Q: Can a landlord charge you both a $25 monthly pet fee as well as $250 pet deposit?
Tenants in the state of Maine with no current lease agreement.
A: Generally speaking, if you are a tenant without a written lease in Maine, you are what is called a “tenant at will,” which typically means your rights are defined and specified by Maine statutes and applicable case law. I am not aware of any Maine statutory prohibition against a landlord charging both a pet deposit and a monthly pet fee, unless of course you have a service animal, in which case you don’t have to pay a pet deposit, but your landlord can charge you for damages caused by your service animal. (Maine law also provides that the security deposit can’t be more than two times the monthly rent.)
A: If the total of your security deposit plus the $250 pet deposit is more than two times the monthly rent, then that would violate Maine law.
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