Maine: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
How long a Maine landlord has to return your security deposit depends on whether you have a written lease. With a written lease, the deadline is whatever the lease itself states, but it can never exceed 30 days. With no written lease (a tenancy at will), the landlord has 21 days after the later of the tenancy ending or you surrendering the unit. The deposit is capped at 2 months' rent, no interest is owed, and there's no separate-account requirement. Miss the deadline, and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit; if a court finds the retention was wrongful, the landlord also owes double the amount wrongfully withheld plus your attorney's fees and court costs.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Maine. Ezel applies current Maine law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | 14 M.R.S. §§ 6031 through 6035 (Security Deposits on Residential Rental Units) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | For a written rental agreement: whatever period the agreement itself states, but never more than 30 days after termination. For a tenancy at will (no written lease): 21 days after the LATER of the tenancy's termination or the tenant's surrender and the landlord's acceptance of the premises. |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes, whenever any portion is retained — a written statement itemizing the reasons for the retention, delivered (mailing to the tenant's last known address satisfies this) with full payment of whatever difference remains between the deposit and the amount retained |
| What can be deducted | Reasons the statute expressly names include the costs of storing and disposing of property the tenant abandoned, nonpayment of rent, and nonpayment of utility charges the tenant was required to pay directly to the landlord — plus, implicitly, repair costs for damage beyond normal wear and tear and costs to restore the unit to habitable condition (including cleaning), unless that expense was caused by the landlord, by something beyond the tenant's control, or by someone other than the tenant or their household/guests. Normal wear and tear itself can never be deducted. |
| Maximum deposit amount | 2 months' rent — a flat cap with no separate tier for furnished versus unfurnished units in the statute's own text |
| Interest on the deposit? | No interest requirement found in this chapter |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Two layers. Missing the return/written-statement deadline is an automatic forfeiture — the landlord loses the right to withhold any part of the deposit at all. Separately, a wrongful retention of the deposit makes the landlord liable for double the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, with the landlord bearing the burden of proving the withholding wasn't wrongful. Before suing, the tenant must give the landlord 7 days' written notice of intent to sue; if the landlord doesn't return the full deposit within that 7-day window, wrongful retention is presumed. |
| Separate account or bond required? | No separate-account or bond requirement on the landlord in this chapter's text (the chapter separately defines a 'surety bond' a TENANT may purchase instead of paying a deposit, which is a tenant-side option, not a landlord escrow duty) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Maine's deposit rules live in a short chapter, 14 M.R.S. §§ 6031 through
6035 ("Security Deposits on Residential Rental Units").
Deadline to return the deposit
This is where Maine differs from most states: the deadline itself depends
on how your tenancy is structured. "In the case of a written rental
agreement," the deadline is "within the time, not to exceed 30 days,
stated in the agreement" (§ 6033(2)(A)) — meaning the lease sets the
actual number, capped at 30 days, rather than the statute fixing one flat
figure. "In the case of a tenancy at will" — no written lease — the
deadline is "within 21 days after the termination of the tenancy or the
surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs later" (§
6033(2)(B)).
Itemized statement required?
Yes, whenever any part of the deposit is kept. The landlord must "provide
the tenant with a written statement itemizing the reasons for the
retention," and that statement "must be accompanied by a full payment of
the difference between the security deposit and the amount retained" (§
6033(2)). Mailing the statement and payment to the tenant's last known
address satisfies this duty.
What can be deducted
The statute names, "but not limited to," covering "the costs of storing
and disposing of unclaimed property, nonpayment of rent and nonpayment of
utility charges that the tenant was required to pay directly to the
landlord" (§ 6033(2)). Reading that together with the definitions section,
repair costs for damage beyond normal wear and tear are also deductible,
and so is the cost to restore the unit to a habitable condition (including
cleaning) — unless that expense was "necessitated by actions of the
landlord, events beyond the control of the tenant or actions of someone
other than the tenant" (§ 6031(1)). Normal wear and tear itself can never
be deducted: "A security deposit or any portion of a security deposit
shall not be retained for the purpose of paying for normal wear and tear"
(§ 6033(1)).
Maximum deposit amount
2 months' rent. "A lease or tenancy at will agreement for a dwelling
intended for human habitation may not require a security deposit
equivalent to more than the rent for 2 months" (§ 6032) — a flat cap, with
no separate rule in the text for furnished versus unfurnished units.
Interest on the deposit?
No interest requirement is found in this chapter.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
Two separate consequences apply. First, a straightforward forfeiture: "If
a landlord fails to provide a written statement or to return the security
deposit within the time specified... the landlord shall forfeit his right
to withhold any portion of the security deposit" (§ 6033(3)) — no fault
needed, just a missed deadline. Second, a wrongful-retention remedy: "The
wrongful retention of a security deposit in violation of this chapter
renders a landlord liable for double the amount of that portion of the
security deposit wrongfully withheld... together with reasonable
attorney's fees and court costs," and "the landlord has the burden of
proving that the landlord's withholding... was not wrongful" (§ 6034).
Before suing, the tenant has to give the landlord "notice... of the
tenant's intention to bring a legal action no less than 7 days prior to
commencing the action"; if the landlord doesn't return the entire deposit
within that 7-day window, "it is presumed that the landlord is wrongfully
retaining the security deposit" (§ 6034).
Separate account or bond required?
No. This chapter doesn't require a landlord to hold the deposit in a
separate account or post a bond. (It does define a "surety bond" that a
TENANT may buy instead of paying a deposit at all — a tenant-side option,
not a landlord holding requirement.)
What trips people up
The 21-day and 30-day numbers attach to opposite situations from what
you might expect. The shorter 21-day deadline is for tenants WITHOUT a
written lease; a written lease gets up to 30 days (whatever the lease
itself specifies). Some secondary sources and even a commercial demand-
letter template get this backwards.
Missing the deadline and a "wrongful" retention are two different
triggers, but they usually go together. Once a landlord forfeits the
right to keep any of the deposit by missing the deadline, any further
retention typically becomes "wrongful" for purposes of the separate
double-damages remedy — the two provisions work together in most late
cases.
You have to send a 7-day notice before suing. Skipping straight to
small claims court without first giving the landlord written notice of
your intent to sue, and waiting the 7 days, skips a step the statute
builds into the wrongful-retention presumption.
Common questions
How long does my Maine landlord have to return my deposit? Up to 30
days if you have a written lease (whatever the lease specifies, capped at
30 days); 21 days after the later of your tenancy ending or surrendering
the unit if you don't have a written lease.
Is there a cap on my deposit? Yes — 2 months' rent, with no separate
rule for furnished units.
Can I get extra money if my landlord keeps my deposit? If a court
finds the retention was wrongful, yes — double the amount wrongfully
withheld, plus your attorney's fees and court costs.
Statutes and sources
- 14 M.R.S. § 6031(1) — defines "normal wear and tear," including the habitability-restoration carve-out.
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec6031.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - 14 M.R.S. § 6032 — the 2-months'-rent deposit cap.
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec6032.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - 14 M.R.S. § 6033(1)-(2) — the wear-and-tear bar, the two return deadlines, itemization, and permitted retention reasons.
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec6033.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - 14 M.R.S. § 6033(3) — automatic forfeiture for missing the deadline.
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec6033.html (accessed 2026-07-06) - 14 M.R.S. § 6034 — the 7-day notice requirement, the wrongful-retention presumption, and the double-damages/attorney's-fees penalty.
https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/14/title14sec6034.html (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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