Tenant law in plain language
Maine

Rent Increases in Maine: What Are My Rights?

Published by Nazanin · October 3, 2026

Maine law says how much written notice a landlord must give before raising rent. This page covers those notice rules, when rent cannot go up, and retaliation.

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Not legal advice. Each answer below links to where it comes from. Read it before you act.

  1. Your landlord must give you at least 45 days' written notice before raising your rent. The same goes for a mandatory recurring fee (a regular charge, other than rent, for services or common areas).

    Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(1)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  2. If your landlord raises your rent by 10% or more, the landlord must give at least 75 days' written notice. Example: on $1,000 rent, a 10% increase is $100, so a new rent of $1,100 or more needs 75 days.

    RenterLaw editorial Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(2)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  3. Rent can go up more than once in 12 months. If the increases add up to 10% or more, the landlord must give 75 days' written notice. The notice must come before the increase that brings the total to 10% or more. Example: rent goes from $1,000 to $1,050, then to $1,100. The second increase needs 75 days' notice.

    RenterLaw editorial Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(2)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  4. A rent increase of 10% or more needs 75 days' written notice. For $1,000 rent, 10% is $100. That rule does not apply to some housing. One case is housing under a recorded deed or document that keeps it affordable (low-cost) for tenants with set income levels. Another is housing with limits tied to a subsidy or to taking part in a city, state or federal housing program. The landlord or the tenant may be the one who takes part.

    RenterLaw editorial Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(2)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  5. Giving up the written notice rule for rent increases does not count. The law says a written or oral agreement to give it up is against public policy (the law does not allow it). The court will not enforce it.

    Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(1)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  6. Your landlord cannot raise your rent if the unit breaks the warranty of habitability (the landlord's promise that the unit is fit to live in). A break caused by you, your family, guests or invitees does not stop a rent increase.

    Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6021(2) Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6016

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  7. Keep your landlord's written rent increase notice. Write down the date you got it and the date the new rent starts.

    RenterLaw editorial

  8. If you think you got too little notice of a rent increase, tell your landlord in writing and keep a copy.

    RenterLaw editorial

  9. A landlord who breaks the 45-day or 75-day notice rule must give back any money unlawfully obtained from you, with interest. The landlord must also pay reasonable attorney's fees and costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    RenterLaw editorial Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(1)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  10. A landlord may not raise rent while the home breaks the warranty of habitability (the promise that it is fit to live in). A problem that you, your family or your guests caused does not stop a rent increase. A landlord who breaks this rule must give back any money unlawfully obtained, with interest, plus reasonable attorneys' fees (lawyer fees) and costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    RenterLaw editorial Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6021 Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6016

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  11. In an eviction case, retaliation (punishment) is presumed (the court treats it as true unless your landlord proves it is not). This is so if you asserted your right to written notice of a rent increase (section 6015) in the 6 months before the case. It is also so for your right to no increase in a home not fit to live in (section 6016). The presumption (the court's starting assumption) does not apply to a case for breaking the lease or a 7-day-notice reason. An example is 7 days or more behind on rent. It does apply if you asserted your section 6026 right to repair and deduct (do a minor repair yourself and take its cost off rent).

    Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6026(2) Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6002(1) Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6015(1) Maine Legislature 14 M.R.S. § 6016

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

  12. In some eviction cases, retaliation (punishment for using your rights) is not presumed (the court does not treat it as true unless you prove it). These are cases for breaking the lease and cases for a 7-day-notice reason, such as 7 days or more behind on rent. That changes if you asserted your section 6026 right to repair and deduct (do a minor repair yourself and take its cost off rent).

    Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6026(2) Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) Maine Revised Statutes 14 M.R.S. § 6002(1)

    ✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026

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