State Laws Addressing Radon, Mold and Secondhand Smoke
Maine
Maine’s landlord-tenant law requires disclosure of the smoking policy for properties used as a tenant’s primary residence.
Required disclosure of smoking policy. Maine’s landlord-tenant law requires landlords to provide a written notice to tenants disclosing their smoking policy for residential properties that are used as a tenant’s primary residence. This written notice must state whether smoking is permitted on the entire premises, permitted in limited areas on the premises, or disallowed on the entire premises. If smoking is only allowed in certain areas, the written notice must identify these areas. Prior to entering into a rental contract with or accepting rental deposits from a tenant, a landlord must receive written acknowledgment from a tenant confirming receipt of the smoking policy. 14 Maine Revised Statutes §6030-E.
Enforcement/Penalties. The landlord-tenant law provides generally that tenants may file complaints against landlords and obtain remedies when a dwelling “endangers or materially impairs the health or safety of the tenants.” 14 MRSA §6021. The law also states that a tenant may not sue a landlord “on the sole basis” that the landlord did not provide the required smoking policy disclosure, nor may a tenant “use a violation of a smoking policy by another tenant as the basis for” a private lawsuit against a landlord. 14 MRSA §6030-E(4).