Rental Registration Program

Following the recommendations of an Ad-hoc Committee composed of landlords, city staff, and other stakeholders, the City Council enacted a no-cost rental registration program that requires the owners of all multi-family buildings with three or more residences to register such buildings. This registration requirement applies to all three-unit and larger buildings, even if the owner resides in one of the units.  It does not apply to two-unit (duplex) buildings or to single-family residences that are rented.

The purposes of this program include ensuring the City:

  • Has accurate, up-to-date, and complete ownership, management, and contact information for every multi-family building;
  • An accurate inventory of dwelling unit quantity and configuration; and
  • An accurate assessment of certain items that impact the health and safety of dwelling units.

WHEN DOES A PROPERTY OWNER REGISTER THEIR BUILDING(S)?

Owners are required to register their buildings annually prior to March 1.  It is free to register.

An application (and disclosure if needed) can be submitted in one of three ways listed below.  The necessary forms and instructions are available at the below links.

  1. By electronically completing/submitting online
  2. By completing online auto-fillable form, printing, and either mailing or drop-off
  3. By printing hard copy, filling in form, and either mailing or drop-off

 ONLINE DOCUMENTS

To Re-register Annually Online, Please Create a Free Account Here:  Create Account 
By creating an account, the property's application will be saved and accessible for annual renewal.

TO AUTO-FILL AND PRINT OR PRINT/COMPLETE FOR MAILING OR DROP-OFF

  (NOTE:  Auto-Fillable Forms May Not be Compatible With All Browsers)

INSTRUCTIONS

FEE CHARGED IF PROPERTY OWNER DOES NOT REGISTER 

Although there is no fee to register for the program, failure to register on a timely basis will result in a fine in accordance with the following:  

  • First month or portions thereof - $50
  • Second through sixth month - $100 per month or portion thereof
  • Seven through twelve months - $200 per month or portion thereof

There are other fines associated with ordinance violations such as failure to provide timely updates to information on the property owner, business operator, property manager, and emergency contact.

As a part of this effort, the City intends to expand its outreach and informational efforts to owners of multi-family properties in Lewiston. Toward this end, we urge you to consider signing up for News and Information regarding City of Lewiston issues/actions that may affect multi-unit property owners and managers. You can sign up to receive this news and information by clicking on Notify Me on the front page of the city's web site at:  www.lewistonmaine.gov

SIGN UP FOR NOTIFY ME REMINDER SERVICE

If property owners would like to receive city communications of interest to landlords, they may subscribe to the free Notify Me notification service that sends a text and/or email message to the individual.  To subscribe, please sign up at Notify Me by clicking Notify Me Sign Up Page The category to subscribe to for a rental registration reminder is "Landlords/Property Managers."

RENTAL REGISTRATION IS MANAGED BY THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact:  

Allison Pease
City of Lewiston
27 Pine Street
Lewiston, Maine  04240
(207) 513-3000, X3219 
Contact Here                                                                                                                                

OTHER INFORMATION  

Rental Registration Ordinance - Starting at Sec. 18-200

Report of the Ad-hoc Rental Registration Committee 

Questions About Lead Paint - When becoming familiar with the Rental Registration Program, questions about lead paint and how it is addressed sometimes arise. To assist in that regard, LA Lead Program Manager Travis Mills developed this two-page informational.