A Maine rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant who wishes to use it. Maine landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Maine Rental Agreement Types
Maine Required Residential Lease Disclosures
- Late or Returned Check Fees (required for some leases) – Maine leases must disclose the presence and amount of any late fees, for these fees to be legally enforceable.
- Bed Bug Disclosure (required for some leases) – Maine property cannot be rented if it has a suspected bed bug infestation. If an adjoining property has an infestation, this must be disclosed in the lease, together with an open offer to provide inspection information related to infestation treatments.
- Radon Disclosure (required for all leases) – Maine leases must provide the results of any recently completed radon testing, along with an addendum from the Department of Health which acknowledges the dangers of radon exposure.
- Energy Efficiency Disclosure Statement (required for all leases) – Maine rentals must provide an energy efficiency statement if the tenant is expected to pay utilities directly to the utility company or landlord. The landlord must also make the energy efficiency statement available upon request to any person who requests it.
- Written Disclosure of Costs (required for all leases) – Beginning in 2025, Maine landlords cannot execute a lease without providing the prospective tenant with a disclosure of costs associated with renting the premises. This cost disclosure must include rent, recurring fees, utility service costs, and other costs the tenant will be responsible for paying.
- Common Area Utility Disclosure (required for some leases) – Maine property that shares a utility line with a common area (i.e., stairwell, hallway, storage area, water heaters) or other areas outside of the dwelling must disclose this in the lease.
- Security Deposit Holdings (required for some leases) – Maine landlords collecting a security deposit must provide a written disclosure of how funds will be kept during the lease.
- Smoking Policy Disclosure (required for all leases) – Maine rental property with a smoking policy must note this in the lease, including specifics about where smoking is allowed.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – For any property built before 1978, federal law requires that a Maine residential lease must contain a lead-based paint disclosure with an EPA informational pamphlet, plus notice of any lead hazards on the property.
To learn more about required disclosures in Maine, click here.
Maine Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Maine landlords can only rent out habitable property, which means providing certain features essential to basic health and safety like heat, plumbing, electricity, and sound structural elements. Landlords must repair any issues within a reasonable time after proper notice from the tenant. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, terminate the lease, or repair and deduct from the rent. Tenants usually aren’t allowed to withhold rent.
- Evictions – Maine landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay, comply, or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Maine take between one week to several months.
- Security Deposits – Maine caps security deposits at a maximum of 2 months’ rent. Upon lease termination, the landlord must return any unused portion of a security deposit within 30 days.
- Lease Termination – Maine lets tenants break a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice. A fixed-term lease can’t be terminated early without active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Maine landlords in some cases must comply with the Rent Control Ordinance, which caps rent increases to a maximum of 10%. If the rental property is not in a rent-controlled city, then landlords can raise rent by as much as they like, as often as they like, as long as they provide at least 45 days of advance notice. Maine caps late fees at 4% of the monthly rent, and caps returned check fees at a 12% per year interest rate from date of dishonor, plus any court costs and processing charges.
- Landlord Entry – Maine landlords may enter rental property for purposes reasonably related to the tenancy, like maintenance, inspections, and showings. In most cases, they have to give at least 24 hours of advance notice before entering, unless it’s an emergency situation.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Maine allows landlord-tenant disputes in small claims court, as long as the amount in controversy is under $6,000. Evictions are not allowed in small claims.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Maine, click here.
Sources
- 1 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 - 2 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.
Source Link - 3 Me. Stat. tit. 14 § 6071(1)
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In any action against a person liable for a dishonored check, the holder may recover the amount of the check, the court costs and the processing charges incurred by the holder, plus interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of dishonor if:A. The holder gives notice pursuant to section 6073 for payment of the check; andB. The person liable fails to tender the amount of the check, plus bank fees and mailing costs, within 10 days of receiving the notice set forth in section 6073.
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