State Specific Question About: MAINE (ME)

I am trying to find out whether it is legal (in Maine) to put in the lease that if tenant breaks lease they not only are responsible for paying RENT but also HEAT until I can re-rent the house.

Thanks for any input! :)

I think the lease ITSELF is what they are responsible for until it re-rents. Not just individual items in the lease, you can't pick and choose the clauses to apply.

So if the lease states they pay for heat, and they signed it, and it's a valid clause in your state, then they are responsible for paying for heat until it's re-rented.

The basic idea of damages because of breaking a lease is that landlord needs compensation for his loss(es). If you can make the case that you are owed compensation for a loss due to having to cover heat expense that should have been paid by tenant, then you would be able to sue for relief. I doubt that the matter would be covered under landlord/tenant law. But it seems to me to be a legitimate tort case.