Maine Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (9)

1. Late or Returned Check Fees: Maine landlords can only enforce late or returned check fees if disclosed in the rental agreement. Maine law limits landlords’ fees for late rent payments and returned checks. Late fees can be at most 4% of the monthly rent, and landlords can only charge them after rent is 15 days late. Law caps returned check fees at the amount of court costs and processing charges, plus 12% interest per year on the total amount owed (Title 14, §6028) and (Title 14, §6071).

2. Bed Bug Disclosure: Maine law requires landlords to disclose bed bug infestations in their rental properties. If a rental unit has a bed bug infestation or is adjacent to a unit with bed bugs, the landlord must inform potential tenants. The landlord must also provide the date of the last bed bug inspection for the rental unit and any adjacent units if a tenant asks (Title 14, §6021-A).

3. Radon Disclosure: Maine requires landlords to test their rental units for radon gas. Radon testing must be performed at least once every 10 years for all rental units. If a residential building was built after March 1, 2014, the property owner has to test for radon within 12 months of occupying the unit. Registered radon testers must perform the test and provide the date and results to new tenants as an addendum to the rental agreement (Title 14, §6030-D).

4. Energy Efficiency Disclosure Statement: Landlords must provide energy efficiency statements to tenants of rental properties. These statements must include the utility supplier’s information or the property’s 12-month energy consumption history. Both the landlord and the tenant must sign the statement, and the landlord must retain a copy for at least 3 years. The lease must include the following language (Title 14, §6030-C):

“You have the right to obtain a 12-month history of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption from the energy supplier.”

5. Written Cost Disclosure: Starting in 2025, Maine landlords must provide prospective tenants with a disclosure of costs associated with renting a property before the lease is signed. This disclosure must include the rent, recurring fees, utility service costs (or an energy efficiency disclosure if utility costs cannot be estimated), and additional costs the tenant will be responsible for (Title 14, §6030-J).

6. Common Area Utility Disclosure: This only applies to rental units where tenants are responsible for paying common area utilities. In this case, landlords may offer tenants compensation through reduced rent or other benefits for sharing utility costs with common areas. However, landlords can also inform tenants that no compensation will be provided (Title 14, §6024).

7. Security Deposit Holdings Disclosure: Maine landlords who collect a security deposit must provide tenants with written information about how the funds will be held. Security deposits accepted after October 1, 1979, must be deposited in a bank or other financial institution (Title 14, §6038).

8. Smoking Policy: Landlords must state their smoking policy on the property. It must outline whether smoking is allowed, allowed only in certain areas, or prohibited completely (Title 14, §6030-E).

9. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure: Lead-based paint disclosures are federally required, and property owners must include them in the sale and lease of most homes or apartments built before 1978 (Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum Security Deposit Amount: Maine landlords cannot charge more than two months’ rent as a security deposit. This regulation protects tenants from excessive upfront costs (Title 14, §6032).

Receipt of Deposit: Landlords are required to disclose where security deposits are held if the tenant asks, but they aren’t required to automatically give out this information (Title 14, §6038).

Interest: Maine does not have laws requiring landlords to pay tenants interest earned on security deposits. However, landlords must keep security deposits in a separate bank account away from a landlord’s personal funds (Title 14, §6038).

Deduction Tracking: Maine landlords must keep a detailed list of deductions from a security deposit and return any remaining funds to tenants within 30 days of the lease ending (Title 14, §6033).

Returning a Tenant’s Security Deposit: Landlords must return security deposits (minus any deductions) within 30 days of the lease ending (Title 14, §6033).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance Notice: Landlords must give tenants “reasonable” notice before entering a property if it’s not an emergency. Maine law generally defines “reasonable” as at least 24 hours (Title 14, §6025).

Immediate Access: Maine landlords can enter a property immediately in emergencies. One situation outlined in Maine law is if the welfare of an animal is at risk (Title 14, §6025-A).

Landlord Harassment: If a Maine landlord doesn’t provide proper notice, this is considered harassment and can lead to severe legal headaches. A tenant can sue for actual damages or $100, whichever amount is greater (Title 14, §6025).

Rent Payment Laws

Grace Period: Rent is considered late in Maine after 15 days (Title 14, §6028).

Late Rent Fees: Landlords can charge a late fee of 4% of the monthly rent after the grace period. However, this must be written in the lease agreement so tenants know the policy (Title 14, §6028).

Tenant’s Right to Withhold Rent: Maine law allows tenants to “repair and deduct” by paying for repairs themselves and then deducting that amount from their rent payments (Title 14, §6026).

Breach of Rental Agreement

Missed Rent Payment: Maine landlords can attempt to collect rent plus a late fee if a tenant misses a rent payment. If a landlord needs to escalate the situation, they can issue a written “7-day notice to quit,” which is the first step of the Maine eviction process (Title 14, §6002).

Lease Violation: Landlords can evict tenants for lease term violations. They must provide a written 7-day Notice to Quit, giving tenants 7 days to vacate the rental property (Title 14, §6002).

Self-Help Evictions: No, self-help evictions are not legal in Maine. Landlords must adhere to the legal process to evict a tenant.

Lease Abandonment: Tenants who break their lease early are generally liable for the remaining rent due unless they find a replacement tenant or have a lease clause allowing for early termination under specific conditions.

Ending a Lease

Month-to-Month: Landlords and tenants must give at least 30 days’ notice to end a lease agreement (Title 14, §6002).

Fixed-Term: Tenants can legally break a fixed-term lease early if they experience specific circumstances like domestic violence, military deployment, or if the rental unit becomes uninhabitable (Title 14, §6002).

Property Abandonment: Maine landlords must take a few steps if their tenants leave the property in the rental unit. First, they must store the items and then send a written notice to the tenant. Tenants then have 14 days to claim the property (Title 14, §6013).

Renewing a Lease

Required Renewals: Maine landlords are not required to allow tenants to renew their rental agreements.

Required Notice: In Maine, the notice period for either party (landlord or tenant) who chooses not to renew a lease is typically 30 days. However, the state outlines some circumstances that allow landlords to shorten it to only 7 days. These cases include tenants owing rent, causing damage to the property, domestic violence cases, and more (Title 14, §6002).

Rent Control & Stabilization

Maine doesn’t have any statewide rent control laws, but a couple of cities have established some of their own rules:

• Portland enacted rent control laws in 2020, and rent increases are now capped at 100% of the yearly Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate (Chapter 6, Sec. 6-234a).
• South Portland followed shortly after in 2023 with an ordinance that caps rent increases at 10% yearly (Rent Stabilization Ordinance).