Need Landlord/Tenant Law Assistance for York County (Portland, Biddeford: 2013, apartment)

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Reload this Page Does anyone know Maine landlord/tenant law well?
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Default Does anyone know Maine landlord/tenant law well?
I'm looking for some information. I currently rent a room (with rights to the whole house) in a home occupied by the landlord and one other roommate. I have a written tenancy agreement which states that all utilities (heat, hot water, air conditioning, cable tv, Internet) are included in my rent (same with other roommate). I voluntarily pay an extra $10/mo to have a cable box in my room.

Starting over the winter, the landlord starting having problems paying for heat -- we'd have space heaters going and the house would be freezing; I used a space heater in my room because it was colder than the rest of the house. Once the windows were opened for the summer, I showed her that all the storm windows had been left up and vents for heat were closed prior to my moving in -- thus costing her excess heating costs.

Now, it's summer. The house is outrageously warm. My room, without a fan, is sickeningly hot. She has started complaining (to both roommates) that her electric bill jumped $75 last month, and from now on, we are not to keep the front porch light on at night (even when we are away).

I explained to her (as nicely as possible) that if her utility bill jumped that high in a month, she should have an energy audit. I also said, that unless someone is using the dishwasher or laundry more than usual, we really aren't reasonable for her utility bills, since nothing has changed (at least in what I'm doing).

Our latest disagreement is stemming from the fact that I leave the house at 5 p.m. and return at 10 p.m. and feel I have a right to have a safe entry way when I come home. She is insisting that since it is summer and light out, it is MY responsibility to carry a FLASHLIGHT with me when I enter the home .. that there is no need for the light to be on from 5 p.m. until dark, thus costing her more money.

I'm getting frustrated because this is just the most recent in a line of "drama" issues -- but I am pretty certain that I either am allowed to have the light ON until I return home, or that she must/should have given some sort of formal warning.

What concerns me about her is she makes up rules "on the fly" and I've called her on them before; she doesn't know what she's doing, and I'm trying to protect myself from being a "right fighter" right out of an apartment.

Any advice?