An Act Regarding the Enforcement Provisions of the Law
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0994
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: HEPLER, BAILEY
Amends: 23 MRSA §3121

Legislative Document
No. 994
H.P. 641
House of Representatives, March 11, 2025
An Act Regarding the Enforcement Provisions of the Law 
Governing Private Road Maintenance
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HEPLER of Woolwich.
Cosponsored by Senator BAILEY of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §3121, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 13, §1, is amended to 
read:
1.  Cost sharing.  If more than one property shares a common benefit from a private 
road, each property owner who shares the common benefit is responsible for a share of the 
cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of that private road determined 
pursuant to the terms of any agreement entered into to determine the share of the cost of 
reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of the private road, any deed 
restriction, covenant or declaration applicable to the benefited property, any road 
association created pursuant to this chapter or otherwise or any method elected under 
section 3101, when applicable.  In the absence of any such agreement, entered into to 
determine the share of the cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of 
the private road; deed restriction, covenant, or declaration, applicable to the benefited 
property; road association established for the private road; or method elected under section 
3101 to determine the share of the cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and 
maintenance of the private road, each residential property owner, after reasonable due 
process and written notice, shall share equally in the cost of reasonable and necessary 
repairs to and maintenance of the private road when the private road is the primary means 
of access to the benefited property.  For purposes of this section, each residential property 
may be assessed only one share toward the collective cost of repairs and maintenance 
regardless of whether there are multiple owners of record for one property.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §3121, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 13, §1, is amended to 
read:
3.  Enforcement.  If a residential property owner fails to pay that owner's share of the 
cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of the private road in 
accordance with subsection 1, the payment is delinquent if not paid within 30 days after a 
demand in writing, a legal claim which must contain the name of the vendor, the purpose 
of the repair or maintenance and the date the vendor was paid and must be delivered to that 
owner at the address set forth in the municipal tax records, and a civil action for payment 
of the amount owed together with interest from the date of the written demand for payment, 
filing fees and other costs of collection including reasonable attorney's fees may be brought 
against that owner by a residential property owner or owners who share a common benefit 
in the road, either jointly or severally.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that if a residential property owner fails to pay that owner's share of 
the cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of a private road, the 
payment is delinquent if not paid within 30 days after a demand in writing, which must 
contain the name of the vendor, the purpose of the repair or maintenance and the date the 
vendor was paid and must be delivered to that owner at the address set forth in the municipal 
tax records, and a civil action for payment of the amount owed together with interest from 
the date of the written demand for payment, filing fees and other costs of collection 
including reasonable attorney's fees may be brought against that owner by a residential 
property owner or owners who share a common benefit in the road, either jointly or 
severally.