Maine Eviction Notice

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer action in court.

2. 2

   Since January 1, 2024, Maine landlords must attach a separate judicial branch form, the Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (Eviction) Information Sheet and Mediation Request (form CV-256), to the notice to quit itself. There's no separate fill-in-the-blank government form for the notice's own wording, but specific content is still required: a rent-arrears notice must state the amount owed and exact reinstatement language, and every notice to terminate must advise the tenant of the right to contest in court. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6001(7), Section 6002(2))

3. 3

   Nonpayment of rent 7 or more days past due gets a 7-day notice to quit, on calendar days (not excluding weekends). If the tenant pays the full amount owed before the notice expires, the notice is void. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(C), (2))

4. 4

   Maine has no separate cure-or-quit notice for lease violations, unlike some other states. Property damage, nuisance or uninhabitable conditions caused by the tenant, an unauthorized occupant, or a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence or threats each get a 7-day notice with no statutory chance to fix the problem; the landlord must prove the ground occurred. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(A), (B), (D), (E), (F))

5. 5

   The governing law is Maine's forcible entry and detainer statute, 14 M.R.S.A. Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, Sections 6000 to 6016-A, which sets the notice rules and the court process, called "FED," that follows if the tenant doesn't comply.

6. 6

   The landlord (or anyone acting for the landlord) may deliver the notice directly. If at least 3 good-faith attempts to serve the tenant in-hand fail, the landlord may serve by both mailing the notice first class AND leaving a copy at the tenant's last and usual place of abode; neither method alone is enough once that fallback is used. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1))

7. 7

   Ending a tenancy at will without cause, such as most month-to-month tenancies, requires a minimum 30-day notice. A 30-day notice and a 7-day notice can be combined into one document. Maine has no statewide "just cause" requirement for this kind of termination. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002)

Maine Requirements for Eviction Notice

• No-Cause Termination Notice Period for Tenancy at Will (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002)

  Distinct from the 7-day for-cause notices above: ending a tenancy at will without cause, such as most month-to-month tenancies, requires a minimum 30 days' written notice. A 30-day notice and a 7-day notice may be combined into one document. Maine has no statewide just-cause requirement for this kind of termination, unlike some other states.

• Notice Period for Other 7-Day Grounds (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(A), (B), (D), (E), (F))

  7-day notice, with no statutory right to cure, for substantial unrepaired tenant-caused property damage, nuisance or conditions making the unit unfit for habitation, a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a co-tenant, a tenant or guest who commits violence or threats against others, or an unauthorized occupant. The landlord must prove the ground by affirmative proof; the tenant gets no post-notice window to fix these.

• Notice Period for Nonpayment of Rent (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(C), (2))

  7 calendar days' notice (not excluding weekends or holidays) when the tenant is 7 or more days in arrears in rent. The notice must state the exact amount in arrears and the specific statutory reinstatement language. If the tenant pays the full amount due before the notice expires, the notice is void as to the rent arrearage.

• Service of Notice Requirements (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1))

  The landlord or the landlord's agent may deliver the notice directly to the tenant. If at least 3 good-faith efforts to serve the tenant in-hand have been made, service may instead be accomplished by both mailing the notice by first-class mail to the tenant's last known address AND leaving a copy at the tenant's last and usual place of abode; neither method alone is sufficient once that fallback is used.

• Governing Forcible Entry and Detainer Statute (14 M.R.S.A. Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, Sections 6000-6016-A)

  The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the court process, called forcible entry and detainer or "FED," that follows if the tenant does not comply: 14 M.R.S.A. Title 14, Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, "Residential Landlords and Tenants," Sections 6000 through 6016-A.

• Required Content and Judicial Branch Attachment (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6001(7), Section 6002(2))

  There is no government fill-in-the-blank form for the notice to quit's own wording, but specific content is required by statute: a rent-arrears notice must state the amount in arrears and exact reinstatement language, and every notice to terminate must advise the tenant of the right to contest in court. Since January 1, 2024, the landlord must also attach the judicial branch's Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (Eviction) Information Sheet and Mediation Request, form CV-256, to the notice to quit itself.

• Tenancy Reinstatement on Payment of Arrears (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1); Section 6005)

  Even after a 7-day rent-arrearage notice expires, if the tenant pays all rental arrears, all rent due as of the date of payment, and any filing fees and service of process fees actually expended by the landlord, before a writ of possession issues, the tenancy must be reinstated and no writ of possession may issue. This right is distinct from the pre-expiration cure in the notice itself.