Section 8 Housing in Maine
9,304 active Housing Choice Vouchers across 3 markets. Rent limits, housing authorities, waitlist status, and voucher rights for every metro in Maine.
Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in Maine?
In most of the state, yes. Maine has no statewide source-of-income protection, so landlords in Maine can decline Section 8 applications unless a local ordinance says otherwise.
Maine Human Rights Act, 5 M.R.S. §4582
Statute protects recipients of housing assistance, but Dussault v. RRE Coach Lantern Holdings (2014) lets landlords refuse voucher tenants over program requirements. Portland has its own ordinance. PRRAC Appendix B (March 2026).
View statute →Informational only, not legal advice. Laws change, so verify current status before acting on a rejection or making a leasing decision.
Landlord and investor tools for Maine
RentalCalcsFree calculators and guides from RentalCalcs, built by the VoucherMatch team, for landlords deciding whether to accept vouchers.
- Section 8 rent analyzerHUD rent benchmarks and modeled comparisons for Maine ZIP codes. Confirm adopted amounts with the agency.
- Compare HUD benchmarks with market rent in MaineExplore modeled ZIP comparisons; these do not establish an approved rent or agency payment.
- Average rent in MaineMarket rent versus HUD fair market rent by city and bedroom count.
- How Section 8 rent is calculatedFair market rent, payment standards and rent reasonableness, step by step.
- Section 8 landlord math for 2026What the payment standard changes mean for cash flow this year.
All Section 8 markets in Maine
Sorted by active voucher count. Each metro page has HUD Fair Market Rent by bedroom, the housing authorities that administer vouchers there, and waitlist status.
Section 8 by county in Maine
County pages show the local voucher count, housing authorities, and metro rollup. Useful when you are looking at a specific address.
- Kennebec County5,473 vouchers
- Cumberland County5,123 vouchers
- Androscoggin County2,176 vouchers
- York County933 vouchers
- Penobscot County808 vouchers
- Aroostook County651 vouchers
- Hancock County382 vouchers
- Sagadahoc County264 vouchers
- Franklin County
- Knox County
- Lincoln County
- Oxford County
- Piscataquis County
- Somerset County
- Waldo County
- Washington County
Section 8 in Maine: common questions
- Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in Maine?
- In most of the state, yes. Maine has no statewide source-of-income protection, so landlords in Maine can decline Section 8 applications unless a local ordinance says otherwise.
- How many Section 8 vouchers are there in Maine?
- HUD data shows about 9,304 Housing Choice Vouchers across the 3 Maine markets we track, administered by 24 housing authorities statewide.
- How do I apply for Section 8 in Maine?
- You apply to a local housing authority, not to the state or to HUD. Each of Maine's housing authorities runs its own waitlist and opens it on its own schedule, and applying is always free. Pick your metro or county on this page to see the housing authorities that serve it and their current waitlist status.
Find Section 8 apartments in Maine
VoucherMatch connects voucher holders with landlords who accept Section 8, and it is free for renters. The administering housing authority must approve the actual unit, rent and household assistance calculation.