CONTENTS
Introduction: How to Use This Online Handbook
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Can
my landlord turn off my utilities or change the locks on my door or otherwise
kick me out without first going to court?
No. It is illegal for your landlord to throw you out by force. Your landlord
must get a court order before he evicts you. If your landlord tries to get
around this by changing the locks, taking your property, or shutting off
any of your utilities, he has broken the law. If you take him to court and
ask for immediate help, the court may stop the landlord and order him to
pay you for your losses or $250.00, whichever is greater, plus your court
costs. If you have a lawyer and you win the case, the court can also order
your landlord to pay your attorney fees.
NOTE: The electric company must determine if tenants are living in a place before cutting off service at the owner's request. If you agree to put the service in your name, the electric company cannot cut you off.
Does my landlord have to have a reason to evict me?
This depends on whether you are a tenant at will or have a written lease.
If you have a written lease, your landlord probably has to have
a reason to evict you. This is also the rule if you live in subsidized housing
or own your own home in a mobile home park.
If you are a tenant at will (no lease), your landlord can evict you without giving
a reason. However, he must give you 30 days notice in writing. There are
some exceptions to this, explained below.
Does my landlord have to warn me before I can be
evicted?
Yes. The type of notice he must give depends on what type of tenancy you
have.
If you have a written lease:
- The lease states if you can be evicted during the lease term, what reasons
the landlord must have, and what kind of notice the landlord must give
you. Read your lease carefully.
- During the term of the lease, your landlord cannot evict you unless
the lease says he can. Look for a "termination clause" in the
lease. If there is none, your landlord may not be able to evict you until
the lease term ends.
- If your lease does not say that it automatically renews when the lease
term ends, your landlord can go to court without giving you any notice.
But he can do this only during the seven days following the end of your
lease term. For example, you have a one year lease that ends on February 28, 2007.
Your landlord may file a court complaint between March 1 and
March 7, asking for an eviction order without giving you a notice first.
(If your rent is subsidized, your lease probably renews automatically,
so this paragraph does not apply to you.)
If you are a tenant at will (no lease):
Your landlord must give you either 30 days or 7 days written notice to
leave. This notice is called a "Notice to Quit."
30-day written notice
Your landlord can evict you with 30 days notice for almost any reason
or no reason.
Exceptions: You may be able
to stop the eviction if your landlord is evicting you because of "retaliation"
or "illegal discrimination." Read Retaliation
defense or Discrimination defense.
The notice must not terminate the tenancy until the last date for which rent
has been paid, or later. For example, if your rent is paid through the end of June, your notice
period cannot end before June 30th. Also, the notice must give you a full 30 days. (Example:
A notice ending the tenancy on June 30 must be given to you no later than May 31.) If the notice
does not follow these rules, you may be able to stop or delay the eviction. Get legal advice.
7-day written notice
To evict you with a 7-day notice, your landlord must have a reason and
state that reason in writing. The reason must be one of these:
- you have seriously damaged the apartment and have not repaired
the damage
- you have been a "nuisance" to other tenants or neighbors.
(Examples: You pick fights with your neighbors, don't let them sleep,
or destroy their property.)
- you have made the apartment unlivable or unfit to live in
- you have changed your door locks and have refused to give your landlord
a duplicate key (Read more about this rule).
- you are 7 days or more behind in rent
If the reason is that you have not paid your rent, the notice must include
these two sentences:
"If you pay the amount of rent due as of the date of this notice
before this notice expires, then this notice as it applies to rent arrearage
is void."
"After this notice expires, if you pay all rental arrears, all
rent due as of the date of payment and any filing fees and service of
process fees actually paid by the landlord before the writ of possession
issues at the completion of the eviction process, then your tenancy will
be reinstated."
This means that you can stop the eviction by paying the rent you owe. After
7 days, if you do not pay up what you owe before your next rent date, you have to pay both
month's rent to stop the eviction. You can still stop the eviction by paying
all rent owed even after the landlord takes you to court to get an eviction
order. But to stop the eviction then, you have to pay all of the rent due
and the landlord's court costs. These costs are:
- cost of serving the court papers
- court filing fee
Your last chance to stop the eviction is just before the court issues the
"writ of possession." Your landlord can get this "writ"
7 days after he gets the Court order.
Does the landlord, or his agent, have to give me the "Notice to
Quit" in person?
Yes. In a tenancy at will, the landlord, or his agent, must give the 7-day or 30-day notice
to the tenant. The notice does not have to be served by a sheriff.
Exception: The landlord, or his agent, must make 3 good faith efforts to give
you the notice. If he still cannot find you after 3 tries, he can mail
you the notice and leave a copy at your home.
What if I rent my home from my employer?
If your landlord is also your employer, he may be able to go to court to
evict you without first giving you a written notice to quit. Get legal advice.
Your landlord must still go to court to evict you.
What if I do not move out after I get an
eviction notice?
Your
landlord must go to court to evict you! If you do not move out by the
end of the notice period, then your landlord can have you served with court
papers. The court case is called a "Forcible Entry and Detainer."
(This does not mean that the landlord can enter your home by force
or detain you.) The papers say that he is trying to evict you. They ask
the court to hold a hearing, to decide if you can be evicted. If you want
to fight the eviction, you have a right to be heard in court. A landlord
cannot legally evict you without a court order.
Here is what will happen:
- A deputy sheriff will give you court papers: a summons and a complaint.
The landlord can have these papers served on you anytime after the end
of the notice period. The summons will tell you the date, time and place
of the court hearing. You must get the papers at least 7 days before the
court hearing.
| If you cannot get a lawyer to
help you, click here for more information
about evictions. |
- Seek legal advice immediately.
- If you end up going to the hearing without a lawyer, ask for a recorded
hearing. Send a letter to the court ahead of time. Your request should
be at least 24 hours in advance. Then ask for a recording again
when you get to court.
- Be on time for your hearing.
- The Judge may tell you that you must go to "mediation" before having a court hearing. (read
more about this, and other court procedures in our pamphlet on Evictions.) If you do not come to an agreement during mediation,
then you will go on to a formal court hearing.
- At the court hearing the landlord will tell the judge what notice he
gave you and why he wants to evict you. Then you have a chance to
explain why you should not be evicted. Here are some common defenses:
Improper notice defense
Your landlord must follow all of the notice rules exactly. (Most of the
notice rules are explained above.) If you think that your notice to quit
did not meet all of the rules, explain that to the judge. If the judge finds
that your landlord did not follow all of the notice rules, then the landlord
loses and he will have to start the eviction process all over again.
Unsafe or unfit housing defense
If your landlord is trying to evict you because you are behind in paying
rent, you may be able to stop the eviction if you didn't pay because of
serious problems with your home that the landlord refused to fix. This is
called a "warranty of habitability defense" because the landlord
has broken his promise to rent you a safe home. (See Unsafe
or Unfit Housing.)
If the judge finds that the landlord has not fixed serious problems that
you told him about, then you can ask the court:
- To let you out of your lease,
OR
- To let you stay and to pay a lower rent until the landlord makes your
home safe. If you stay, the judge will also decide how much back rent
you must pay, at the lower rate.
Retaliation defense
There are laws to protect you if your landlord tries to evict you because
you asserted your rights. For example, if you can prove to the court that
the landlord is trying to evict you because you started or joined a tenants'
union, the judge will not let the landlord evict you.
You will also have some protection against eviction if, within the past
6 months,
- you complained to the landlord about serious problems that make your
home unsafe or unhealthy (best if this was a written complaint)
- you asked a code enforcement officer or other official to inspect your
home for safety violations
- city or state officials have notified your landlord of health or safety
violations
If you prove one of these claims, then the court will not evict
you unless the landlord can prove that he is trying to evict you for some
other good reason (like causing a "nuisance").
You also have the right not to pay an unlawful rent increase and
not to pay for common utilities. (See sections on Rent
and Electric Charges for Common
Areas.) If your landlord is trying to evict you for one of these reasons,
explain that to the judge. These defenses might stop the eviction.
Discrimination defense
You should not be evicted because of your:
- race
- color
- sex
- sexual orientation
- physical or mental impairment
- religion
- ancestry or national origin
- getting welfare, or
- being a single parent, being pregnant or having children
Please read more about Discrimination.
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Note: If you or someone in your family has a physical
or mental impairment, your landlord must allow for "reasonable
accommodations" to help you stay in your home. You can
ask for this help even after you get a eviction notice. Talk
to a lawyer. Read more.
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Caution: Your landlord may have more
than one reason for trying to evict you. Even if you have a good defense
to one of his complaints, the judge may still allow the eviction if the
landlord has another good reason why he wants you to move out.
Will the court give me extra time to move?
Sometimes. Ask the judge for extra time if you need it. Explain what hardship
you will suffer if you have to move out right away. If you have looked hard
to find a new place to live but still have not found one, it may help to
explain this and have a list of all of the places you have looked. There
is no legal right to extra time, but the judge may give you some
extra time if you really need it.
Can I be evicted during the winter or if I have children?
Yes. Maine law allows your landlord to evict you at any time during the
year and even if you have children. However, you cannot be evicted because
you have children. See Discrimination section at page 17
NOTE:If you are evicted, your children still have the right to be in school.
For more information, ask for our pamphlet: "Rights of Homeless Students to Attend School."
What happens if I do not go to the eviction hearing in court?
If you do not go to the court hearing and your landlord does, you will
lose. The judge will most likely enter a "default judgment" against
you. Then the landlord can go back to court 7 days later and get a "writ
of possession."
If you owe the landlord money for rent or damages, he cannot get a court
order for this at the eviction hearing. He can only ask for an eviction
order. He can sue you later, if he wants to, for any money you owe him.
What happens if I go to court and lose?
If the court rules against you and you do not appeal, then your landlord
can get a "writ of possession" from the court 7 days later.
What is a "writ of possession?"
This paper comes from the Court and gives the landlord the right to get
his property back from you. Your landlord can ask a deputy sheriff or constable
to give you a copy of the "writ." You must move out of your apartment
within 48 hours after getting the "writ." If you do not move out,
you will become a trespasser. The landlord then, and only then, has the
right to have the police remove you by force (and to put your things in
storage at your expense).
Can I appeal my case?
Yes. You can appeal your case if you believe that the court's decision
was wrong.
There is an appeal deadline. Any appeal
must be filed before the "writ" issues (see above). To be safe,
file the appeal with the District Court within 6 days of the day
the judge signed the order against you. (The absolute deadline is 30 days
from the judgment, if a "writ" was not issued earlier.)
On appeal you can have a new trial with a jury. To get a jury trial, you
must prove to the Court that you and your landlord disagree about the facts
of the case. If you only disagree about what the law means, the appeals
court will only review the record of your first hearing to see if the judge
made any legal mistakes in deciding the case.
Be prepared to pay rent to the landlord or into a court escrow account
while your appeal is pending.
If you want to appeal, especially if you are going to ask for a jury trial,
try to get a lawyer. This would be hard to do on your own.
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Notice
© Pine Tree
Legal Assistance
March 2006
Sometimes the laws
change. We cannot promise that this information is always
up-to-date and correct. If the date above is not this year,
call us to see if there is an update.
We provide this
information as a public service. It is not legal advice.
By sending you this information, we are not acting as your lawyer.
Always consult a lawyer, if you can, before taking legal action.
Please review our full terms-of-use agreement
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