A Maine month-to-month rental agreement is a contract (not necessarily in writing) which allows a tenant to rent property from a landlord, for one month at a time, in exchange for a fee (“rent”). The rental renews monthly, until either party gives proper notice to end it.
Basics of a Maine Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
In Maine, a landlord and tenant create a month-to-month lease by agreeing to rent a property according to acceptable terms. Written rental agreements are clearer and legally stronger, but oral leases are legal in a month-to-month context.
Parties under a month-to-month lease enjoy full rights under Maine landlord-tenant law. The tenant must use the property in a responsible way and pay rent on time. The landlord must keep essential features of the property in habitable condition, and protect the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the lease.
The main difference between a month-to-month lease and a fixed-term lease is that month-to-month leases can be terminated (with proper notice) by either party for any reason without penalty. Landlords also can usually modify terms from one month to the next, again with proper notice.
Required Disclosures for Month-to-Month Rentals in Maine
Maine landlords may not rent a property out without making the following disclosures to a potential tenant, as relevant:
- Late or Returned Check Fee Notice – Maine will only enforce late fees or returned check fees which are disclosed and agreed in the rental agreement.
- Bed Bug Disclosure – Maine leases of property with an adjacent or contiguous bed bug infestation must provide a disclosure to tenants.
- Radon Disclosure – Maine requires landlords to test radon levels for safety. The tenant must also receive information about the risks of radon gas, and sign an addendum along with the landlord to acknowledge reading and understanding it.
- Energy Efficiency Disclosure – Maine rentals must provide an energy efficiency statement where the tenant will pay utility costs (either directly or through the landlord), including disclosure of either the utility supplier’s information or the property’s 12-month energy consumption history. The report must also be made available to anybody who asks for it.
- Written Cost Disclosure: Beginning in 2025, Maine landlords must provide potential tenants with a written disclosure of all costs associated with the rental agreement.
- Common Area Utility Disclosure – Maine leases for property that shares a utility line with a common area (i.e., stairwell, hallway, storage area, water heaters, etc.) or other areas outside of the dwelling must disclose this to the tenant in the lease.
- Security Deposit Holdings Disclosure – Maine landlords collecting a security deposit must disclose, in writing, how those security deposit funds will be kept during the lease term.
- Smoking Policy Disclosure – Maine landlords must specify the rules for smoking on the premises, including where smoking is and is not allowed.
- Lead-Based Paint – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
Required Notice To End a Month-to-Month Rental in Maine
Maine lets both the landlord or tenant terminate a month-to-month lease with at least 30 days of advance notice. In general, any reason that isn’t landlord retaliation is a legal and valid grounds for ending a month-to-month lease.
Maine requires written notice to end a month-to-month lease.
Required Notice To Raise the Rent on a Maine Month-to-Month Lease
Maine requires that notice for a rental increase be delivered in writing, a minimum of 45 days in advance of the increase taking effect. When rent increases for the past 12 months total a 10% increase or more, this requirement increases to 75 days in advance.
Eviction in Maine Month-to-Month Rentals
Maine tenants may face eviction for violating a month-to-month lease or remaining on the property after the notice period allowed by a valid termination. Evictions in Maine typically take four to eight weeks.
For more information on the eviction process in Maine, click here.
Sources
- 1 Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 6002
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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, but if the landlord or the landlord’s agent has made at least 3 good faith efforts to serve the tenant, that service may be accomplished by both mailing the notice by first class mail to the tenant’s last known address and by leaving the notice at the tenant’s last and usual place of abode…
Source Link - 2 Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 6015
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1. Except as provided in subsection 2, rent charged for residential estates may be increased by the landlord only after providing at least 45 days’ written notice to the tenant. A written or oral waiver of this requirement is against public policy and is void. Any person in violation of this section is liable for the return of any sums unlawfully obtained from the tenant, with interest, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.Source Link2. If rent charged for a residential estate is increased by the landlord by 10% or more, the landlord must provide at least 75 days’ written notice to the tenant. If the landlord increases rent more than once in a 12-month period, and the increases add up to a total increase of 10% or more, the landlord must provide at least 75 days’ written notice prior to any increase that brings the total increase in rent to 10% or more. A written or oral waiver of this requirement is against public policy and is void. Any person in violation of this subsection is liable for the return, with interest, of any sums unlawfully obtained from the tenant and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.This subsection does not apply to rental housing that is subject to:A. Requirements established by a document or deed recorded by a register of deeds that are designed to keep the housing affordable for tenants with specific income levels;B. Restrictions as a condition of the landlord’s receipt of subsidies from or participation in a municipal, state or federal housing program; orC. Restrictions as a condition of the tenant’s receipt of subsidies from or participation in a municipal, state or federal housing program.
- 3 Maine Rev. Stat. § 6030-C
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1. Energy efficiency disclosure. A prospective tenant who will be paying utility costs has the right to obtain from an energy supplier for the unit offered for rental the amount of consumption and the cost of that consumption for the prior 12-month period. A landlord or other person who on behalf of a landlord enters into a lease or tenancy at will agreement for residential property that will be used by a tenant or lessee as a primary residence shall provide to potential tenants or lessees who pay for an energy supply for the unit or upon request by a tenant or lessee a residential energy efficiency disclosure statement in accordance with Title 35‑A, section 10117, subsection 1 that includes, but is not limited to, information about the energy efficiency of the property. Alternatively, the landlord may include in the application for the residential property the name of each supplier of energy that previously supplied the unit, if known, 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.”
2. Provision of statement. A landlord or other person who on behalf of a landlord enters into a lease or tenancy at will agreement shall provide the residential energy efficiency disclosure statement required under subsection 1 in accordance with this subsection. The landlord or other person who on behalf of a landlord enters into a lease or tenancy at will agreement shall provide the statement to any person who requests the statement in person. Before a tenant or lessee enters into a contract or pays a deposit to rent or lease a property, the landlord or other person who on behalf of a landlord enters into a lease or tenancy at will agreement shall provide the statement to the tenant or lessee, obtain the tenant’s or lessee’s signature on the statement and sign the statement. The landlord or other person who on behalf of a landlord enters into a lease or tenancy at will agreement shall retain the signed statement for a minimum of 3 years.
Source Link - 4 Maine Rev. Stat. § 6030-J
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1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. “Mandatory recurring fee” has the same meaning as in section 6000, subsection1-A. B. “Optional recurring fee” has the same meaning as in section 6030-I, subsection 1. C. “Rent” has the same meaning as in section 6000, subsection 1-B. D. “Utility service costs” has the same meaning as in section 6000, subsection 3-A.
2. Written disclosure prior to tenancy. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, prior to entering a lease or tenancy at will agreement, a landlord shall provide a potential tenant or lessee written disclosure of the costs the tenant or lessee will be responsible for paying pursuant to the lease or tenancy at will agreement that contains at a minimum the following: A. The total cost of rent; B. Any mandatory recurring fee; C. Any optional recurring fee; D. Any utility service costs; and E. Any other cost that the tenant will be responsible for paying pursuant to the lease or tenancy at will agreement.The disclosure must be plain and readily understandable by the general public. If a landlord is unable to obtain utility service costs for a dwelling unit, the landlord may provide a completed residential rental energy efficiency disclosure statement in accordance with Title35‑A, section 10117, subsection 1. The disclosure must be signed by both parties, with a copy provided to each.
3. Exception. A written disclosure under subsection 2 is not required if the tenant is not responsible for paying any mandatory recurring fee or any optional recurring fee.
Sec. 13. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2025.
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