How can a lease be terminated in the State of Maine?

Unless otherwise agreed in writing between the parties, a tenant at will (in other words, with no written lease) must give 30 days written notice, with the notice period ending on a day when rent is due.

On what grounds can a landlord evict a tenant?

For tenancies with a written lease, subsidized housing, or for mobile home owners who rent a site in a mobile home park, the landlord requires a reason to evict. If a tenant under a lease does not vacate the premises at the end of the term and the lease does not contain an automatic renewal clause, the landlord can go to court seeking an eviction order, without giving notice to the tenant, within 7 days following the end of the lease term. In the case of subsidized housing, the lease probably renews automatically, in which case this would not apply.

For tenancies without a written lease, the landlord can evict without giving a reason upon 30 days notice in writing or with a 7-day Notice to Quit, provided that the eviction is not for retaliatory reasons or illegal discrimination. The notice must not terminate the tenancy earlier than the last date for which rent has been paid.

To evict a tenant with a 7-day Notice to Quit, the landlord must state the reason for eviction in writing, which can be one of the following:

* the tenant has seriously damaged the rental premises and has not repaired the damage,
* the tenant is a nuisance to other tenants or neighbors,
* the tenant has made the premises unfit to live in,
* the tenant has changed the locks and has refused to give the landlord a duplicate key, or
* the tenant is behind at least 7 days in paying the rent.

Maine law allows a landlord to evict a tenant at any time during the year (including winter months), and regardless of whether there are children living in the premises. A landlord cannot force a tenant out by changing locks, seizing the tenant's property, or shutting off utilities. The landlord must go through the court to obtain an eviction order and a writ of possession, which must be served by a law enforcement officer. If the tenant fails to move out within 48 hours of being served with the writ, the landlord has the right to have the police remove the tenant by force.

The foregoing summary is provided for information purposes only and is not to be considered legal or business advice. The information may not be complete, accurate or applicable for any particular situation and should not be relied upon.

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