An Act To Allow Apartment Building Owners To Prevent Damage to Property in the Installation of Over-the-air Reception Devices
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0889
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: MILLS
Amends: 14 MRSA §6041

Legislative Document 
No. 889 
H.P.674 
House of Representatives, February 28, 2007 
An Act To Allow Apartment Building Owners To Prevent Damage 
to Property in the Installation of Over-the-air Reception Devices 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative MILLS of Farmington. 
Printed on recYl: led paper 
11/~ 
/h.1T/dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §6041, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 294, is amended to read: 
- §6041. Installation; consent of building owner required 
1. 
Installation. A tenant in a multiple dwelling unit may subscribe to cable 
television service or use an over-the-air reception device, subject to the following 
provisions. 
A. 
A sable An operator who affixes or causes to be affixed cable television 
facilities or an over-the-air reception device to the dwelling of a tenant shall do so at 
no cost to the owner of the dwelling; shall indemnify the owner immediately for 
damages, if any, arising from the installation or the continued operation of the 
installation, or both; and sfla.ll may not interfere with the safety, functioning, 
appearance or use of the dwelling, nor interfere with the rules of the owner dealing 
with the day-to-day operations of the property, including the owner's reasonable 
access rules for soliciting business. 
Nothing in this section may prohibit an owner from contracting with the sable 
operator for work in addition to standard installation. 
B. 
No sable An operator may not enter into any agreement with persons owning, 
leasing, controlling or managing a building served by a sable television system or 
perform any act whlell that would directly or indirectly diminish or interfere with the 
rights of any tenant to use a master or individual antenna system. 
c. 
A sable An operator must have the owner's written consent to affix cable 
television system facilities or an over-the-air reception device to a tenant's dwelling. 
The owner may refuse the installation of cable television facilities or an over-the-air 
reception device for good cause only. Good cause includes, but is not limited to: 
(l) Failure to honor previous written contractual commitments; or 
(2) 
Failure to repair damages caused by a sable an operator during pnor 
installation. 
D. 
In the absence of written consent, the consent required by paragraph C shall be 
~ considered to have been granted to a sable an operator upon ffis the operator's 
delivery to the owner, in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested by the 
addressee, the following: 
(1) A copy of this section; 
(2) A signed statement that the sable operator will be bound by the terms of this 
section to the owner of the property upon which the cable television system 
facilities are or over-the-air reception device is to be affixed; and 
(3) Notice to the owner in clear, understandable language that describes the 
owner's rights and responsibilities. 
E. 
If consent is obtained under paragraph D, the sable operator shall present and the 
owner and operator shall review, prior to any installation, plans and specifications for 
the installation, unless waived in writing by the owner. The operator shall abide by 
reasonable installation requests by the owner. In any legal action brought pursuant to 
this paragraph, the burden of proof relative to the reasonable nature of the owner's 
request shall be ~ on the eahle operator. The eahle operator shall inspect the premises 
with the owner after installations to ensure conformance with the plans and 
specifications. The eahle operator shall be ~ responsible for maintenance of any 
equipment installed on the owner's premises and shall be ~ entitled to reasonable 
access for that maintenance. Unless waived in writing by the owner, the eahle 
operator, prior to any installation, shall provide the owner with a certificate of 
insurance covering all the employees or agents of the installer or eahle operator, as 
well as all equipment of the eahle operator, and must indemnity the owner from all 
liability arising from the operator's installation, maintenance and operation of cable 
television facilities or an over-the-air reception device. 
F. 
If consent is obtained under paragraph D and the owner of any such real estate 
intends to require the payment of any sum in excess of a nominal amount defined in 
this subsection as $1, in exchange for permitting the installation of cable television 
system facilities or an over-the-air reception device to the dwelling of the tenant, the 
I 8 
owner shall notity the eahle operator by certified mail, return receipt requested, 
within 20 days of the date on which the owner is notified that the eahle operator 
intends to ~ 
install cable television system facilities or an over-the-air reception 
device to the dwelling of a tenant of the owner's real estate. Without this notice, it 
will be conclusively presumed that the owner will not require payment in excess of 
the nominal amount mentioned in this section specified for such connection. If the 
owner gives notice, the owner, within 30 days after giving the notice, shall advise the 
eable operator in writing of the amount the owner claims as compensation for 
affixing cable television system facilities or an over-the-air reception device to ffis the 
owner's real estate. If, within 30 days after receipt of the owner's claim for 
compensation, the eable operator has not agreed to accept the owner's demand, the 
owner may bring an action in the Superior Court to enforce ffis the owner's claim for 
compensation. If the Superior Court decides in favor of the owner and orders the 
I 
eable operator to pay the owner's claim for compensation, the eahle operator shall 
reimburse the owner for reasonable attorneys attorney's fees incurred by the owner in 
litigation of this matter before the Superior Court. The action sfla.l.l. must be brought 
within 6 months of the date on which the owner first made demand upon the eahle 
operator for compensation and not after that date. 
It sfl.a.l.J must be presumed that reasonable compensation shall be ~ the nominal 
amount, but such presumption may be rebutted and overcome by evidence that the 
owner has a specific alternative use for the space occupied by cable television system 
facilities or equipment or an over-the-air reception device, the loss of which sha+l will 
result in a monetary loss to the owner, or that installation of cable television system 
facilities or equipment or an over-the-air reception device upon the multiple dwelling 
unit will otherwise substantially interfere with the use and occupancy of the unit or 
property to an extent wfl.refl that causes a decrease in the resale or rental value of the 
real estate. In determining the damages to any such real estate injured when no part of 
it is being taken, consideration is to be given only to such injury as is special and 
peculiar to the real estate and there sfl.a.l.J must be deducted from the damages the 
amount of any benefit to the real estate by reason of the installation of cable 
television system facilities or an over-the-air reception device. 
G. 
None of the steps enumerated in paragraph F, to claim or enforce a demand for 
compensation in excess of the nominal amount, shalt may impair or delay the right of 
the eahle operator to install, maintain or remove cable television system facilities or 
an over-the-air reception device at a tenant's dwelling on the real estate. The Superior 
Court shall have has original jurisdiction to enforce this paragraph. 
H. 
N-e A person owning, leasing, controlling or managing any multiple dwelling 
unit served by a cable television system or an over-the-air reception device may not 
discriminate in rental or other charges between tenants who subscribe to these 
services and those who do not, or demand or accept payment in any form for the 
affixing of cable television system equipment or an over-the-air reception device on 
or under the real estate, provided except that the owner of the real estate may require, 
in exchange for permitting the installation of cable television system equipment or an 
over-the-air reception device within and upon the real estate, reasonable 
compensation to be paid by the eahle operator. The compensation shalt must be 
determined in accordance with this subsection. 
I. 
As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following 
terms have the following meanings. 
(l) "Cable television operator," "eable operator" or "operator" "Operator" means 
any person, firm or corporation owning, controlling, operating, managing or 
leasing a cable television system, satellite system, wireless cable system or any 
other system involving the transmission and reception of a signal or any lawful 
agent appointed by anyone of the persons or entities mentioned in this 
subparagraph. 
(2) "Multiple dwelling unit" means any building or structure wItiffi that contains 
or more apartments or living units. 
(2-A) "Over-the-air reception device" means a device used for receiving a signal 
that is transmitted over the air, including, but not limited to, a satellite dish 
apparatus, a television antenna and a wireless cable antenna. 
(3) "Owner" means the person or persons possessing legal title to real estate or 
the lawful agent appointed by an owner. 
(4) "Tenant" means one who has the temporary use and occupation of real 
property owned by another person. 
Sec. 2. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, chapter 710-B, in the chapter headnote, the words 
"Cable Television Installation" are amended to read "Cable Television and Over-the-air 
Reception Device Installation" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision 
when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes. 
SUMMARY 
This bill adds the installation of over-the-air reception devices such as satellite dishes, 
television antennae and wireless cable antennae to the laws governing the installation of 
cable television equipment in apartment buildings.