Maine Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Maine, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside Maine: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Maine data files, checked November 2026 against 10 official pages, among them Maine Legislature: Title 14, 6033, Return of the security deposit; Maine Legislature: Title 14, 6032, Limitation on security deposits; Maine Legislature: 14 M.R.S. 6038 (security deposit to be held separately); Maine Legislature: 14 M.R.S. 6002 (Tenancy at will); Maine Legislature: 14 M.R.S. 6015 (Notice of rent increase); Maine Legislature: 14 M.R.S. Chapter 710 (Rental property), plus National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (a vetted secondary source, marked in the kit) where no official page could be read.
• 4 items the official pages didn't state are left out of the rules and put on a short look-up list with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Maine notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 19 confirmed Maine rules at a glance and a short look-up list of 4 points to check: interest on the deposit, court, time to answer or appear, diversion or mediation (statewide), each with the official page.
• Maine landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: No more than the rent for two months (6032); return deadline: With a written rental agreement: the period it states, no more than 30 days; itemized list of deductions: A written itemized statement of the reasons for keeping any part, with payment of the difference; mailing to the last known address counts (6033(2)); where the deposit is held: In an account at a bank or other financial institution, on terms that put it beyond the landlord's creditors; not commingled with the landlord's assets (one escrow account for all tenants is allowed); penalty the law states: Missing the statement or deadline forfeits the right to withhold any part (6033(3)); ending month-to-month (landlord): Tenancy at will: a minimum of 30 days' notice; ending month-to-month (tenant): Tenancy at will: a minimum of 30 days' notice; rent increase notice: At least 45 days' written notice; 75 days for an increase of 10% or more (or increases totaling 10% within 12 months); unpaid rent notice: 7 days' written notice when the tenant is 7 days or more behind in rent; entry notice: Reasonable notice at reasonable times; 24 hours is presumed reasonable; late fee limits: Rent is late if not paid within 15 days of the due date; the penalty can't exceed 4% of one month's rent; filing fee: $100 to file, due at least one business day before the hearing; hearing after filing: The hearing must be at least 7 days after the tenant gets the complaint (the earliest date here assumes service on the filing day); judgment to writ: The writ of possession can issue 7 days after judgment; writ to lockout: Once a sheriff serves the writ, the tenant has 48 hours to move out; who carries out the lockout: A sheriff or a constable serves the writ; the tenant then has 48 hours.
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Maine's return deadline (within 30 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The Maine case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• Maine landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Maine rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.