South Portland, Maine: Rent Stabilization

Every increase requires 90 days' written notice, unused increase room does not carry over, and the rent can reset to market only when a unit becomes completely vacant. The ordinance automatically expires on May 27, 2030 unless the city renews it.

What is in force

In force today. Enacted by the City Council as Ordinance 17-22/23 amending Code Chapter 12, and applicable to rent increases effective on or after May 27, 2023 by the ordinance's own terms. The article automatically repeals on May 27, 2030 unless the city renews it. A related 90-day increase-notice rule (Code § 12-223) has applied to increases effective on or after January 1, 2023.

The rent increase limit

A flat 10% limit on rent increases per 12-month period, which a tenant cannot waive. Only one increase is allowed in any 12 months regardless of tenant or owner changes, unused increase room expires rather than banking, and late fees may not be charged on a disallowed increase. Units renting at or below the federal fair market rent for the Portland metro area are exempt from the percentage limit.

What housing is covered

All housing units except: units first occupied under a certificate of occupancy on or after May 27, 2023 (new construction stays outside the cap permanently); units whose rents a government sets or controls, including housing-choice-voucher units while the housing authority deems the rent reasonable; units of owners who, counting all affiliates, own fifteen or fewer housing units; tenancies at sufferance and licenses; nonprofit hospitals, religious and extended-care facilities, licensed elderly care and continuing-care communities; dormitories; units sharing a bath or kitchen with a resident owner; owner-occupied single-family homes including their accessory units; and short-term rentals. A landlord claiming an exemption must give tenants the prescribed written notice or the unit loses exempt status.

What happens on vacancy

When a unit becomes completely vacant the landlord may reset the rent to market; a partial turnover among co-tenants does not qualify. After a reset the 10% limit applies from the new base.

Eviction and termination rules

The article imposes no eviction restrictions, but a landlord's noncompliance with it is an affirmative defense in an eviction or collection action based on a disallowed increase.

Registration and filings

None. South Portland's ordinance created no registration, licensing, or rent board; it is enforced through the tenant's defense in court and the city's disclosure requirements. Landlords must keep records of increase notices for six years.

Other requirements

Every increase (except week-to-week tenancies, which get 7 days) requires 90 calendar days' advance written notice stating the amount, the new rent, and the effective date, with at least 45 days for the tenant to accept or reject, delivered by the prescribed methods. Leases for non-exempt units must include the city's 12-point ordinance-disclosure language, and the article's rights cannot be waived.

Notes and caveats

• Most small landlords are outside the cap — the fifteen-or-fewer-units exemption counts every housing unit the owner and all affiliated entities hold, not just units in one building. The 90-day notice rule in § 12-223, however, applies to rent increases generally, not only to capped units.
• Dates: applicability is the anchor — the ordinance applies to increases effective on or after May 27, 2023, a date fixed in its own text regardless of when the enactment votes occurred, and it automatically repeals on May 27, 2030.
• The city Q&A predates an amendment — the city's published question-and-answer document describes a 30-day tenant response period; the current code gives tenants at least 45 days to accept or reject an increase. The code controls.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, South Portland, Maine: Rent Stabilization (verified August 13, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/maine/south-portland/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

• South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-505 (10% annual rent adjustment) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-503 (exemptions) (c) (verified 2026) Official source
• South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-507 (applicability date; automatic repeal May 27, 2030) (verified 2026) Official source
• South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-223 (90-day increase notice) (a) (verified 2026) Official source

This page records local law. Statewide rules — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the Maine hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.