Carney introduces bill to protect renters from retaliatory evictions

AUGUSTA – On Thursday, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, introduced a bill that would protect renters from unfair, retaliatory evictions. LD 45, “An Act to Prevent Retaliatory Evictions,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Judiciary Committee.

“It’s absolutely vital that everyone has a safe, warm place to call home. For those who rent, that safe home is dependent on having a respectful relationship with their landlord. When that relationship breaks down, tenants need legal protections,” said Sen. Carney, who serves as Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee. “This bill is strengthening Maine’s legal protections for tenants, to further ensure no one faces an unfair eviction.”

LD 45 would require proof that a landlord is evicting a tenant for legal reasons if a tenant formally claims that they are being evicted for retaliatory or illegal reasons. The bill would protect tenants when a landlord tries to raise rent in violation of Maine’s 45 day notice law or a municipal notice ordinance, or in violation of the law prohibiting landlords from increasing rent when housing is uninhabitable. It does this by expanding the existing protections against retaliation found in Maine law.

Across Maine and the country, tenants are facing unsustainable rent hikes. In 2022, tenants at Redbank Village in South Portland, which is part of Sen. Carney’s Senate District, faced rent increases of $600 per month, spiking for $1500 to $2100, after California-based property management company JRK Property Holdings took over the complex. The City of South Portland instituted an eviction moratorium and rent cap in response. However, recent data show evictions in Maine increased 27 percent between 2022 and 2021. 

LD 45 faces further work in committee.