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Timeline. Evicting a tenant in Maine can take around one to two months, depending on the reason for the eviction. If tenants file an appeal, the process can take longer (read more).
Below are the individual steps of the eviction process in Maine.
Step 1: Notice is Posted
Landlords in Maine can begin the eviction process for several reasons, including:
- Nonpayment of Rent – Once rent is past due, notice must be served giving the tenant the option to pay rent in order to avoid eviction.
- Violation of Lease Terms / Rental Agreement – If a tenant violates a provision of a written lease/rental agreement, the landlord isn’t required to give the tenant the opportunity to correct the issue before moving forward with the eviction process.
- No Lease / End of Lease Term (Tenant at Will) – If there is no lease or the term of the lease has ended, the landlord does not need any additional reason to end the tenancy as long as proper notice is given (if required).
- Material Health / Safety Violation – If the tenant violates a health, building, safety, or housing code, they must be given written notice before the eviction process can continue.
- Illegal Activity – If a tenant is engaged in illegal activity, notice must be served on the tenant prior to proceeding with the eviction action.
- Retaliatory Evictions. It is illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant for complaining to the landlord or to the appropriate local or government agency regarding the property. It is also illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant for joining, supporting, or organizing a tenant organization or union.
- Evicting a Squatter. If the individual occupying the property didn’t have the landlord’s permission when initially moving in, doesn’t have a lease (or verbal agreement) and has no history of paying rent, then the person is not an authorized occupant and, according to Maine law, the normal eviction process would apply (read more).
Introduction. In Maine, the civil process of removing a tenant from a rental property is called an eviction or Forcible Entry and Detainer. A landlord must follow all rules and regulations to proceed with an eviction case in District Court. Below are the individual steps of the eviction process in Maine.
Eviction Process for Nonpayment of Rent
A landlord is allowed to evict a tenant for failing to pay rent on time.
According to Maine law, rent is considered late if it is not paid within 15 days of the due date.
Once rent is past due for tenants at will, or for tenants whose written lease doesn’t cover written notices prior to termination, the landlord must provide tenants with a 7-Day Notice to Pay, giving the tenant seven days to pay the past-due rent amount in order to avoid eviction.
For all other written leases or rental agreements, the amount of notice required depends on the terms of the written lease or rental agreement.
If the tenant does not pay the rent due by the end of the notice period and remains on the property, the landlord may proceed with the eviction process.
Eviction Process for Violation of Lease Terms / Rental Agreement
For tenants with written leases/rental agreements that don’t address the notice period, Maine landlords are required to provide tenants with a 7-Day Notice to Quit, giving the tenant seven days to move out of the rental unit.
For all other written leases or rental agreements, the amount of notice required is addressed in the lease or rental agreement.
Typical lease violations by the tenant under this category could include the following:
- Intentional or negligent damage to the rental property.
- Causing a nuisance on the premises.
- Committed a violation of the law.
- Allowed the rental unit to be unfit for living condition.
- An unauthorized occupant is living on the premises.
If the tenant remains on the property after the notice period (if any) expires, the landlord may proceed with the eviction process.
Eviction Process for Material Health / Safety Violation
At-will tenants can be evicted in Maine if they cause substantial damage to the rental unit and/or make the rental unit unfit for human habitation. Both of these violations materially affect the health or safety of the tenant and/or other residents.
In those instances, landlords are required to provide tenants with a 7-Day Notice to Quit, giving the tenant seven days to move out of the rental unit.
Examples of material health and safety violations could include letting trash pile up inside the rental unit, providing a harbor for rodents or bugs, or even things like damaging the electrical wiring in the rental unit.
If the tenant remains on the property after the notice period expires, the landlord may proceed with the eviction process.
Eviction Process for No Lease / End of Lease
In the state of Maine, if tenants “holdover,” or stay in the rental unit after the rental term has expired, then the landlord may be required to give tenants notice before evicting them. This can include tenants without a written lease and week-to-week and month-to-month tenants.
Often this type of eviction applies to tenants who are at the end of their lease and the landlord doesn’t want to renew.
Regardless of the length or type of tenancy, at-will tenants must be given 30 days’ written notice before landlords may begin the eviction process.
For tenants with written leases, once the rental agreement/lease term expires, landlords may file an eviction action within seven days of the date the rental agreement/lease term expired without written notice to the tenant.
If at-will tenants remain on the property after the notice period expires, the landlord may continue with the eviction process.
Eviction Process for Illegal Activity
Tenants of a rental unit who are involved in illegal activity must be given seven days’ notice before the landlord can proceed with an eviction action.
In Maine, illegal activity includes:
- Domestic violence
- Stalking
- Sexual assault
- Violence/threat of violence against another tenant/a tenant’s guest/landlord/landlord’s agent or employee
- Prostitution
- Any other violation of the law
This notice requirement applies to at-will tenants and tenants with written leases that don’t specify a written notice period for terminating the lease.
For all other written leases, the notice period (if any) is specified in the lease.
If the tenant remains on the property after the notice period (if any) expires, the landlord may proceed with the eviction process.
Step 2: Complaint is Filed and Served
As the next step in the eviction process, Maine landlords must file a complaint in the appropriate court. In the state of Maine, this costs $100 in filing fees and an additional $25 if a writ of possession is issued.
The summons and complaint must be served on the tenant by the sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other person authorized by the court at least seven days prior to the eviction hearing, through any one of the following methods:
- Giving a copy to the tenant in person;
- Leaving a copy with someone at the tenant’s residence; and
- Mailing a copy via first class mail AND leaving a copy at the tenant’s residence.
Note, mailing the summons and complaint may only be done if all other methods of service fail.
Step 3: Court Hearing and Judgment
The eviction hearing must be held within 10 days of the return date listed on the summons.
Tenants are not required to file a written answer with the court to attend the eviction hearing; however, if they want the hearing to be recorded, then they must file a written answer.
Recordings are typically required for appeals, so if the tenant thinks they may want to appeal, then it would be in their best interest to file a written answer to ensure that the hearing is recorded so a transcript of the proceedings can be provided to the appeals court.
If the judge rules in favor of the landlord, a writ of possession will be issued, and the eviction process will continue.
Step 4: Writ of Possession Is Issued
The writ of possession is the tenant’s final notice to leave the rental unit and gives the tenant the opportunity to remove their belongings before law enforcement returns to the property to forcibly remove them.
The writ will be issued seven days after the date the ruling in favor of the landlord is issued, and can only be given to the defendant by a sheriff or constable (not the landlord).
Step 5: Possession of Property is Returned
Tenants must move out of the rental unit within 48 hours of receiving the writ of possession. If the tenant remains on the property, they are deemed as a trespasser and will be forcibly removed by the constable or sheriff. All personal property on the premises shall be considered as abandoned property.
A sheriff or constable must deliver the writ to the tenants. This cannot be done by the landlord.
Maine Eviction Process Timeline
Below is a summary of the aspects outside of the landlord’s control that dictate the amount of time it takes to evict a tenant in Maine. With that being said, these estimates can vary greatly, and some time periods may not include weekends or legal holidays.
- Initial Notice Period – Between 7 and 30 days, depending on the notice type and reason for eviction.
- Issuance/Service of Summons and Complaint – Seven days prior to the eviction hearing.
- Court Hearing and Ruling on the Eviction – Within 10 days of the return date listed on the summons.
- Issuance of Writ of Possession – Seven days after the ruling in favor of the landlord.
- Return of Possession – 48 hours after the writ is posted/delivered.
Additional Information
Tenant’s Abandoned Personal Property. The landlord shall place the former tenant’s personal property in a safe and dry space. The landlord must give notice to the former tenant.
- Tenant is in Possession of the Rental Unit. If the tenant is in possession of the rental unit, the landlord must provide the tenant with written notice through first class mail. The notice shall state that the landlord’s intent to dispose of the tenant’s personal property that remains on the premises after the tenancy has ended. The tenant has seven days following the written notice or 48 hours after the Writ of Possession was issued, whichever period is longer.
- Tenant has Vacated the Rental Unit. The landlord shall send the former tenant via first class mail the landlord’s intent to dispose of the former tenant’s personal property. The notice must include an itemized list of the tenant’s personal property and if there is no response with seven days, the landlord may dispose of the personal belongings.
Flowchart of Maine Eviction Process
For additional questions about the eviction process in Maine, please refer to the official legislation, Maine Revised Statutes §6001-6017, §6028, and the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4, for more information.
Sources
- 1 14 ME Rev Stat §6028 (2020)
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A payment of rent is late if it is not made within 15 days from the time the payment is due.
- 2 14 ME Rev Stat §6002 (2020)
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1. the tenancy may be terminated upon 7 days’ written notice in the event that the landlord can show…that: C. The tenant is 7 days or more in arrears in the payment of rent…
- 3 14 ME Rev Stat §6001 (2020)
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1-B. If a written residential lease or contract does not include a provision to terminate the tenancy or does not provide for any written notice of termination in the event of a material breach of a provision of the written residential lease or contract…A. A landlord may terminate the tenancy in accordance with section 6002, subsections 1 and 2.
- 4 14 ME Rev Stat §6002 (2020)
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1. …the tenancy may be terminated upon 7 days’ written notice in the event that the landlord can show, by affirmative proof, that: A. The tenant…has caused substantial damage…that the tenant has not repaired… B. The tenant…has caused…the dwelling unit to become unfit for human habitation or has violated…the law regarding the tenancy…
- 5 14 ME Rev Stat §6002 (2020)
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Tenancies at will must be terminated by either party by a minimum of 30 days’ notice, except as provided in subsections 2 and 4, in writing for that purpose given to the other party…
- 6 14 ME Rev Stat §6001 (2020)
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1. Process of forcible entry and detainer may be maintained… against a tenant holding under a written lease or contract…at the expiration or forfeiture of the term, without notice, if commenced within 7 days from the expiration or forfeiture of the term.
- 7 14 ME Rev Stat §6002 (2020)
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1. the tenancy may be terminated upon 7 days’ written notice in the event that the landlord can show…that: D. The tenant is a perpetrator of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and the victim is also a tenant…E. The tenant…is the perpetrator of violence, a threat of violence or sexual assault against another tenant, a tenant’s guest, the landlord or the landlord’s employee or agent…
- 8 14 ME Rev Stat §6011 (2020)
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When the tenant of a dwelling house is convicted of keeping it as a house of ill fame, the lease or contract by which he occupies it may, at the option of the landlord, be deemed void and the landlord shall have the same remedy to recover possession as against a tenant holding over after his term expires.
- 9 ME Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4 (2018)
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(c)(2) By a sheriff or a deputy within the sheriff’s county, or other person authorized by law, or by some person specially appointed by the court for that purpose. Special appointments to serve process shall be made freely when substantial savings in travel fees will result.
- 10 ME Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4 (2018)
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(d) (1) …by delivering a copy…to the individual personally or by leaving copies thereof at the individual’s dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein or by delivering a copy…to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process…
- 11 14 ME Rev Stat §6004 (2020)
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…if at least 3 good faith efforts on 3 different days have been made to serve the defendant, service may be accomplished by both mailing the summons and complaint by first-class mail to the defendant’s last known address and leaving the summons and complaint at the defendant’s last and usual place of abode.
- 12 14 ME Rev Stat §6003 (2020)
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The court shall schedule and hold the hearing as soon as practicable, but no later than 10 days after the return day except that the court may grant a continuance for good cause shown. Any defendant requesting a recorded hearing shall file a written answer enumerating all known defenses on or before the return day.
- 13 14 ME Rev Stat §6005 (2020)
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When the defendant is defaulted or fails to show sufficient cause, judgment must be rendered against the defendant by the District Court for possession of the premises. Seven calendar days after the judgment is entered, the court shall issue the writ of possession to remove the defendant. The writ may be served by a sheriff or a constable…
- 14 14 ME Rev Stat §6005 (2020)
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When a writ of possession has been served on the defendant by a constable or sheriff, and the defendant fails to remove himself or his possessions within 48 hours of service by the constable or sheriff, the defendant is deemed a trespasser without right and the defendant’s goods and property are considered by law to be abandoned and subject to section 6013.