ME
Maine Landlord-Tenant Laws
Security Deposit Limits
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Maximum: 2 months' rent for most tenants
- Maximum: 1 month's rent for tenants 62 or older
- Surety bond option available but cannot be required
- Combined deposit + bond cannot exceed 2 months' rent
- Does not apply to owner-occupied buildings with 5 or fewer units
Security Deposit Storage Requirements
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Must be held in separate bank account in Maine
- Account must be beyond claim of creditors
- Must disclose account info upon tenant request
- Must pay interest if held over 1 year
- Penalty: actual damages or $500 or 1 month's rent (whichever greater) plus attorney fees
Security Deposit Return Timeline
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- 30 days for written rental agreements
- 21 days for tenancy at will
- Must include itemized statement if withholding any amount
- Statement must accompany payment of remaining deposit
- Failure to comply = forfeits right to withhold
Allowable Security Deposit Deductions
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Allowed: unpaid rent and utilities
- Allowed: unclaimed property storage/disposal costs
- Allowed: damages beyond normal wear and tear
- Not allowed: normal wear and tear (legally defined)
- Not allowed: pre-existing damage, improvements, routine maintenance
- +1 more requirements
Security Deposit Wrongful Retention Penalties
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Tenant must give 7-day notice of intent to sue
- Failure to return creates presumption of wrongful retention
- Penalty: double damages on amount wrongfully withheld
- Landlord also liable for attorney fees and court costs
- Applies when landlord misses return deadline
Rent Increase Notice Requirements
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- 45 days' notice for increases under 10%
- 75 days' notice for increases of 10% or more
- 75-day notice applies to cumulative increases reaching 10% in 12 months
- Cannot waive notice requirement (void)
- Penalty: return of unlawful sums + interest + attorney fees
- +1 more requirements
Late Rent Fees
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- 15-day grace period required
- Maximum late fee: 4% of monthly rent
- Late fees only allowed after 15-day grace period expires
- Applies to all residential rentals in Maine
Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Requires 7-day Notice to Quit
- Tenant must be at least 7 days late on rent
- Notice must state: amount due, right to contest, pay or vacate
- Tenant can cure by paying full amount within 7 days
- Payment voids the notice and stops eviction
- +1 more requirements
Eviction for Lease Violations
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Requires 7-day Notice to Quit
- Valid grounds: substantial damage, nuisance, unfit conditions, law violations
- Notice must state specific violation
- Some violations curable within 7 days
- Serious violations (illegal activity, violence) = no cure period
- +1 more requirements
30-Day Notice to Terminate Tenancy
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- 30 days' notice for month-to-month tenancies
- 7 days' notice for weekly tenancies
- No cause required for termination
- Notice must end on or after last paid rent date
- Must give full 30 days (or 7 days for weekly)
- +1 more requirements
Eviction Court Process
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- File FED complaint after notice expires
- Sheriff must serve tenant (not landlord)
- Hearing scheduled 10-14 days after filing
- Mediation available for settlement
- Writ of possession issued 7 days after judgment
- +2 more requirements
Protection Against Retaliatory Eviction
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Creates presumption if eviction within 6 months of protected activity
- Protected activities: asserting habitability rights, code complaints, repair requests
- Landlord must prove eviction was not retaliatory
- Burden of proof shifts to landlord
- Protects tenant right to report problems
Implied Warranty of Habitability
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Implied in every rental agreement (written or oral)
- Requires habitable living conditions
- Minimum heat: 68°F (3 feet from walls, 5 feet from floor)
- Must provide: water, plumbing, electrical, smoke/CO detectors
- Excludes owner-occupied buildings ≤5 units
- +1 more requirements
Heating Requirements
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Minimum: 68°F at 3 ft from walls, 5 ft from floor
- Must maintain at -20°F outside temperature
- Temperature that injures health = breach
- Optional agreement for 62-68°F range allowed
- Agreement requires: separate document, rent reduction, revocation rights
- +1 more requirements
Repair and Deduct Remedy
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Limit: $500 or ½ monthly rent (whichever greater)
- Must send written notice of intent to repair
- Landlord has 14 days to make repair
- After 14 days, tenant can arrange repair
- Must use professional care and quality materials
- +2 more requirements
Rent Withholding for Utility Failures
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Applies when landlord agreed to pay utilities
- Tenant can transfer account to their name
- Tenant pays bill and deducts from rent
- Can sue for any remaining amounts not covered
- Court may award attorney fees and costs
- +1 more requirements
Court Remedies for Habitability Violations
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Court may order: injunctions for repairs, rent rebates, temporary vacation
- Tenant must prove: notice given, current on rent, condition not tenant-caused
- Landlord had reasonable time to repair
- Court determines reduced fair value of unit
- May award rebate for rent paid above fair value
- +1 more requirements
Landlord Right of Entry
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- 24 hours' notice presumed reasonable
- Must enter at reasonable times
- Purposes: inspect, repair, supply services, show unit
- Emergency or impracticable = no notice required
- Animal welfare emergency = entry allowed
- +2 more requirements
Changing Locks
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Must notify landlord before changing locks
- Must provide duplicate key within 48 hours
- DV victims: 72 hours to provide key
- Refusal = landlord may terminate with 7-day notice
- Emergency: landlord may gain entry, charge damage costs
- +1 more requirements
Tenant Screening and Application Fees
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Maximum: $75 or actual cost (whichever lower)
- Applies per adult tenant
- Only actual screening costs allowed
- Only charge successful applicants
- Some cities prohibit all application fees
- +1 more requirements
Limits on Rental Fees and Total Move-In Costs
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Allowed: first month rent + security deposit (≤2 months)
- Allowed: clearly disclosed recurring fees only
- Must provide total price disclosure signed by both parties
- Optional fees must be opt-in
- Screening fees: actual cost only
- +2 more requirements
Radon Testing and Disclosure
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Landlord must test all rental units for radon
- Must follow DHHS testing protocols
- Must disclose results to tenants
- 4.0+ pCi/L: either party may terminate with 30-day notice
- Mitigation not required but if done must use licensed professional
- +2 more requirements
Bedbug Disclosure and Treatment
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Cannot knowingly rent unit with bedbugs
- Must disclose bedbug history (past 5 years)
- If discovered: 10 days to contact pest control
- Must use professional treatment
- Penalty: $250 or actual damages (whichever greater) + attorney fees
- +1 more requirements
Required Landlord Disclosures
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Radon testing results and rights
- Bedbug history (5 years)
- Energy efficiency statement (12-month usage)
- Smoking policy (clear designation)
- Lead paint (pre-1978 properties)
- +2 more requirements
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Landlord provides working detectors at move-in
- Both smoke and carbon monoxide required
- Tenant maintains batteries and tests regularly
- Tenant cannot disable detectors
- Landlord must repair/replace if tenant reports malfunction
- +1 more requirements
Tenant Abandoned Property
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Must store abandoned property for at least 7 days
- Tenant may reclaim by paying storage/removal costs
- After 7 days, landlord may dispose or sell
- Costs deductible from security deposit
- Must make reasonable efforts to notify tenant
- +1 more requirements
Housing Discrimination Protections
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Protected classes: race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity
- Also protected: disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, familial status
- Also protected: public assistance, housing subsidies, protection orders
- Cannot refuse rental or impose different terms
- Must accommodate disability and subsidy program requirements
- +1 more requirements
Early Lease Termination
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Valid grounds: habitability breach, radon 4.0+, DV, military duty
- Must provide proper notice (typically 30 days)
- Landlord must attempt to mitigate by re-renting
- Tenant liable for rent until unit re-rented
- Cannot charge penalties beyond actual costs
- +1 more requirements
Landlord's Duty to Mitigate Damages
Me. Rev. Stat.
✅ Key Requirements
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- Landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent
- Must actively market and show unit
- Cannot let unit sit vacant collecting rent
- Tenant liable only for actual damages
- Damages = rent until re-rented minus mitigation costs
- +1 more requirements