Maine Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Maine residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Maine's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 2 months rent. Maine does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 30 Days for fixed-term; 21 Days for tenancy-at-will.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: 24 Hours. Late fees: Up to 4% of rent; notice restrictions apply, with a grace period of 15. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 45 days. (Entry notice citation: 14 M.R.S. § 6025 (24 hours presumed reasonable).)

Required disclosures

A Maine lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • energy efficiency disclosure
• • radon test results/disclosure
• • bedbug disclosure where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Maine's standard notice period is 7 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: 14 M.R.S. § 6002 (7 days).)

What actually distinguishes Maine

Maine caps the security deposit at: 2 months rent.

Maine requires 24 hours notice before a landlord enters an occupied unit for routine, non-emergency purposes.

Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies in Maine is 45 days — different from the 30-day default most other states use, so don't assume the general rule applies here.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Maine's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Maine landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at 14 M.R.S. § 6032 (2 months), with the return deadline set by 14 M.R.S. § 6033 (30 days written / 21 days tenancy-at-will). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Maine's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Maine landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Maine-specific clauses built in automatically.