Multiple people have been asked to leave hotels in the past few weeks after living in them for months or years.
But a tenants’ rights law firm is arguing that they should be treated the same as conventional tenants, meaning hotels can’t immediately kick them out without going through a formal eviction, which affords the tenant more time to find another place to live.
The Maine State Housing Authority announced last week that it would cap hotel reimbursement rates starting June 1 as part of a number of changes the agency is making to try to preserve rent relief funds from two federal COVID relief packages for the neediest tenants until next winter.
In Bangor, that change means as many as six hotels may stop renting to tenants because they charge more than the standard government rate of $96 per night, city manager Debbie Laurie said.
A handful of hotels in Maine have ordered tenants who have lived there, in some cases for months or years, to leave with as little as three days’ notice, said Maddie Thomson Crossman, a lawyer with Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Bangor.
Pine Tree Legal has filed restraining orders on behalf of hotel tenants facing eviction in southern Maine, arguing that hotels should have to undergo the same court process as if the tenants were living in apartments or houses, Thomson Crossman said.
“If a hotel has been treating them like a tenant, they should be entitled to the same [tenant] protections,” she said.
Hotel guests can be considered tenants if they stay there for more than 30 days and if the hotel doesn’t provide them typical guest services like meals or cleaning services.
Tenant laws apply to hotel residents on a case by case basis, according to the Maine attorney general’s office. Maine housing law requires landlords to give tenants 30 days’ notice to terminate a lease, or seven days if the tenant broke the terms of the rental agreement. Landlords must get a court order to remove the tenant in both cases.
Hotels should consult with lawyers to understand their legal obligations and rights, the attorney general’s office said Saturday.
A Superior Court judge blocked a Wells hotel last month from evicting long-term residents after finding that the Majestic Regency Resort would violate eviction law if it went ahead with forcibly removing those tenants.
Pine Tree Legal is not currently working with any Bangor tenants who are facing eviction from hotels, but as many as 80 people could immediately lose their housing after the new eligibility limits go into effect on Wednesday, Laurie said.