Maine landlord-tenant law at a glance
Most Maine rules for residential landlords are in Title 14 of the Maine Revised Statutes, chapter 709 (termination and eviction) and chapter 710 (rental property, deposits and fees). The table below collects the numbers an apartment owner uses most.
| Rule | Maine requirement | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| End a tenancy at will | At least 30 days’ written notice by either party | 14 M.R.S. 6002 |
| Nonpayment | 7 days’ written notice once rent is 7 or more days late; void if paid in full before it expires | 14 M.R.S. 6002 |
| Rent increase | 45 days’ written notice; 75 days if the increase, alone or added up over 12 months, is 10% or more | 14 M.R.S. 6015-2 |
| Deposit cap | Two months’ rent | 14 M.R.S. 6032 |
| Deposit return | Up to 30 days under a written lease (as the lease states); 21 days for a tenancy at will | 14 M.R.S. 6033 |
| Late fee | Only after rent is 15 days late, up to 4% of one month’s rent, and only if disclosed in writing at the start | 14 M.R.S. 6028 |
| Entry | Reasonable notice at reasonable times; 24 hours presumed reasonable; emergency exception | 14 M.R.S. 6025 |
| Application fees | None, except the actual cost of one background, credit or other screening check | 14 M.R.S. 6030-H |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Maine?
Thirty days, in writing, to end a tenancy at will, which is any month-to-month arrangement without a fixed-term lease. Maine’s statute does not require a reason for that notice, and the tenant must give the same 30 days to leave.
For unpaid rent, a landlord can serve a 7-day notice once the tenant is at least 7 days behind. The notice must state the amount owed as of the date of the notice and include the language the statute requires. If the tenant pays the full amount before the 7 days run out, the notice is void.
Fixed-term leases are different, because the lease itself sets how and when it can end. Read it before you serve anything.
Security deposit rules in Maine
A Maine landlord cannot require a security deposit of more than two months’ rent under 14 M.R.S. section 6032. Separately, the total you collect at move-in is capped at the first full month’s rent, the deposit and any mandatory recurring fee you have properly disclosed (section 6022-A).
At the end of the tenancy, you have the time stated in a written lease, which cannot exceed 30 days, or 21 days for a tenancy at will, to return the deposit or send a written, itemized statement of what you kept with the balance. You cannot keep money for normal wear and tear. Miss the deadline or skip the statement, and you lose the right to keep any part of the deposit.
Deposits must be held in a bank or other financial institution account that protects them from the landlord’s creditors and allows transfer to a later owner or to the tenant, and you must tell a tenant the institution and account number on request (section 6038).
Late fees and other charges
Maine caps late fees at 4% of one month’s rent, and only for rent not paid within 15 days after it is due. You can charge the fee only if you told the tenant in writing, when the rental agreement began, that a late charge of up to 4% may apply. On a $1,500 apartment, the most you can charge is $60.
Other recurring charges now come with disclosure rules. Before a lease or tenancy at will begins, you must give a signed written disclosure of the total cost: rent, any mandatory or optional recurring fee, and utility costs the tenant will pay (section 6030-J). Optional fees for added services must let the tenant opt in and stop paying at any time without penalty (section 6030-I).
Entry rules, including showings to buyers
A Maine tenant may not unreasonably refuse entry when the landlord wants to inspect, make repairs, supply agreed services or show the unit to prospective buyers, lenders, tenants or contractors (14 M.R.S. section 6025). The landlord, in turn, must give reasonable notice and come at reasonable times, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable. Notice is not needed in an emergency.
This matters when you sell. Buyers and their lenders will want to walk units, and a showing schedule with at least 24 hours’ notice keeps you inside the rule. Entering unlawfully, or making repeated demands for entry that harass a tenant, lets the tenant recover actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, plus possible attorney’s fees.
The eviction process in Maine
A Maine eviction is called a forcible entry and detainer, or FED, and it is filed in District Court after the notice period ends. The Maine Judicial Branch’s self-help guide lays out these steps for a nonpayment case.
- Serve a 7-day notice to quit with the court’s CV-256 information sheet, by hand or by the backup method the court describes.
- After the notice expires, prepare a complaint and a summons for each tenant and set a hearing date at least 14 days after the tenant receives the papers.
- Have the sheriff serve the papers at least 14 days before the hearing, then file them with the $100 filing fee at least three business days before it.
- Attend the hearing. Free mediation is offered at the courthouse that day, and many cases settle with an agreed move-out date.
- If you win, the writ of possession can issue 7 days after judgment. You buy the writ from the clerk and have the sheriff serve it, and the tenant then has 48 hours to leave.
How long does an eviction take in Maine?
About four to six weeks for an uncontested nonpayment case, if you add the statutory steps: 7 days of notice, at least 14 days between service and hearing, 7 days before the writ can issue, and 48 hours after the sheriff serves it, plus time to arrange service. A contested case or an appeal takes longer.
An eviction gets you possession, not money. The court guide notes that back rent is a separate claim, often brought in small claims court.
Rent increases and rent control in Maine
Maine has no statewide rent control, but it does regulate notice. Under 14 M.R.S. section 6015-2, you must give at least 45 days’ written notice of a rent increase, and 75 days if the increase is 10% or more, counting all increases in a 12-month period. Two 5% increases in one year therefore need 75 days’ notice before the second. A waiver of these rules is void, and the Maine Attorney General issued an advisory on them in January 2026.
Portland has its own rent control ordinance. Based on the city’s 2024 guide, a covered landlord may raise rent once every 12 months by the allowable increase percentage the city publishes each September 1, set at 70% of the change in the Boston-area consumer price index. The figure changes each year, so check the city’s current published percentage before you send a notice. Increases are capped at 10% in total, landlords must give 90 days’ written notice, and every unit, exempt or not, must be registered. Owner-occupied buildings of two to four units and subsidized units are among the exemptions, so a five-unit building in Portland is covered.
What happens to leases and deposits when you sell
Existing leases stay in force after a sale, so the buyer takes the building subject to every tenant’s lease and tenancy. A buyer who wants a tenant at will to leave has to give the same 30 days’ written notice any landlord would.
Deposits follow the building. Under 14 M.R.S. section 6038, the new owner assumes all responsibility for maintaining and returning the security deposits that are accounted for and transferred to it under section 6035. So the buyer will want a deposit schedule that matches the bank account balance, and the deposit money has to move to the buyer with the building.
- Give the buyer a rent roll with each tenant’s rent, deposit, lease end date and any recurring fees.
- Confirm deposit balances against the account statement.
- Hand over the written fee disclosures and late fee notices, since the buyer needs them to keep charging those fees.
- In Portland, give the buyer the registration and base rent records for every unit.
Maine landlord-tenant law changes in recent years
The 131st Legislature (2023 to 2024) rewrote much of the fee and notice side of Maine rental law.
- Rent increase notice became 45 days, and 75 days for increases of 10% or more (Public Law 2023, chapters 388 and 594).
- Written total cost disclosure before a lease begins, and opt-in rules for optional recurring fees (chapter 594).
- A cap on move-in payments at first month’s rent, the deposit and disclosed mandatory fees (chapter 594).
- No application fees, except the actual cost of one screening, with a copy of the results to the applicant (chapter 346).
- The entry statute, section 6025, was amended again in 2025, so read its current text before relying on an older summary.
Selling a Maine apartment building with tenants
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Maine, with tenants in place, including rent-controlled buildings in Portland. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. You do not need to empty units or reset leases before you sell.
For the tax side of a sale, see Maine capital gains tax on real estate and the property tax rate in Maine.
