Leaving a Lease Early
14 M.R.S. § 6010-A — the landlord tries to rerent, and the tenant is credited what it brings
A tenant who moves out early and stops paying owes rent and damages, reduced by the net rent the landlord could get by reasonable efforts to rerent, unless the landlord expressly accepted the surrender. The landlord has to show efforts to rerent; the tenant has to show they were not reasonable.
Who handles this in Maine: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Maine directory.
Victims of abuse. A victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking may end a lease of less than one year with 7 days' written notice, and a lease of one year or more with 30 days' written notice, with documentation such as a protection order, a police report or an advocate's statement, and does not owe rent due after the notice runs out or the move, whichever is later.
Sources for this section (3)
- 14 M.R.S. § 6010-A — Landlord's duty to mitigate
- 14 M.R.S. § 6001 — Availability of remedy
- 14 M.R.S. § 6002 — Tenancy at will; buildings on land of another
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Maine attorney.