How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maine?

2 months' rent — Pet deposits and similar charges count toward the same ceiling, because a security deposit is defined by its function (14 M.R.S. §6031(2)). The chapter does not apply at all to a structure of 5 or fewer units where the landlord occupies one.

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Maine?

30 days. Under a written rental agreement the deposit, or an itemized statement with the balance, is due within the time the lease states — 30 days is only the ceiling. A tenancy at will gets 21 days, running from the later of termination or surrender and acceptance of the premises.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Maine?

Missing the §6033 deadline forfeits the right to withhold ANY portion of the deposit. Wrongful retention makes the landlord liable for DOUBLE the portion wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Maine?

No — Maine does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Maine's residential security-deposit law (ch. 710-A, §§ 6031–6039) contains no interest requirement. The deposit must still be kept in a bank account separate from the landlord's own money, and the landlord must disclose the institution name and account number to the tenant on request.

What are the security deposit rules in Maine?

Verified October 1, 2026 All Maine topics →

Check your municipality. Maine does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice periods, and fee limits that are stricter than the state law on this page. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: Portland, South Portland.

What the state record says

Maine does not preempt local rent control, and at least two cities, Portland and South Portland, regulate rents. Portland has run voter-initiated rent control since 2021, allowing 2.2% for calendar 2026, one increase per 12 months, and 90 days' notice; South Portland caps annual increases at 10% for units whose owner, counting affiliates, owns 16 or more housing units. There is no statewide rent control or percentage cap (§6016's habitability bar is a condition on increases, not a cap). Portland's ordinance is Portland City Code ch. 6, secs. 6-231 to 6-239: an annual Allowable Increase Percentage published each September 1 (2.2% for calendar 2026), one increase per 12 months, +5% of base rent on voluntary turnover, banked increases, a hard 10% ceiling per increase, Rent Board review, and 90 days' written notice, plus a local one-month deposit cap and application-fee ban. South Portland's is a council-enacted rent stabilization ordinance (Ordinance No. 17-22/23 of February 21, 2023; a 10% annual cap for units whose owner, counting affiliates, owns 16 or more housing units; automatically repealed May 27, 2030 unless renewed). The former state enabling chapter (30-A ch. 167, 'Municipal Rent Control') was repealed in 1995 with nothing enacted in its place; municipalities act under home rule (30-A §3001).

Maine caps security deposits at two months' rent, and the landlord must return the deposit — or an itemized statement with the balance — within the time the written lease states (never more than 30 days), or within 21 days for a tenancy at will, counted from the later of termination or surrender of the premises.

Cited to 14 M.R.S. § 6032 and 7 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 2026

Nothing may be kept for normal wear and tear, the deposit must sit in a bank account separate from the landlord's own money (disclosed to the tenant on request), and no forwarding address or demand is required — mailing to the tenant's last known address suffices. Miss the deadline and you forfeit the right to keep any of it; wrongfully retain it after the tenant's 7-day warning letter and you owe double the amount withheld plus the tenant's attorney's fees, with the burden on you to prove the withholding was justified. The account rule carries its own penalty of at least $500 or one month's rent. The entire chapter skips owner-occupied buildings of five or fewer units, and since January 1, 2025 landlords may not collect any move-in money beyond first month's rent, the deposit, and disclosed recurring fees.

Maine security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	2 months' rent — Pet deposits and similar charges count toward the same ceiling, because a security deposit is defined by its function (14 M.R.S. §6031(2)). The chapter does not apply at all to a structure of 5 or fewer units where the landlord occupies one. A lease or tenancy-at-will agreement 'may not require a security deposit equivalent to more than the rent for 2 months' (14 M.R.S. §6032). The functional definition reaches any advance or deposit of money whose primary function is to secure performance (§6031(2)). The whole chapter (cap included) does not apply to a tenancy in a structure of 5 or fewer units, one of which the landlord occupies (§6037(2)), and a provision of the chapter that conflicts with the terms of a federally guaranteed mortgage does not apply to deposits held by a landlord who is the mortgagor (§6037(1)). Since January 1, 2025, §6022-A separately caps total move-in money at first month's rent + the §6032 deposit + properly disclosed mandatory recurring fees.
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	Under a written rental agreement the deposit, or an itemized statement with the balance, is due within the time the lease states — 30 days is only the ceiling. A tenancy at will gets 21 days, running from the later of termination or surrender and acceptance of the premises. 14 M.R.S. §6033(2) sets the two tracks. Under a WRITTEN rental agreement, the deposit (or the itemized statement with the balance) is due 'within the time, not to exceed 30 days, stated in the agreement' — the lease's stated period governs and 30 days is only the ceiling the lease may not exceed. For a TENANCY AT WILL, the deadline is 21 days after the termination of the tenancy or the surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs LATER. No tenant demand is required; the landlord is deemed to have complied by mailing the statement and any payment to the tenant's last known address.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	If there is 'actual cause' to retain any portion, the landlord must provide a written statement itemizing the reasons, and the statement 'must be accompanied by a full payment of the difference' between the deposit and the amount retained (§6033(2)). Nothing may be retained for normal wear and tear (§6033(1)), which §6031(1) defines as deterioration without negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse. Permitted retention reasons include, but are not limited to, storing and disposing of unclaimed property, unpaid rent, and utility charges the tenant owed directly to the landlord.
Separate account required	Yes
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Maine's residential security-deposit law (ch. 710-A, §§ 6031–6039) contains no interest requirement. The deposit must still be kept in a bank account separate from the landlord's own money, and the landlord must disclose the institution name and account number to the tenant on request. The deposit may not be commingled with the landlord's assets and must be held in a bank or financial-institution account insulated from the landlord's creditors, foreclosing mortgagees, and bankruptcy trustees; a single escrow account for all tenants is allowed (§6038(1)). Violation of §6038 carries its own remedy: the greatest of actual damages, $500, or one month's rent, plus costs and possible attorney's fees (§6038(2)). Charts crediting Maine tenants with deposit interest are importing the mobile-home-park LOT rules (10 M.R.S. §9098) into ordinary rentals.
Pet deposits	A pet deposit counts inside the general deposit cap and has no figure of its own. The pet-deposit rule, pet rent and fees, and the assistance-animal rules are on the pets and assistance animals page.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Missing the §6033 deadline forfeits the right to withhold ANY portion of the deposit. Wrongful retention makes the landlord liable for DOUBLE the portion wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. Forfeiture for a missed deadline is §6033(3); the double-damages remedy is §6034(2). Before suing, the tenant must give 7 days' notice of intent to sue; if the landlord does not return the entire deposit within those 7 days, wrongful retention is PRESUMED, and in court the landlord bears the burden of proving the withholding was not wrongful (§6034(1), (3)). Separate §6038 account violations: greatest of actual damages, $500, or one month's rent, plus costs.
Tenant forwarding-address duty	None. The landlord is deemed compliant by mailing the itemized statement and payment to the tenant's LAST KNOWN address (§6033(2)); the deadline does not wait for a forwarding address or a demand.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maine Security Deposit Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/maine/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Generate a Maine security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Maine law as this page.

Editable Maine deposit kit — the deposit disposition letter, the move-in receipt with the custody and interest statements, a deposits-held register with the return deadline computed, and the rules fact sheet built on the verified Maine rules on this page, in Word, fillable PDF and Excel.

Notes and caveats

Two return tracks — not a flat '30 days' — For written leases, 30 days is the statutory OUTER BOUND: the lease's stated time, up to 30 days, governs (§ 6033(2)(A)). Tenancies at will get 21 days from the LATER of termination or surrender-and-acceptance. Charts stating a flat '30 days' miss both the lease-stated-time mechanism and the 21-day at-will track.
Stale-source trap: no elderly cap, no deposit interest for ordinary rentals — Claims circulating in landlord summaries of a one-month cap for elderly/disabled tenants and 'accrued interest' have NO basis in ch. 710-A. The one-month cap is Portland's LOCAL ordinance (City Code § 6-223.2), and the interest rule is mobile-home-park LOT law (10 M.R.S. § 9098 — where the cap is 3 months and the 21-day trigger is whichever occurs FIRST). The separate-account rule is not a park extra: ordinary rentals have it too (§ 6038).
The owner-occupied exemption few charts mention — § 6037 removes the whole chapter — the cap, the deadlines, and double damages — for owner-occupied buildings of 5 or fewer units, which covers many small landlords.
Non-refundable fees: no general bar, two limits — No statute bars non-refundable fees as such, but two rules limit them. Since January 1, 2025, § 6022-A bars requiring any initial payment at the start of a tenancy beyond the first month's rent, the deposit as capped by § 6032 and properly disclosed mandatory recurring fees, so a non-refundable move-in fee cannot be required at signing. And § 6030(2)(E) makes a lease clause charging a fee for ending the tenancy unenforceable outside three cost-recovery exceptions. Money whose primary function is to secure performance is a security deposit whatever it is called, and is refundable under ch. 710-A (§ 6031(2)). An applicant may be charged the actual cost of one background check, credit check or other screening process (§ 6030-H).
Surety bond alternative — tenant's option, not the landlord's demand — § 6039 lets a landlord offer a tenant the option of buying a surety bond in place of some or all of a deposit; the landlord may not require a bond, and bond plus deposit may not exceed two months' rent.
When the building sells — § 6035 requires the seller to transfer the deposit with an accounting, or return it, by closing — and the buyer assumes the obligations (§ 6038(1)).
No waiver — Any waiver of these protections is void (§ 6036).
Verified — Every figure on this page comes from the official text of the Maine Revised Statutes published by the Maine Revisor of Statutes.

Common questions: Maine security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maine?: 2 months' rent — Pet deposits and similar charges count toward the same ceiling, because a security deposit is defined by its function (14 M.R.S. §6031(2)). The chapter does not apply at all to a structure of 5 or fewer units where the landlord occupies one.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Maine?: 30 days. Under a written rental agreement the deposit, or an itemized statement with the balance, is due within the time the lease states — 30 days is only the ceiling. A tenancy at will gets 21 days, running from the later of termination or surrender and acceptance of the premises.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Maine?: Missing the §6033 deadline forfeits the right to withhold ANY portion of the deposit. Wrongful retention makes the landlord liable for DOUBLE the portion wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Maine?: No — Maine does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Maine's residential security-deposit law (ch. 710-A, §§ 6031–6039) contains no interest requirement. The deposit must still be kept in a bank account separate from the landlord's own money, and the landlord must disclose the institution name and account number to the tenant on request.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Maine?: Not addressed by statute.

Citations

14 M.R.S. § 6032 (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6033 · (1)-(3) (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6034 · (1)-(3) (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6038 · (1)-(3) (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6031 · (1)-(2) (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6037 (verified 2026) Official source
14 M.R.S. § 6022-A · (1) (verified 2026) Official source
PL 2023, c. 594 (LD 1490, enacted chapter law, eff. 2025-01-01) · secs. 8, 13 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the Maine Revisor of Statutes site (legislature.maine.gov). October 1, 2026: every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was read there with its history line: 14 M.R.S. §§ 6000 to 6017, 6021-A, 6022-A, 6024-A, 6025 to 6026, 6028, 6030, 6030-H and 6031 to 6039; 1 M.R.S. § 71; 10 M.R.S. §§ 9091 to 9100; and 30-A M.R.S. § 3001, with the repealed municipal rent control chapter (former §§ 3601 to 3606). The statute pages were current through October 1, 2025 that day and do not yet print the 2026 session, so each 2026 public law that changes these answers was read in its chaptered text: P.L. 2025, c. 767 (the entry remedy and the personal-information section, in force July 29, 2026), c. 691 (lot rent in a manufactured housing community) and c. 650, Part GGGG (the Maine Eviction Prevention Program). P.L. 2023, c. 594 was read in its chaptered text for its January 1, 2025 effective date. Rule 80D of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure was read on the Judicial Branch's site, and the Portland and South Portland rent ordinances in the cities' own publications.