Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 14
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 6013 (2026)

Property unclaimed by tenant

✓ current as of May 2026
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Any personal property that remains in a rental unit after entry of judgment in favor of the landlord or that is abandoned or unclaimed by a tenant following the tenant's vacating the rental unit must be disposed of as follows.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §4 (AMD).]
1.  Place in storage.  The landlord shall place in storage in a safe, dry, secured location any personal property that is abandoned or unclaimed by a tenant following the tenant's vacating the rental unit.  
[PL 2009, c. 566, §7 (NEW).]
2.  Notice to tenant.  Notice to the tenant by the landlord is governed by this subsection. Notice may be sent at any time after entry of judgment in favor of the landlord or after the tenant has vacated the rental unit.  
A. If the tenant is still in possession of the rental unit, the landlord shall send written notice by first-class mail with proof of mailing to the tenant at the address of the rental unit of the landlord's intent to dispose of, in accordance with subsection 5, any property remaining in the rental unit following the tenant's vacating the rental unit. Notwithstanding subsections 3 and 5, the notice provided pursuant to this paragraph may not limit the time in which the tenant may claim the property to less than 7 days following the mailing of the notice or 48 hours after service of the writ of possession, whichever period is longer.   [RR 2011, c. 1, §20 (COR).]
B. If the tenant has vacated the rental unit, the landlord shall send written notice by first-class mail with proof of mailing to the last known address of the tenant concerning the landlord's intent to dispose of the property stored pursuant to subsection 1. The notice must include an itemized list of the items and containers of items of the property and advise the tenant that if the tenant does not respond to the notice within 7 days the landlord may dispose of the property as set forth in subsection 5.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §5 (NEW).]
[RR 2011, c. 1, §20 (COR).]
3.  Release of property claimed.  If the tenant claims the property within 7 days after the notice under subsection 2 is sent, the landlord shall release the property to the tenant and may not condition release of the property to the tenant upon payment of any fee or any other amount that may be owed to the landlord by the tenant.  
[PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
4.  Continuation of storage for claimed property.  If the tenant responds to the notice sent pursuant to subsection 2, the landlord shall continue to store the property for at least 14 days after the landlord sent the notice.  
[PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
5.  Conditional release; sale or disposal.  A landlord shall comply with the following.  
A. If the tenant makes an oral or written claim for the property within 7 days after the date the notice described in subsection 2 is sent, the landlord may not condition the release of the property to the tenant upon the tenant's payment of any rental arrearages, damages and costs of storage as long as the tenant makes arrangements to retrieve the property by the 14th day after the notice described in subsection 2 is sent.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
B. If the tenant makes the claim as set forth in paragraph A but fails to retrieve the property by the 14th day, the landlord may employ one or more of the remedies described in paragraph D.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
C. If the tenant does not make an oral or written claim for the property within 7 days after the notice described in subsection 2 is sent, the landlord may employ one or more of the remedies described in paragraph D.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
D. With regard to any property that remains unclaimed by the tenant in accordance with this subsection, the landlord may take one or more of the following actions:  
(1) Condition the release of the property to the tenant upon the tenant's payment of all rental arrearages, damages and costs of storage;  
(2) Sell any property for a reasonable fair market price and apply all proceeds to rental arrearages, damages and costs of storage and sale. All remaining balances must be forwarded to the Treasurer of State; or  
(3) Dispose of any property that has no reasonable fair market value.   [PL 2009, c. 566, §7 (NEW).]
[PL 2011, c. 405, §6 (AMD).]
6.  Waiver.  After or upon vacating the rental unit, a tenant may waive the tenant’s rights pursuant to this section. If this waiver is oral, the landlord shall confirm this waiver in writing.  
[PL 2011, c. 405, §7 (NEW).]
A lease or tenancy at will agreement may permit a landlord to dispose of property abandoned by a tenant without liability as long as the landlord complies with the notice provisions of this section.   [PL 2011, c. 405, §8 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1979, c. 327, §2 (NEW). PL 1981, c. 428, §7 (RPR). PL 1987, c. 249, §1 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 691, §1 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 265, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 508, §A3 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 508, §B3 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 20, §T9 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 303, §1 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 566, §7 (RPR). PL 2011, c. 405, §§4-8 (AMD). RR 2011, c. 1, §20 (COR).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2008–2025 · leading case: HSBC Bank USA v. Littlefield (Me. Super. Ct 2013).
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HSBC Bank USA v. Littlefield (Me. Super. Ct 2013). · cites it 2× “The Court finds that the procedure set forth in 14 M.R.S. § 6013 for the removal and disposal of any personal property remaining at the subject real property following any public sale shall be applicable to this proceeding notwithstanding the lack of any landlord/tenant…”
Citimortgage Inc. v. Tapley (Me. Super. Ct 2014). · cites it 2× “The Court fmds that the procedure set forth in 14 M.R.S. § 6013 for the removal and disposal of any personal property remaining at the subject real property following any public sale shall be applicable to this proceeding notwithstanding the lack of any landlord/tenant…”
Androscoggin Sav. Bank v. Barton Mortg. Corp. (Me. Super. Ct 2019). “Counterclaim Count XIV – Barton’s Claim for Negligence Counterclaim Count XIV alleges that the Bank owed Barton a duty of care, under both common law and 14 M.R.S. § 6013, with regard to Barton’s personal property at the leased premises in the BIC and the Bank breached that…”
Priest v. Keene (Me. Super. Ct 2023). “2Insufficient evidence of value would defeat the claim for these damages whether the cause of the damage was from mice or was from improper disposal of the property in violation of 14 MRS § 6013, 6014(c). 3 This Order is incorporated on the docket by reference pursuant to M.”
Douglas v. Lalumiere (D. Me. 2025). “Fowler responds with a convoluted argument that Jones is liable for conversion because he denied Fowler access to remove his property and did not observe the requirements of 14 M.R.S. § 6013. The evidence of record does not support a finding that Jones, the listing broker, was…”
Biggs v. Filipos (Me. Super. Ct 2008). “00, 14 M.R.S.A. § 6013 states in relevant part: The landlord shall place in storage in a safe, dry, secured location any property with a total value of less than $ 750 that is abandoned or unclaimed by a tenant following the tenant's vacating the rental unit.”
Robishaw v. Wells Fargo Bank (Me. Super. Ct 2010). “§ 1954(2) and 14 M.R.S. § 6013. On this record it appears that Wells Fargo or AHMS as its agent were advised in February 2008 that Robishaw's belongings remained on the premises.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.