AUGUSTA – Dale McCormick said her phone has been ringing nonstop for more than two months.

“It’s unprecedented,” said the director of the Maine State Housing Authority, referring to heating assistance calls. “I’ve never had a May and June like this. It’s just huge.”

The affordable housing agency has 800 properties it supports throughout the state. Everyone – tenants, homeowners, local housing authorities – is worried about paying for heat this winter. The subject is getting intense scrutiny from a governor’s task force, as well as Maine’s congressional delegation.

“I know a lot of thought and concern has come from the L-A area about landlords and what they will do if they can’t afford heat,” she said. “It’s a complicated issue, there is a real domino effect. But I know the Legislature and the governor are considering all of that.”

MSHA does offer assistance, like loans at 4.75 percent for energy improvements, but only to designated affordable housing properties. Housing officials are considering inviting private landlords to come under the MSHA umbrella, giving them access to the agency’s programs and services in exchange for a commitment to provide affordable housing.

“The good news is 72 percent of all the multi-families units out there could be affordable if they wanted to be,” said McCormick, noting that market rate rents are close to federal HUD requirements throughout the state.

In Lewiston-Auburn, the median market rate for a two-bedroom apartment in 2007 was $734, including heat, hot water and utilities (oil was figured at $132 per month). When the boundary is expanded to include the surrounding suburbs, it comes in at $639 per month.

The same property in the Bangor area rented at $753 and Portland at $1,036 in 2007. Only the Penobscot area had a lower rent, at $623 per month, according to MSHA data.