Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, §§ 6047–6050 § 6049
Required notice
Operative Text
1. Required notice of change in terms. A lessor must give a lessee at least 30 days' notice of a change in the terms of a lease. 2. Required notice of termination. Unless the lease is terminated for cause, a lessor must give notice to a lessee of the intent to terminate the lease at least one year prior to the effective date of the termination. All terms of the lease remain in effect following the notice, except that: A. Termination provisions of the lease to the extent inconsistent with this section are void, beginning on the date the notice is provided; B. The lessee may terminate the lease earlier than the effective date provided in the notice; and C. If the lessee violates the lease during the period between the giving of the notice and the termination date provided in the notice, this section no longer applies and the lessee has only the rights provided in the lease. For purposes of this subsection, "cause" means violation by a lessee of a term of a lease.
Maine law under 14 M.R.S. § 6049 establishes two distinct notice requirements for residential leases. First, any change to the terms of a lease requires the landlord to give the tenant at least 30 days' advance notice. Second, unless the landlord is ending the tenancy because the tenant violated a lease term, the landlord must provide at least one full year's notice before terminating the lease; during that notice period, all existing lease terms remain in force, the tenant retains the option to leave earlier than the stated termination date, and any lease-termination provisions that conflict with this one-year requirement are rendered void.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers operating under 14 M.R.S. § 6049 generally document and deliver written notice of any lease-term changes at least 30 days before those changes take effect. For non-cause terminations, compliant operators provide notice no less than one year before the intended termination date and continue honoring all existing lease terms throughout that notice period. Operators also track whether a tenant commits a lease violation during the notice period, since such a violation ends the statutory one-year protection and returns the parties to the rights and remedies set out in the lease itself.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under 14 M.R.S. § 6049, tenants have a statutory right to at least 30 days' notice before any lease term is changed, and — absent a lease violation — at least one year's notice before a landlord can terminate the tenancy. If a landlord attempts to terminate sooner without cause, any conflicting termination clause in the lease is void by operation of this section, and tenants may raise that protection as a defense in an eviction or other legal proceeding. Tenants who believe a notice was improperly short or that a termination was improperly labeled as "for cause" may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid office familiar with Maine housing law for general information about available options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 22, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation