction, then the judgment will be in your favor.
Writ of Possession
If there is a judgment in the landlord’s favor, this does not mean that you must leave immediately.
You can file an appeal to the Superior Court and seek a stay of the eviction, but this must be done before the court issues a Writ of Possession. A landlord can request a Writ of Possession as soon as 7 days after judgment. If the reason for the eviction was non-payment of rent and you have paid all rent due as of the date of payment plus any filing fees and service of process fees actually paid by the landlord, then the Writ of Possession cannot issue. A Writ of Possession must be served to you by the sheriff.
If you are still present at the rental property 48 hours after service of the Writ of Possession, then you are a trespasser and can be physically removed from the property.
[i] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6002(3).
- Abandoned Property
Maine has a specific law that a landlord must follow if you leave personal belongings at the rental property.[i] A landlord must store your belongings in a safe, dry, secured location and must provide written notice by mail to you of their intent to dispose of your personal belongings. You have 7 days to respond to the notice, and if you do the landlord must continue to store the belongings for an additional 7 days. A landlord must release the belongings to you during that time and cannot first require payment as a condition, even if you owe the landlord money.
If you fail to respond to the notice or, after responding to the notice fail to claim the belongings within the 14 days, then the landlord can dispose of the belongings. If the landlord sells them, all proceeds must be applied to your debts to the landlord.
You can waive these requirements, but only after or upon vacating the home and not before.
[i] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6013.
- Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate (to Find a New Tenant)
If you terminate a tenancy during its term (before a lease expires or while in a tenancy at will) and stop paying rent, the landlord must attempt to find a new tenant. This is known as a duty to mitigate, and it is required by law.[i] If a landlord sues you for unpaid rent in this situation, then the amount of recovery must be reduced by what the landlord would have been able to obtain through reasonable efforts to re-rent.
[i] 14 M.R.S.A. § 6010-A.
- Illegal Agreements
In the context of landlord-tenant law, there are several agreements or provisions that are illegal and unenforceable, including:
- Any agreement that has the effect of you giving up your rights, unless expressly allowed by law.
- Any agreement in which you waive the protections of the Implied Warranty and Covenant of Habitability, unless there is a stated reduction in rent that is fair and reasonable.
- Any agreement that releases the landlord from responsibility for the negligence of the landlord or the landlord’s agent.
- Any agreement that requires you to pay the landlord’s legal fees in enforcing the lease or tenancy at will agreement, except that a lease may provide for the prevailing party to recover legal fees in the case of “wanton disregard” (i.e. extreme recklessness) of the terms of the tenancy.
- Any agreement that requires you to use your property as security for the amount of any rent or other sums due the landlord.
- Any agreement that requires you to acknowledge that the terms of the tenancy, including tenant rules, are fair and reasonable.
- Any agreement that requires you to pay a fee, penalty, or other charge for ending the tenancy, unless the fee, penalty, or other charge is:
- To recover reasonable expenses in finding a new tenant when you have failed to provide notice before leaving;
- To collect unpaid rent; or
- To recover reasonable expenses for repairing damage caused by you.
- Any agreement to pay a late fee that is not in writing and that exceeds 4% of one month’s rent.
- Seeking Help
If you are worried about being evicted from your home, you can contact Pine Tree Legal Assistance by calling during their call-in hours or visiting them at their offices. More information is available on Pine Tree Legal Assistance’s website. The Maine Judicial Branch website also provides helpful information about the eviction process. If you have questions about your specific case, the court clerk’s office may be able to assist. However, court clerks cannot and will not provide legal advice.
If you have a complaint about the condition of your home, contact your local code enforcement office. Municipal governments enforce life safety codes for housing and can inspect properties and require landlords to correct code violations that impair the health and safety of tenants.
If you believe that your landlord is violating the law, file a complaint through our online service. For more information, see our guide on how to resolve a consumer complaint.