Maine tenant screening laws and landlord requirements

Maine generally does not allow landlords to charge a plain application fee. Under 14 M.R.S. §6030-H (effective 2023), a landlord may charge an applicant only the actual cost of one of the following: a background check, a credit check, or another screening process — not more than one fee in any 12-month period. A landlord who charges such a fee must first notify the applicant that Maine law requires giving them a full copy of the resulting report.

This search did not find a Maine statute that specifically restricts how landlords may use criminal history in tenant screening (for example, a lookback-period limit or a "fair chance" housing ordinance), and criminal record is not listed as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act. The federal Fair Housing Act's disparate-impact theory could still be relevant to blanket criminal-history exclusions, and the underlying statute and case law such as Texas Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project (2015) remain in effect. Landlords should apply any criminal-history criteria consistently and avoid blanket bans not tied to a specific, job- or tenancy-related concern.

Maine law generally prohibits a landlord from refusing to rent to someone, or offering different lease terms, primarily because that person is a recipient of federal, state, or local public assistance — including medical assistance and housing subsidies such as vouchers (5 M.R.S. §4581-A(4)). This is narrower than a blanket "source of income" nondiscrimination clause in some other states, since it turns on whether the assistance status is a primary reason for the adverse treatment.

Maine's entire former state Fair Credit Reporting Act (Title 10, chapter 210) shows as repealed on the Maine Legislature's statute site, so federal FCRA is generally the controlling law for how tenant-screening reports must be requested, disclosed, and acted on in Maine, including the §615 adverse-action notice. Maine's own procedural add-ons apply mainly to the fee and disclosure requirements described above, not to the report or adverse-action process itself.

A Maine security deposit generally may not exceed the equivalent of two months' rent (14 M.R.S. §6032). A landlord must return the deposit, or provide a written, itemized statement of amounts withheld, within the time stated in a written lease (not to exceed 30 days) or within 21 days after a tenancy-at-will ends and the unit is surrendered, whichever applies — a landlord who misses this deadline generally forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit (§6033). Separately, Maine caps the total amount a landlord can collect from a tenant to move in: first month's rent, the security deposit (subject to the §6032 cap), and any properly disclosed mandatory recurring fee — nothing more (§6022-A).

Maine does not have a general statewide rent-control law. A rent or mandatory recurring fee increase generally requires at least 45 days' written notice, or at least 75 days' notice if the increase is 10% or more (including cumulative increases within a 12-month period) — with some exceptions for income-restricted or subsidized housing (14 M.R.S. §6015). Rent may not be increased while a unit is out of compliance with the warranty of habitability (§6016) — this is a habitability-linked limit, not a general rent cap. For ending a tenancy at will, Maine generally requires 30 days' written notice, which either party can give without stating a reason; a landlord may instead use a 7-day notice, but only for specific statutory causes such as rent seven or more days in arrears, property damage, nuisance, violence, or an unauthorized occupant (§6002). Maine also presumes an eviction is retaliatory if it follows within six months of a tenant asserting certain rights (like requesting repairs or filing a fair-housing complaint), and since January 1, 2024, landlords must attach a statewide form notice to any notice to terminate (§6001).

Portland, Bangor, and Lewiston are Maine's largest cities. Based on the Maine Human Rights Commission's fair housing overview and secondary compilations reviewed for this article (current as of September 2022), Portland and Bangor's local human-rights ordinances are generally described as enforcing the same federal and state protected classes rather than adding new ones, while Lewiston's ordinance is described as also incorporating county-level protections. This search did not confirm any city-specific tenant-screening fee cap, criminal-history restriction, or source-of-income ordinance beyond what state law already provides in any of the three cities. Portland is widely reported to have a locally enacted rent-stabilization ordinance approved by voters in 2020; however, attempts to load the current text of Portland's rent-control code did not return retrievable content, so specific caps, covered-unit thresholds, and current status should be confirmed directly against the City of Portland's official code before being relied on.

Maine's local-government structure differs from a state like California. Land outside a city or town's limits in Maine generally falls into unorganized territory (often informally called "townships"), which is administered by the state rather than by a county government with its own separate ordinance-making power. Maine counties generally do not maintain their own landlord-tenant or fair-housing codes the way some California counties do, so state law is typically the applicable floor outside city limits.

Does Maine cap tenant screening or application fees? Maine generally does not allow a plain application fee. A landlord may charge the actual cost of only one background check, credit check, or other screening process, not more than once every 12 months, and must tell the applicant they're entitled to a copy of the report.

Is source of income a protected class in Maine? Maine law generally prohibits refusing to rent to, or offering different terms to, someone primarily because they receive public assistance, including housing subsidies such as vouchers.

How much can a Maine security deposit be, and when must it be returned? A deposit generally may not exceed two months' rent. It must generally be returned, or itemized in writing, within the time stated in a written lease (up to 30 days) or within 21 days after a tenancy at will ends and the unit is surrendered.

Can a Maine landlord end a tenancy without giving a reason? Generally yes, for a tenancy at will, with at least 30 days' written notice. A shorter 7-day notice is available only for specific statutory causes like unpaid rent or property damage.

Checkr helps landlords and property managers run consistent, FCRA-compliant tenant screening so you can apply the same standards to every applicant. Get started with Checkr to build a screening process suited to Maine's requirements.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.