How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maine?

No more than two months' rent. The cap comes from Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.

What does a Maine landlord have to disclose with the lease?

Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Maine checklist has six items: radon test results, mitigation status and a signed Tenant acknowledgment; the residential energy efficiency disclosure statement; and any current or recent bedbug infestation, with the last inspection date on request. The other three are on the checklist in the document. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.

Which Maine statutes does this lease cite?

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6033; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6038; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6002; and Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6025, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.

Should a lawyer look at this Maine lease before I use it?

It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Maine statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Maine landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

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Maine Residential Lease Agreement

A plain-language lease for a house or apartment in Maine. The deposit, notice, entry and disclosure clauses follow Maine statute, cited in the document. Download the blank PDF or e-sign it online; electronic signatures are recognized under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws.

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Different state?

Page one of the Maine Residential Lease Agreement — Page 1 of the PDF. Tinted boxes are the placed fields, one color per role.

Maine rules in this lease

Security deposit cap: No more than two months' rent
Deposit return: Within the time the lease states, not to exceed 30 days after the tenancy ends, or within 21 days after the tenancy ends or the Premises is surrendered and accepted, whichever is later, for a tenancy at will, the Landlord returns the deposit or a written statement itemizing the reasons for any amount retained along with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, and a Landlord who misses the deadline forfeits the right to withhold any portion.
Where the deposit is kept: The deposit is kept in an account at a bank or other financial institution, is not commingled with the Landlord's funds or treated as the Landlord's asset, and the Landlord names the institution and account number on the Tenant's request.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy: Either party ends a tenancy at will with at least 30 days' written notice.
Landlord entry: The Landlord gives reasonable notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable, enters at a reasonable time, and needs no notice in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.
Disclosures: 7 items, listed below with the section that requires each one
Local rules: Portland limits annual rent increases and requires landlords to register units under its rent control ordinance.
Statutes: Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6033, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6038, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6002, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6025. Read the Maine statute
Rules read on: 2026-10-23

A general form, not legal advice, and not a claim that it complies with any law. Rules change and vary by city. Check the statute cited here, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What is different in Maine

Pick Maine and four parts of this lease change: the security deposit clause, the notice clause for a month-to-month tenancy, the entry clause and the disclosures checklist, each rewritten from the Maine statute. The rest of the document reads the same in every state.

Start with the deposit. Maine caps it at two months' rent, and the statute also says where the money sits while the tenant lives there. The return rule, quoted in full below, says when and how the deposit comes back, and requires an itemized statement of anything kept and takes the right to keep any of it away from a landlord who misses the deadline.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy works the same from both sides in Maine. Either party ends a tenancy at will with at least 30 days' written notice.

Before coming in, the landlord gives notice, and Maine puts a number on it. The Landlord gives reasonable notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable, enters at a reasonable time, and needs no notice in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.

The disclosures checklist carries six Maine items on top of the federal lead paint notice, among them a total price disclosure signed by both parties, each with the section that requires it and a line for the landlord's initials.

City rules are the other thing to watch. Portland limits annual rent increases and requires landlords to register units under its rent control ordinance. The state clauses follow five sections of Maine law, read on October 23, 2026 and listed in the Statutes row above; the same citations print in the footer of the PDF.

Read the Maine clauses

The wording below is what prints in the PDF for Maine, word for word, under the headings Security deposit, Entry, Ending the lease and default, and Disclosures.

Security deposit

Within the time the lease states, not to exceed 30 days after the tenancy ends, or within 21 days after the tenancy ends or the Premises is surrendered and accepted, whichever is later, for a tenancy at will, the Landlord returns the deposit or a written statement itemizing the reasons for any amount retained along with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, and a Landlord who misses the deadline forfeits the right to withhold any portion. The deposit may not exceed two months' rent. The deposit is kept in an account at a bank or other financial institution, is not commingled with the Landlord's funds or treated as the Landlord's asset, and the Landlord names the institution and account number on the Tenant's request.

Entry

The Landlord gives reasonable notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable, enters at a reasonable time, and needs no notice in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.

Ending the lease and default

Either party ends a tenancy at will with at least 30 days' written notice. If rent is unpaid or a term is broken, the Landlord gives the written notice Maine law requires before ending the tenancy, and the Tenant is responsible for rent through the end of the term unless the Premises is re-rented sooner.

Disclosures the Landlord initials

Lead-based paint and hazards, for a building built before 1978, with the EPA pamphlet (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
Radon test results, mitigation status and a signed Tenant acknowledgment (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6030-D)
The residential energy efficiency disclosure statement (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6030-C)
Any current or recent bedbug infestation, with the last inspection date on request (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6021-A)
The smoking policy, with a Tenant acknowledgment when smoking is allowed in limited areas (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6030-E)
A total price disclosure signed by both parties (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6030-J)
How common-area utilities are shared, when the Tenant pays for them (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6024)

Portland limits annual rent increases and requires landlords to register units under its rent control ordinance.

Footer of the PDF: Maine clauses follow Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6033, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6038, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6002, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6025 as read on 2026-10-23.

Maine lease questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maine?: No more than two months' rent. The cap comes from Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.
When does the security deposit come back in Maine?: Within the time the lease states, not to exceed 30 days after the tenancy ends, or within 21 days after the tenancy ends or the Premises is surrendered and accepted, whichever is later, for a tenancy at will, the Landlord returns the deposit or a written statement itemizing the reasons for any amount retained along with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, and a Landlord who misses the deadline forfeits the right to withhold any portion.
Where does a Maine landlord keep the deposit?: The deposit is kept in an account at a bank or other financial institution, is not commingled with the Landlord's funds or treated as the Landlord's asset, and the Landlord names the institution and account number on the Tenant's request.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Maine?: Either party ends a tenancy at will with at least 30 days' written notice.
How much notice does a Maine landlord give before entering?: The Landlord gives reasonable notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable, enters at a reasonable time, and needs no notice in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.
What does a Maine landlord have to disclose with the lease?: Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Maine checklist has six items: radon test results, mitigation status and a signed Tenant acknowledgment; the residential energy efficiency disclosure statement; and any current or recent bedbug infestation, with the last inspection date on request. The other three are on the checklist in the document. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.
Do any Maine cities or counties add rules of their own?: Portland limits annual rent increases and requires landlords to register units under its rent control ordinance.
Which Maine statutes does this lease cite?: Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6032; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6033; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6038; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6002; and Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 6025, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.
Should a lawyer look at this Maine lease before I use it?: It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Maine statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Maine landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

Who this is for. A Maine lease is one half of a landlord's paperwork; proving a notice was received is the other. Both are covered at free e-signatures for landlords.

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