Sen. Duson introduces bill to bolster privacy of Maine tenants, protect against retaliation

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, March 11, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jill Duson, D-Portland, introduced a bill that would bolster tenant privacy rights and provide guardrails against retaliation. LD 2176, “An Act to Safeguard Personal Information and Strengthen Tenant Rights in Maine,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

“The recent enhanced immigration enforcement surge exposed a real gap in state privacy and anti-retaliation law for Maine renters. Nearly half the households in my district are renters, and this bill will address these real gaps,” said Sen. Duson. “LD 2176 is a bill to support renters of every background, especially our immigrant community. It ensures that personal information remains personal. It clarifies that there is no room for intimidation and retaliation in our housing system. Everyone deserves a safe and private place to call home.”

The proposal, detailed in the attached Sponsor’s Amendment, would bar a landlord, the landlord’s agent or any person acting at the direction of the landlord from disclosing a tenant’s ‘personal information,’ as defined in the amendment, with the intent to harass, threaten, intimidate or otherwise cause a person to vacate a rental property.

The proposal also includes three narrow exceptions for disclosure of personal information including: with the consent of the tenant; with a judicial warrant; or under exigent circumstances. Current law already outlines a set of landlord obligations around reasonable notice and proper entry.

Advocates and organizations who testified in support include Pine Tree Legal; Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition; and Housing Justice Maine, a coalition that includes Maine People’s Alliance, Maine Equal Justice, Community Organizing Alliance, Maine Youth Power, Raise-Op Housing Cooperative and Homeless Voices for Justice.

“Importantly, this bill does not prohibit landlords from sharing any information about a tenant with the tenant’s clear consent, or in response to a valid judicial warrant. Landlords that need to share information for legitimate purposes have nothing to fear from this legislation,” said Christopher Marot, Esq. of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in testimony to the committee. “The bill before you would correct the conduct of ‘bad actors’ without depriving landlords of the tools they need to run background checks, communicate with landlord references or cooperate with law enforcement requests.”

LD 2176 now faces further work in committee. You can follow the progress of this bill here.

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