Storm contractor rules in Maine: profiteering in necessities, home construction contracts and home solicitation sales

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text. None of the sections names tree work, and the sections read set no state contractor licence, which is different from saying none exists: no official page on one was read for this page on October 9, 2026.

The sections in one table

Section	What it says
10 MRSA 1105(2), declaration	After consulting the Attorney General, the Governor may declare an abnormal market disruption, which is a significant disruption to production, distribution, supply, sale or availability of a commodity brought on by a natural or human-made emergency or disaster. The declaration names the beginning date, the necessities and the levels of trade affected, and expires when the Governor says so or 60 days after issue, whichever is sooner
10 MRSA 1105(1)(C), necessities	The list includes food, seeds, potable water, pharmaceutical products, wearing apparel, shoes, "building materials", gas and electricity, ice, fuel of all kinds and fertilizer. It also includes "any other vital or necessary goods or service" except those under continuous maximum price regulation, those where the State is preempted, and those furnished by insurers and certain nonprofit health organizations
10 MRSA 1105(1)(D) and (3), price	An unconscionable price is presumed when it exceeds by more than 15 percent the sum of the seller's price just before the disruption and the increased cost calculated by the seller's earlier method. After a declaration and before it expires, a person may not sell or offer necessities at an unconscionable price
10 MRSA 1105(4), violation	A violation is a civil violation prosecuted as an unfair act or practice under Title 5, section 207, except that Title 5, section 213 does not apply. The declaration creates a rebuttable presumption that the disruption existed from the beginning date to the expiry date
10 MRSA 1486, definition	A home construction contract is a contract to build, remodel or repair a residence, including structural work and electrical, plumbing and heating work, carpeting, window replacements and nonstructural work of other kinds. A residence is a dwelling with three or fewer living units, and garages
10 MRSA 1487, contents	A contract for more than US$3,000 in materials or labor must be in writing, signed by both sides, with a copy to both before work starts. It carries names and phone numbers, the property location, estimated start and completion dates, the total price, the payment method with the initial down payment limited to no more than one third of the total price, a description of the work, a stated warranty, a dispute-resolution choice, a change-order statement, and consumer protection information
10 MRSA 1488 and 1489	Each change order is in writing, states the previous and revised price and is signed by both parties. The parties may exempt themselves from the chapter only if the contractor specifically informs the homeowner of the rights under it and both then agree to a contract or change order without those parts
10 MRSA 1490, penalty	A violation is prima facie evidence of a violation of the unfair trade practices chapter and a civil violation with a forfeiture of not less than US$100 and not more than US$1,000. No action may be brought more than two years after the violation, and a contractor is not held liable if the contractor shows the violation was an unintentional, bona fide error
9-A MRSA 3-501 and 3-502	A home solicitation sale is a consumer credit sale of goods or services where the seller personally solicits at the buyer's residence and the buyer's agreement is given there. The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. Notice by mail is given when mailed. If the sale requires the seller to affix goods permanently to real estate, the seller may not begin performance while the buyer can cancel
9-A MRSA 3-503 to 3-505	The agreement carries a statement headed BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL, with a stated date. Within 20 days of cancellation the seller returns payments, and keeps no cancellation fee. A seller who performed services before cancellation is not entitled to compensation
5 MRSA 207 and 209	Unfair competition methods and also unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce are unlawful. The Attorney General may seek an injunction and restoration of money or property, and a civil penalty of not more than US$10,000 for each intentional violation that is unfair or deceptive

What the price rule covers

Maine's clause is triggered by a Governor's declaration, not by an emergency declaration alone. The word necessities is defined broadly, with building materials named and a catch-all for other vital or necessary goods or service. The text read does not say whether tree removal or cleanup counts as such a service. The 15 percent test sits in the definition of an unconscionable price and works as a rebuttable presumption, not as a hard cap.

Contracts and door-to-door sales

The home construction contract chapter applies to work on a residence of up to three living units and lists structural and nonstructural work, so a tree job near a dwelling may or may not fall inside it, and the text read does not settle it. The home solicitation sections sit in the Maine Consumer Credit Code and speak of credit sales, a point the text of section 3-501 makes in its definition. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.

Storm contractor rules in Maine: profiteering in necessities, home construction contracts and home solicitation sales

The sections in one table

What the price rule covers

Contracts and door-to-door sales

Sources