Maine · Breaking a Lease

Breaking a Lease Early in Maine: What Are My Options?

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Maine.

Get legal help early.

Breaking a lease early is legally complicated. If you are in danger, leave and get safe first. Otherwise, talk to legal aid as soon as you can, before you move out or stop paying rent.

Think before you call an inspector.

You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

This page covers when Maine law lets you leave a lease early. It covers what you may owe if you leave and how to give notice. It also covers your deposit after you move out.

If you leave without a legal reason

  1. If you move out early without a legal reason and stop paying, your landlord can claim rent and money for damage. Your landlord must make reasonable efforts to rent the home again. That means the steps they would take if you left at the normal end of your lease. Those steps must follow local practice. If your landlord clearly agreed to take the home back and end what you owe, this claim does not apply.

    Source:
    1. 14 M.R.S. § 6010-A(1), Maine Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

  2. What you owe goes down by the rent a new renter could pay, minus the cost of renting the home again. Your landlord must show the efforts made to rent the home again. You must show those efforts were not reasonable.

    Source:
    1. 14 M.R.S. § 6010-A(1), Maine Legislature. Law.

  3. For example, say you leave with 4 months left on your lease at $1,000 a month and stop paying. Your landlord could reasonably rent the home again after 1 month at $1,000. That new rent is $3,000. It reduces what your landlord can claim from $4,000 to about $1,000, plus listing costs and any damage.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 14 M.R.S. § 6010-A(1), Maine Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

When you can leave early

  1. If your written lease has no term for ending it or for notice of a serious breach, you can end it. Give at least 7 days' written notice if your landlord substantially breached (seriously broke) a lease term. If you cannot hand it over after 3 good-faith tries, mail it first-class and leave it at the landlord's last home. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 14 M.R.S. § 6001(1-B), Maine Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

    Tip.

    Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

How to leave

  1. If your rental has no set end date (an at-will rental), send written notice at least 30 days before you want to leave. If you paid rent past that date, the notice must expire on or after the paid-through date.

    Source:
    1. 14 M.R.S. § 6002, Maine Legislature. Law.

After you move out

  1. Your landlord must return your full security deposit within the time in your written lease, up to 30 days. For a rental with no set end date, the time is 21 days. The days start when the rental ends or when your landlord accepts the home back from you, whichever is later. If your landlord keeps part for a real reason, such as unpaid rent, a written list of reasons must come with the rest.

    Source:
    1. 14 M.R.S. § 6033(2), Maine Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

  2. If your landlord keeps part of your deposit without a legal right to it, the landlord owes you double that part. The landlord also owes reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. For example, if your landlord wrongly kept $500, you are owed $1,000 plus fees and costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 14 M.R.S. § 6034(2), Maine Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

  3. If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back and say so. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.

  4. Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

  1. You can end a lease early after an incident or threat of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. For a lease under 1 year, send written notice at least 7 days before you leave. For a lease of 1 year or more, send it at least 30 days before. A victim owes no unpaid rent under the lease. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 14 M.R.S. § 6001(6)(D), Maine Legislature. Law.

  2. You can end a lease early after sexual harassment (unwanted, hostile treatment) by your landlord or the landlord's agent. For a lease under 1 year, send written notice at least 7 days before you leave. For a lease of 1 year or more, send it at least 30 days before. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 14 M.R.S. § 6001(6)(D-1), Maine Legislature. Law.

  3. To end a lease for abuse or sexual harassment (unwanted, hostile treatment), give your landlord papers that show what happened. The papers must name the person who did it. A signed note from a health care provider or a victim advocate can work. So can a court order of protection. A copy of a criminal complaint or conviction can also work.

    Source:
    1. 14 M.R.S. § 6001(6)(H)(3), Maine Legislature. Law.

Published by Nazanin, October 28, 2026. Sources checked October 26, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.