Published 2026-09-27 · 8 min read

Maine Security Deposit Law 2026: Limits, Deadlines & Deductions

Maine runs a two-track deadline system: 21 days for tenancies at will, and whatever your written lease says (capped at 30 days) for fixed-term leases. The cap is two months' rent, deposits must sit in a protected bank account beyond the reach of your creditors, and wrongful retention draws double the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees and court costs. One exemption to know: the deposit chapter does not apply to owner-occupied buildings of 5 or fewer units. Every section below is from Title 14, Chapter 710-A (§§6031–6039) of the Maine Revised Statutes.

The short version: Cap the deposit at two months' rent (§6032) and hold it in a bank or financial-institution account that cannot be commingled with your assets (§6038). Return it — or send a written itemized statement with full payment of the balance — within 21 days (tenancy at will) or the lease's stated period up to 30 days (written lease) under §6033. Miss that deadline and you forfeit the right to withhold anything; retain wrongfully after the tenant's 7-day notice and you face double damages, with the burden of proof on you (§6034).

Corrections to the earlier version of this page: The cap and the account rule were previously cited to the wrong sections. The two-month cap is §6032 (§6031 is the definitions section), and the no-commingling / escrow rule is §6038 (§6032 says nothing about accounts). The tenancy-at-will clock also runs from the later of termination or surrender and acceptance — not simply from surrender — and §6034 liability turns on wrongful retention after a presumption and burden-shifting process, not on a separate willfulness finding. The sections below follow the current statutory text.

The statute table

Limits: how much can you charge?

Two months' rent (§6032) — the statute states no furnished-unit or other exception to the cap. The same two-month ceiling also caps a surety bond bought instead of a deposit, and the combined total if a tenant provides both (§6039). If you are in an owner-occupied building of 5 or fewer units, the deposit chapter does not apply to you at all (§6037(2)) — but the exemption is narrow, so confirm it fits before relying on it. Check the cap with the Security Deposit Max Checker.

The 21-day and 30-day deadlines, precisely

Which clock you run depends on the tenancy type (§6033(2)):

• Tenancy at will: 21 days after the later of the termination of the tenancy or the surrender and acceptance of the premises. Those two events are not always the same day, and the statute deliberately starts the clock on the later one.
• Written rental agreement: the period stated in the agreement — but it can never exceed 30 days, no matter what the lease says.

In both cases the deadline covers either returning the full deposit or delivering the written itemized statement of reasons — and the statement must be accompanied by full payment of the difference between the deposit and the amount retained. A statement without the balance check is not compliance. Mailing the statement and any payment to the tenant's last known address is deemed compliance, so keep the mailing proof. Track the dates with the Security Deposit Deadline Finder.

When the clocks actually start

Maine runs three distinct clocks, and confusing them is how a paperwork miss becomes a double-damages case. The return clock runs from the deadline event above — for a tenancy at will, log both the termination date and the surrender-and-acceptance date, because the clock starts on the later one. The forfeiture clock is the same date viewed from the other side: pass it without returning or itemizing and §6033(3) takes away the right to withhold at all, even charges that were legitimate. The notice clock starts later, only if the tenant acts: under §6034(1) the tenant gives notice of intent to sue at least 7 days before filing, and if the entire deposit is not back within those 7 days, wrongful retention is presumed — the landlord then has to prove the withholding was justified. Log three dates in the deposit file: the later-of deadline date, the mailing date of the return or statement (with proof), and the date any §6034 notice arrived.

A worked example

Say a tenant renting for $1,200 a month under a tenancy at will surrenders the unit, you accept it, and the tenancy terminates on Monday, March 2, 2026, leaving a $1,800 deposit on file — lawful, because it is under the two-month cap of $2,400. Both deadline events fall on the same day, so the 21-day clock runs to Monday, March 23, 2026. You inspect that week and find $650 in proper charges, leaving a $1,150 balance. By March 23 you must either return the full $1,800 or mail the itemized statement with the $1,150 to the tenant's last known address. Under a written lease stating 30 days instead, the same package would be due Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Now suppose March 23 passes with nothing sent: §6033(3) forfeiture applies, the tenant gives §6034 notice on, say, Wednesday, March 25, and the full deposit is still not returned by Wednesday, April 1, 2026 — wrongful retention is then presumed, and the burden in court sits with you.

Maine's later-of deadline rule and 7-day presumption clock mean the dates in the file decide the case: the Security Deposit Disposition & Deadline Tracker ($14.95) keeps your termination, surrender, mailing, and notice dates in one spreadsheet so the clock never sneaks up on you.

Deductions and the itemized list

§6033(2) says the reasons a landlord may retain a deposit include, but are not limited to, covering the costs of storing and disposing of unclaimed property, nonpayment of rent, and nonpayment of utility charges the tenant was required to pay directly to the landlord. Read that list as illustrative, not exhaustive — but remember the hard limit in §6033(1): no retention for normal wear and tear. The §6031 definition of normal wear and tear itself has edges worth knowing: it does not cover removing articles the tenant abandoned (such as trash), and where a unit was leased in habitable condition it may not cover cleaning sums needed to return it to a habitable condition, unless the tenant's side did not cause them. Whatever you retain, the written statement itemizing the reasons must go out within the same 21- or 30-day window, together with full payment of the difference. Produce it with the Security Deposit Deduction Letter Generator.

Move-out compliance checklist

1. Log both deadline events on day one. Record the termination date and the surrender-and-acceptance date; for a tenancy at will the 21 days run from the later one (§6033(2)).

2. Inspect and photograph the unit promptly. With the burden of proof on the landlord in a §6034 action, dated photos and invoices are the evidence that a withholding was not wrongful.

3. Separate normal wear from chargeable items. Wear-and-tear retention is barred (§6033(1)); abandoned-property removal and the §6031 habitable-condition cleaning carve-out are the documented exceptions — document which side of the line each charge sits on.

4. Return the undisputed balance with the statement, not after it. §6033(2) requires full payment of the difference to accompany the itemized statement.

5. Mail to the last known address and keep proof. Mailing there is deemed compliance (§6033(2)) — but only if you can prove the mailing happened inside the window.

6. Treat any §6034 notice as a hard 7-day deadline. Returning the entire deposit inside the 7 days avoids the presumption of wrongful retention; a partial return does not.

7. If you sell mid-tenancy, settle the deposits at closing. Account for each deposit, transfer the funds or return them, notify each tenant with the transferee's name and address, and get written proof at the closing (§6035).

Interest and where the money sits

No interest is required. Custody, however, is tightly regulated by §6038: during the tenancy the deposit may not be treated as an asset or commingled with your assets, and it must be held in an account of a bank or other financial institution on terms that place it beyond the claim of your creditors, including a foreclosing mortgagee or a bankruptcy trustee. You may use a single escrow account for all tenants, and on request you must disclose the name of the institution and the account number where a tenant's deposit is held. Cash changes the paperwork too: a written receipt is required for each cash rent or deposit payment, with the date, amount, payer, period, purpose stated, and the receiver's signature and printed name (§6022). A lease clause trying to waive any of these tenant rights is void (§6036).

The penalty, spelled out

Maine stacks its sanctions (§§6033, 6034, 6038):

• Miss the return-or-statement deadline → you forfeit the right to withhold any portion of the deposit (§6033(3)). The whole thing comes back, including charges that were otherwise legitimate.
• Wrongful retention after the §6034 process — tenant's 7-day notice given, entire deposit not returned inside it, retention presumed wrongful, landlord unable to carry the burden of proof → double the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs (§6034(2)).
• Violate the §6038 account rule → the tenant recovers actual damages, plus $500 or one month's rent, whichever is greatest, together with the costs and expenses of the action; the court may also award reasonable attorney's fees (§6038(2)).

Run the worked example through the §6034 formula. If the $650 in charges proves wrongful — say it was normal wear relabeled as damage — double damages on that portion are $1,300, plus fees and costs. If the entire $1,800 deposit had been wrongfully withheld, the figure is $3,600, plus fees and costs. And the escrow violation is priced independently of the return dispute: on a $1,200-a-month rental, the statutory add-on alone is $1,200 (one month's rent beats the $500 floor), on top of actual damages.

FAQ

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

For a tenancy at will, 21 days after the later of termination or surrender and acceptance; for a written lease, the time stated in the lease, never more than 30 days (§6033(2)).

What is the maximum security deposit in Maine?

Two months' rent (§6032). A surety bond taken instead of, or together with, a deposit is capped by the same two-month total (§6039).

Does Maine require an itemized list of deductions?

Yes — a written statement itemizing the reasons for any retention, within the same 21- or 30-day window, accompanied by full payment of the difference between the deposit and the amount retained (§6033(2)).

What happens if the landlord misses the deadline in Maine?

The landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the deposit (§6033(3)); wrongful retention after the tenant's 7-day notice adds double damages plus attorney's fees and court costs (§6034).

What is the 7-day notice in Maine deposit law?

Before suing, the tenant must give the landlord notice of intent to bring an action at least 7 days in advance. If the landlord does not return the entire deposit within that period, wrongful retention is presumed, and in court the landlord must prove the withholding was not wrongful (§6034).

Do Maine's deposit rules apply to small owner-occupied buildings?

No — the chapter does not apply to a dwelling unit in a structure of no more than 5 units where the landlord occupies one (§6037(2)). The §6022 cash-receipt rule carries the same small-building exemption.

Does Maine require interest on security deposits?

No. But deposits must be held uncommingled in a bank or financial-institution account beyond creditors' claims, and the institution's name and account number must be disclosed on request (§6038).

Can a Maine tenant buy a surety bond instead of paying a deposit?

A landlord may offer that option but may not require it (§6039). The bond alone, or the bond plus any deposit combined, may not exceed two months' rent; demanding more exposes the landlord to up to three times the excess, plus fees and costs.

Read the statute yourself

Everything on this page traces back to 14 M.R.S. §§6031–6039. If a deadline, a deduction, or a penalty is ever disputed, the primary sources — not a summary — are what control:

• 14 M.R.S. §6032 (Maine Legislature, official) — the two-month maximum deposit.
• 14 M.R.S. §6033 (Maine Legislature, official) — the 21/30-day return deadlines, the itemized-statement duty, and the forfeiture rule.
• 14 M.R.S. §6034 (Maine Legislature, official) — the 7-day notice, the presumption of wrongful retention, double damages, and the landlord's burden of proof.
• 14 M.R.S. §6038 (Maine Legislature, official) — the no-commingling escrow rule, disclosure on request, and its own damages formula.
• 14 M.R.S. §6033 (Cornell LII) — the same return-deadline text in Cornell's annotated code.

Maine's two-track deadline system — 21 days for tenancies at will, up to 30 for fixed terms — plus a double-damages penalty and a forfeiture rule for missing the written statement means paperwork wins or loses your whole deposit. The Security Deposit Disposition & Deadline Tracker ($14.95) keeps your return deadlines, itemized deductions, and mailing dates in one spreadsheet so the clock never sneaks up on you.

The deposit is only one piece of Maine compliance. Our full Maine landlord-tenant law guide covers the rest of the relationship — rent rules, move-in money, fees and screening, the Portland and South Portland local overlay, eviction, and lease termination notice periods.

More security deposit guides

• Security deposit laws by state
• Louisiana security deposit law
• Maryland security deposit law
• Kentucky security deposit law
• Massachusetts security deposit law

Last verified: October 15, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Verify with a licensed Maine attorney before acting.