Tenants won some victories at the Maine Legislature this year. These changes
came about through the unanimous recommendations of the “Working Group
to Study Landlord and Tenant Issues” in which Maine Equal Justice took
part. Here are the highlights:
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Bed Bug Treatment: Tenants will now have the right to have
landlords treat their units for bedbugs. When a tenant complains about bed
bugs, the landlord must inspect within 5 days and begin treatment within 10
days if bed bugs are found. The landlord must hire a professional, licensed
person to treat the bed bugs. Landlords may not rent units that have bed bugs.
Landlords must tell people seeking to rent, if adjacent units have bed bugs.
Landlords may not evict tenants for complaining about bed bugs.
Tenants will have to help out by allowing limited initial inspections of their
units. They may also have to take “reasonable measures” to get rid
of or control bedbugs. Reasonable measures means things like moving furniture
or washing clothes and bedding. If a tenant is not able to take “reasonable
measures”, then the landlord must help out. However, the tenant may have
to pay the landlord back for the costs of helping out.
Tenants should not be required to pay the costs for the treatment of bed bugs.
The reason is that no one can prove that the tenant caused the bed bugs to be
there. Bed bugs can lay dormant for up to 18 months and they can come into your
home from anywhere.
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Utility Charges: Tenants can no longer be charged for any
utilities in areas outside of their unit, unless the tenant has first agreed,
in writing, to pay. If the tenant agrees to pay, they must get something in
return such as lower rent. Landlords who violate this law now will have to
pay the tenant $250, or more if the tenant can prove the costs were higher.
This law applies to all utilities, including water, electricity, heat, etc.
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Tenant Notice of Right to Court Hearing for Eviction: Tenants,
who do not have leases and are being evicted, will now be notified on their
eviction notice that they have the right to go to court to fight the eviction.
Before this change in law, many tenants believed that they did not have the
right to a court hearing.
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Abandoned Property: Tenants who leave their property
behind when they vacate their rental unit, will now have at least 14 days
to get their property. The tenant will not have to pay the landlord any back
rent or storage fees in order to get the property back. If the tenant does
not pick up the property within the 14 days, then the landlord can get rid
of the property or charge the tenant for back rent and storage before the
pick-up.
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Foreclosure: The law was amended to make it clear that if
you are a tenant and your building is in foreclosure, federal law applies
to protect you. This means that you may get up to 90 days notice before being
evicted.
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Discrimination: The law was amended to make it clear that
you can not be evicted if the landlord is refusing to offer you “reasonable
accommodation” of your disability. A landlord can also not evict you
if you have filed a housing discrimination complaint in good faith with
the Maine Human Rights Commission or the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD).
Security Deposits: Security deposits will now be protected
in bankruptcy. Until now, many tenants lost their deposits when the landlord
filed for bankruptcy. Landlords will now have to keep deposits in special bank
accounts.
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Tenant Repairs: Tenants will now be able to spend up to
take up to 2 months’ of their rent to repair conditions when the landlord
fails to make repairs and the building is in foreclosure. If the building
is not in foreclosure the tenant can spend ½ month’s rent or
$500 on repairs, whichever is greater.
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General Assistance Help with Repairs: Towns will now be
able to use the General Assistance program to help tenants make repairs, pay
for fuel and help with maintenance when the landlord fails to do so. The town
will be able to get its money back when the building is sold.
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Equal Rights for Lease Tenants and Tenants at Will: The
law was clarified to do away with most differences in the way that tenants
with a lease and those without a lease are treated.
