Maine Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

Whether you’re leasing a studio in Portland or a house in Augusta, your standard rental application form is the first step of the tenant screening process. The more complete and organized your application, the easier it will be to screen confidently.

Some landlords use traditional paper applications, but opt for a free digital rental application form if you want to send, receive, and manage all of your applications online and get rid of all that messy paperwork.

Here’s what your fillable Maine rental application should ask for:

• Personal information: Applicant names (including co-applicants or co-signers), date of birth, Social Security number, email, phone number, vehicle details, smoking status, and an emergency contact.
• Financial information: Employment status, income, and earnings history to assess the applicant’s ability to afford their rent payments.
• Rental history: Prior addresses, lease terms, and landlord details to evaluate past rental behavior.
• References: Employer verification and rental references, including previous landlords.
• Pets: If allowed, include the number of pets, their types, sizes, and any relevant details.

Because these forms collect sensitive information, both federal and Maine state laws regulate what landlords can ask (and how they can use the information they reveal).

We’ll discuss all of these points as we review pre-screeners, rental application laws, pets, and the denial process next.

Pre-Screener

Why sort through a sea of applicants when you can use a pre-screener to cut straight to the good ones?

Pre-screeners ask renters to answer a few questions so landlords can identify who meets their baseline criteria.

Key points to include in your pre-screener include:

• General contact information,
• Number of occupants,
• Employment status,
• Income details,
• Self-reported credit score,
• Smoking status,
• Desired move-in date, and
• Pet details.

If a landlord likes what they see, that’s their cue to pass along the complete rental application form. With that in mind, the pre-screening process helps identify strong candidates at a glance but shouldn’t replace a standard rental application.

Federal Application Laws

Landlords typically call the shots, but they must follow rental application laws, which apply to every application in Maine.

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants based on these protected characteristics:

• Race,
• Color,
• National origin,
• Religion,
• Sex,
• Familial status, and
• Disability.

Further, landlords, property managers, and employees cannot ask questions regarding these protected characteristics in rental applications. Discriminatory advertising and unequal rental terms are also prohibited by law (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA protects individuals who have received public assistance or have lived in public housing. This law regulates how landlords may access credit reports and sets out reporting guidelines for rental applicants (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): This prohibits denying an applicant solely because of a disability. Landlords must also provide accommodations for renters with disabilities after move-in (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): Landlords must obtain an applicant’s written consent before conducting a credit check. If a landlord denies an application based on credit history, they must inform the applicant (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: Housing discrimination because of race or color is illegal, and landlords must treat all applicants equally (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Maine Application Laws

In addition to federal laws, landlords must also comply with Maine landlord-tenant laws. These are outlined in the Maine Human Rights Act and the state’s Landlord-Tenant Laws for Rental Properties.

Source of income: It is unlawful for landlords to discriminate or refuse to rent to applicants receiving public assistance, like Section 8 vouchers (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 5 § 4581‑A).

Criminal history: Landlords may consider a tenant’s criminal history when making their decision, and Maine does not have look-back laws. However, landlords must maintain consistent screening practices across all applicants.

Eviction history: It is legal for landlords to consider eviction history when selecting a tenant in 2026.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: It is unlawful to deny an applicant based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which are protected characteristics in The Maine Human Rights Act (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 5 § 4581‑A).

Portable tenant screening reports: Maine permits landlords to accept portable tenant screening reports, but no law requires them to do so.

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

Will your rental allow pets? Here’s how to factor them into a Maine rental application.

Pet information: Ask whether the applicant has a pet, an emotional support animal (ESA), or a service animal. For pets, collect details like type, breed, size, age, and vaccination status. This information will help you apply consistent pet policies across applicants.

Fair Housing Act: According to the FHA, landlords cannot:

• Discriminate against an applicant based on their pet’s status as an ESA/service animal,
• Charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or monthly pet rent for ESAs/service animals, or
• Deny an application based on the weight, size, or breed of an ESA/service animal.

Reasonable accommodations: ESAs and service animals are not considered pets. They are a reasonable accommodation for a disability, meaning standard pet policies do not apply. Landlords can request reliable documentation for ESAs when the need is not obvious.

Denial Process

Landlords must ensure denials are legal and consistent across all applicants. Legally, landlords can deny based on insufficient income, poor credit history, negative rental history, criminal background (where allowed), and incomplete or false information.

Denial notice: Maine does not have a denial process outlined by law.

Credit/Background denials: If a landlord denies an applicant based on the findings of a credit or background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires landlords to send an adverse action notice to tenants, including:

• The name of the reporting agency and its contact details, and
• An explanation of the applicant’s right to dispute errors (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

Document storage: There are no Maine laws that address the storage of denied applications and screening reports. However, it’s best practice to retain your records to defend against potential housing discrimination disputes.