Published 2026-09-25 · 18 min read

Montana Landlord-Tenant Law 2026: The Plain-English Guide

Quick answer - Montana: Montana sets no security-deposit cap and requires no separate account or interest. Returns run on two tracks: the full deposit within 10 days when nothing is owed, or an itemized list with the balance within 30 days when there are deductions. Nonpayment starts with a 3-day written notice.

Montana runs its rentals under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of 1977 (Mont. Code Ann. Title 70, Chapter 24, §§ 70-24-101 et seq.), with security deposits in a separate chapter (Title 70, Chapter 25) and the older forcible entry and unlawful detainer chapter (Title 70, Chapter 27) sitting behind it. Mobile home lot rentals have their own parallel act (Chapter 33) and are not covered here. The headline facts survive verification: Montana sets no cap on security deposits, deposit returns run on a two-track clock (10 days when nothing is owed, 30 days when there are deductions), nonpayment starts with a 3-day notice, and tenants have a real repair-and-deduct right capped at one month's rent. But several details in older guides — including the previous version of this page — are wrong, stale, or cited to the wrong section, and Montana has enacted real changes in 2023 and 2025. This guide states the current law, verified against the current text of the Montana Code Annotated.

Eight corrections and completions to start. First, the fair-housing list was wrong: § 49-2-305 does not list sexual orientation or gender identity — its housing classes are sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, and national origin. Second, the old page's court timeline ("illegal-activity cases heard within 5 days of the answer deadline, all others within 14 days") does not exist in either chapter and is removed: a residential action for possession under § 70-24-427 is heard within 10 business days after the tenant's appearance or the answer date in the summons — 5 business days only where the agreement was terminated for dangerous activity under § 70-24-321(3) — the tenant answers within 5 business days of service (§ 70-24-429(4)), the court rules within 5 days after the hearing, and the sheriff executes the writ within 5 business days. Third, self-help was cited to the wrong section: § 70-24-429 is the holdover section; the self-help bar is § 70-24-428 and the tenant's ouster remedy is § 70-24-411. Fourth, the remedy sections were misnumbered: essential services are § 70-24-408 (not § 70-24-405, which covers a landlord's failure to deliver possession), and the tenant's termination remedy for a landlord's failure to maintain is § 70-24-406 — § 70-24-403 is the prohibited-lease-provisions section. Fifth, the notice ladder was incomplete: § 70-24-422 also has a 3-day curable notice for verbal abuse of the landlord (§ 70-24-422(1)(f)), and the pet and unauthorized-occupant notices are 3-day cure notices under subsection (1), separate from the unconditional 3-day notices for property damage (subsection (3)) and dangerous activity (subsection (4)). Sixth, the deposit sections were compressed past accuracy: a missed 30-day list forfeits the right to withhold for damage and cleaning charges (§ 70-25-203), the wrongful-withholding recovery is the amount wrongfully withheld with no multiplier (§ 70-25-204), and the move-in condition statement (§ 70-25-206) — skipped, it bars damage and cleaning recovery unless you prove tenant causation by clear and convincing evidence — was omitted entirely. Seventh, retaliation has a clock the old page never stated: a complaint within 6 months before the landlord's act creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation (§ 70-24-431(3)). Eighth, "no rent control" is now an affirmative state preemption, not just an absence of ordinances: § 7-1-111(26), enacted by SB 105 in 2023, bars local governments with self-government powers from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential property.

Disclaimer: this is general information, not legal advice. Montana eviction practice runs through justice and city courts with local rules; consult a Montana landlord-tenant attorney for your situation.

Montana's two-track deposit clock (10 days clean, 30 days with deductions) and split two-chapter statute don't match most other states — keep all 50 straight in one file. The 50-State Landlord Law Dataset (CSV + JSON) ($29) puts all 50 states' deposit caps, return deadlines, damage multipliers, and entry-notice rules in one searchable spreadsheet so you can compare and comply without re-reading statutes.

At a glance

When the clocks actually start

Almost every Montana deadline runs from receipt, not from sending — and § 70-24-108 defines receipt four ways. A person has notice when the person has actual knowledge; when, for a landlord, the notice is delivered at the landlord's place of business through which the agreement was made; when the notice is emailed to an address the party provided in the rental agreement — email notice is complete only on receipt of a read receipt generated by the email system or a reply other than an automatically generated reply; or when the notice is delivered in hand, or mailed with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail to the address the person designated for communications or, absent a designation, the last-known address. Mailed notice carries the trap: service is considered made on the date 3 days after the date of mailing. The 3 days are not added to the tenant's cure period — they delay the day the cure period starts.

Worked example, weekday-verified: you mail a 14-day cure notice with a certificate of mailing on Monday, March 2, 2026. Service is deemed made Thursday, March 5, 2026. The 14 days run from receipt, so the earliest termination date the notice can specify is Thursday, March 19, 2026. Hand-deliver the same notice on March 2 and the clock starts March 2. That three-day swing is why experienced Montana landlords hand-deliver termination notices and keep a witness or a signed acknowledgment.

Entry notice has one extra channel: for § 70-24-312 entry, the tenant also has notice if the landlord conspicuously posts the intent to enter on the main entry door of the unit (§ 70-24-312(3)(b)).

Is there a cap on Montana security deposits, and how fast must they be returned? (Chapter 25)

Chapter 25 applies to all dwelling rentals subject to Chapter 24 or Chapter 33, excluding public housing authority property (§ 70-25-102). Any lease provision contrary to the chapter is invalid, and any attempted tenant waiver of the chapter is invalid (§ 70-25-103). "Security deposit" is defined broadly — value given to secure rent or payment for damage and cleaning — and any required deposit, and any cleaning or damage fee however designated, is presumed to be a security deposit (§ 70-25-101). Relabeling a deposit as a "fee" does not take it out of the chapter. For the full deposit-only treatment, see our Montana security deposit law guide.

• No cap on the amount. No section of Chapter 25 limits what you can charge. Don't abuse it: an oversized deposit makes units harder to fill and turns every move-out into a high-stakes accounting fight.
• No holding rules. Chapter 25 imposes no separate trust account, no deposit receipt, and no interest. Run a separate ledger anyway — the 10-day clean-return clock is unforgiving and a commingled spreadsheet is how you miss it.
• Allowed deductions (§ 70-25-201(1)): a sum equal to the damage alleged to have been caused by the tenant, plus unpaid rent, late charges, utilities, penalties due under lease provisions, and other money owing at the time of deduction — including rent owed under § 70-24-441(3) — plus actual cleaning expenses, including a reasonable charge for the landlord's own labor. No deduction or withholding is allowed for any purpose the section does not list (§ 70-25-201(4)).
• Pre-termination inspection (§ 70-25-201(2)): at either party's request, the premises may be inspected within 1 week before termination of the tenancy. Offer it in writing; the paper trail decides later disputes.
• The cleaning-notice rule (§ 70-25-201(3)): cleaning charges may not be imposed for normal cyclical maintenance (unless tenant negligence forced it), and no cleaning deduction may be taken until the landlord has given the tenant written notice with an itemized list of the cleaning not accomplished, estimates of the cost if it remains unaccomplished, and the additional and types of cleaning needed to return the premises to their condition at renting — and the tenant has had 24 hours after delivery of the notice to complete it. Two exceptions: no notice is required if the tenant did not give the landlord notice that the tenant was vacating, and the notice duty (and the § 70-25-202 clocks) fall away where the agreement was terminated under § 70-24-427 or § 70-33-427 and the landlord has a claim pending in court (§§ 70-25-201(3), 70-25-202(2), as amended in 2025). Build the cleaning checklist into the move-in packet, not the move-out fight.
• Move-in condition statement (§ 70-25-206): a landlord who requires a security deposit must furnish the tenant a separate written statement of the condition of the premises, signed by the landlord or agent. Skip it and you are barred from recovering any sum for damage or cleaning unless you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the tenant caused the damage or failed to clean. Photo-document every unit at move-in and move-out. See our move-in/move-out inspection checklist.

The two return clocks

Decide which track you are on within 48 hours of vacancy:

1. Clean track — 10 days (§ 70-25-202(1)(b)). If after inspection there is no damage, no cleaning required, and no rent unpaid, and the tenant can demonstrate that no utilities are unpaid, return the full deposit within 10 days.

2. Deduction track — 30 days (§ 70-25-202(1)(a)). Otherwise, within 30 days after termination of the tenancy or surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs first, deliver a written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges (after following § 70-25-201) accompanied by payment of the balance — the difference between the deposit and the permitted charges. The refund may be delivered by electronic fund transfer, cash, check, or another form stated in the rental agreement; the written list is delivered under § 70-24-108, and the refund and list go to the new address the tenant provided or, if none, the tenant's last-known address.

Worked example, weekday-verified: the tenancy terminates and you accept surrender on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. On a $1,500 deposit with $350 of tenant-caused damage and $185 of cleaning (after the § 70-25-201(3) notice and 24-hour window), the deductions total $535 and the balance is $965, due with the written list by Friday, October 30, 2026. If instead the unit is clean with nothing owed, the full $1,500 is due by Saturday, October 10, 2026 — the 10-day clock does not pause for weekends.

What a missed deadline costs

• Forfeiture (§ 70-25-203): a landlord who fails to provide the written list required by § 70-25-202 forfeits the right to withhold any sum for damage or cleaning charges. Note the scope: by its terms the forfeiture reaches damage and cleaning withholding; it does not by its terms reach a withholding for rent due. Do not test the boundary — send the list.
• Wrongful withholding (§ 70-25-204): the tenant recovers the amount wrongfully withheld — Montana has no double or treble deposit multiplier — and the burden of proving that damage or cleaning charges were caused by the tenant is on the landlord. Secondary sources that claim a treble deposit penalty are wrong; the treble figures in Montana law live in §§ 70-24-411 and 70-24-429, not Chapter 25.
• Forwarding address (§§ 70-25-202(1)(c), 70-25-205): mailing the funds to the last-known address of a tenant who gave no new address is not wrongful withholding, but the landlord remains liable for the amount actually due, and a tenant's failure to furnish a new address in writing does not bar the tenant's recovery. Get the forwarding address in writing at the move-out walkthrough anyway.
• No applying the deposit to rent: the deposit secures the listed purposes; Chapter 25 accounting still has to happen on the clocks above even when the tenant suggests "just keep it for the last month."

Use our Security Deposit Deadline Finder and deductions guide.

Can a Montana landlord raise rent by any amount, and can cities impose rent control?

• No rent control — and no local rent control. Montana sets no cap on rent amounts, and since SB 105 (2023), § 7-1-111(26) prohibits a local government with self-government powers from exercising any power that controls the amount of rent charged for private residential property. There is no local ordinance route around that.
• Defaults when the lease is silent (§ 70-24-201(2)): rent is the rental value determined by the landlord; rent is payable at the landlord's address or by electronic funds transfer to the account the landlord designates; periodic rent is payable at the beginning of each term or month; rent is uniformly apportionable day to day; and the tenancy defaults to month-to-month (week-to-week for a roomer who pays weekly). Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed (§ 70-24-201(3)).
• No dedicated rent-increase notice statute. On a month-to-month tenancy, the practical vehicle is the 30-day termination framework of § 70-24-441: deliver the new terms in writing at least 30 days ahead, so a tenant who will not accept them can terminate (and you can, if they stay on old terms). During a fixed term, the agreed rent controls unless the lease itself provides a change mechanism. See how to raise rent legally.
• No grace period, no late-fee cap. Chapter 24 sets neither. Late is what your lease says it is. Put the amount and trigger in plain numbers and keep the fee defensible as a genuine charge, not a punishment. See how to handle late rent.
• Payment-type fees are now banned (§ 70-24-201(4), added by HB 810 in 2025): a landlord may not charge an additional fee based on the tenant's rent payment type, except to recoup an electronic bank fee actually incurred for an electronic payment — and then no more than the bank charged. "Convenience fee" and "portal fee" lease clauses beyond that limit are unenforceable. Montana Legal Services' landlord-fees guidance confirms the rule applies to Chapter 33 lot rentals as well.
• Returned payments: the bad-check service charge outside the landlord-tenant chapters is $30 under § 27-1-717(2). Put any additional lease consequences in the agreement.
• Early termination without cause (§ 70-24-201(2)(f)): if either party terminates the agreement without cause before the lease term expires, the aggrieved party's monetary damages are capped at 1 month's rent (or a lesser agreed amount, which may not exceed 1 month's rent), and the landlord must follow the § 70-24-426(3) mitigation rule — rent from a defaulting tenant runs only to the date a new tenancy starts or the term expires.
• No general rent withholding. Montana tenants do not get a free-standing right to withhold rent over repair disputes. Their repair remedies are the specific § 70-24-406 and § 70-24-408 tracks below — which is why a tenant who simply stops paying without following them is exposed to the 3-day nonpayment notice.

Applications and screening

Montana is unusually unregulated here, and the absence is verified, not assumed: no Montana statute caps or regulates application or screening fees, sets screening-disclosure duties, or limits what a landlord may charge to apply. The constraints that do apply are federal and anti-discrimination law: the Fair Credit Reporting Act's consent and adverse-action rules for consumer reports, and the state and federal fair-housing lists below. Source of income is not a protected class in § 49-2-305, and no 2023–2026 enactment added a statewide screening-fee cap, a source-of-income class, or a Montana screening statute — bills on landlord-tenant topics that were introduced but not enacted (including a 2025 affidavit-style squatter-removal bill, HB 501, which died in process) are not law and are not stated as law here. Use identical written criteria for every applicant, charge every applicant the same fee, and document decisions.

Required disclosures and paperwork duties

• Who manages and who takes notices (§ 70-24-301): the landlord must disclose in writing, at or before the beginning of the tenancy, the name and address of the person managing the premises and of the owner or an agent authorized to act for the owner for service of process and receipt of notices. A person who fails to disclose becomes the agent for those purposes.
• Condition statement (§ 70-25-206): covered above — separate, signed, at move-in.
• Mold (§ 70-16-703): the lease must include the statutory mold disclosure language: the landlord must disclose known mold and provide records of any prior mold testing; a landlord who complies is not liable for mold the landlord did not know about. Use the statute's statement verbatim.
• Methamphetamine and fentanyl (§ 75-10-1305): an owner of inhabitable property that the owner knows was used as a clandestine methamphetamine or fentanyl drug lab, or has contamination from methamphetamine or fentanyl consumption, must notify any prospective occupant in writing before an agreement to lease is signed — and the duty continues for subsequent occupants until a contractor certified under § 75-10-1304 remediates the property to the decontamination standards of § 75-10-1303 and documentation is submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality. Ask about lab history when you buy; disclose if you know.
• Lead-based paint: federal law (42 U.S.C. § 4852d) requires the disclosure form and EPA pamphlet for most pre-1978 housing. Draft the rest of the lease with our lease agreement guide.

What maintenance duties does Montana law impose on landlords? (§ 70-24-303)

Section 70-24-303(1) is a closed list. A landlord shall:

• (a) comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety in effect at the time of original construction, in dwelling units where construction was completed after July 1, 1977;
• (b) make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition, except where maintenance is the tenant's responsibility under § 70-24-321;
• (c) keep all common areas clean and safe;
• (d) maintain in good and safe working order all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord;
• (e) provide and maintain receptacles for ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste and arrange for removal, unless the rental agreement provides otherwise;
• (f) supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1, except where the building is not legally required to be equipped for it or the heat or hot water comes from an installation within the tenant's exclusive control; and
• (g) install an approved smoke detector and an approved carbon monoxide detector in each unit under the landlord's control, verify both are in good working order at the start of the rental agreement, while the tenant maintains them during the tenancy. The landlord is not liable for damages caused by a detector's failure (§ 70-24-303(5)).

Two limits on shifting these duties: the parties may agree in writing that the tenant performs the (1)(e) and (1)(f) duties and specified repairs only in a good-faith transaction not meant to evade the landlord's obligations (§ 70-24-303(3)); and an agreement that the tenant perform specified repairs, maintenance, alterations, or remodeling must be in good faith, in a separate signed writing supported by adequate consideration, may not cover work needed to cure a subsection (1)(a) code noncompliance, and may not diminish the landlord's duties to other tenants (§ 70-24-303(4)). A clause in the standard lease shifting habitability repairs to the tenant does none of that and will not hold.

The landlord must also deliver possession at the start of the term in compliance with the agreement and § 70-24-303 (§ 70-24-302); § 70-24-405 gives the tenant remedies if the landlord fails to deliver possession. Lease provisions the chapter prohibits are unenforceable, and § 70-24-403 attaches damages liability to a landlord who deliberately uses a provision the landlord knows is prohibited; § 70-24-404 lets a court refuse to enforce an unconscionable agreement or clause.

The tenant's duties (§ 70-24-321)

The tenant must comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety; keep the part of the premises the tenant occupies as clean and safe as conditions permit; dispose of waste properly; keep plumbing fixtures as clean as their condition permits; use facilities and appliances reasonably; not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises (§ 70-24-321(2)); not engage in conduct creating a reasonable potential that the premises may be damaged or destroyed or neighboring tenants injured (§ 70-24-321(3) — the conduct behind the § 70-24-422(4) notice); and otherwise conduct themselves so neighbors' peaceful enjoyment is not disturbed. The tenant must also give the notice of extended absence the agreement requires (§ 70-24-322), and post-signing landlord rules generally take effect only on 30 days' written notice and must meet § 70-24-311's fairness conditions.

When can a Montana landlord enter a rented unit? (§ 70-24-312)

• Consent may not be unreasonably withheld (§ 70-24-312(1)) for entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.
• Emergency entry without consent is allowed (§ 70-24-312(2)).
• The 24-hour rule (§ 70-24-312(3)): the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant. Except in an emergency or unless it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice of the intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. Notice can be given under § 70-24-108 or by conspicuously posting the intent to enter on the main entry door (§ 70-24-312(3)(b)). The statute sets no fixed entry hours — "reasonable times" is the standard — so put your working window (for example, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) in the lease.
• No other access (§ 70-24-312(4)): except by court order, as permitted by §§ 70-24-425 and 70-24-426(2), or when the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises. A tenant may not remove, replace, or add a lock not supplied by the landlord without written permission, and a tenant who does must provide a key (§ 70-24-312(5)).
• If the tenant refuses lawful access (§ 70-24-424): the landlord may issue a 24-hour notice to correct or obtain immediate injunctive relief, and may recover actual damages either way. If the 24-hour notice is not remedied, the landlord may issue a 3-day notice to terminate.
• If the landlord enters unlawfully (§ 70-24-410): a tenant aggrieved by unlawful or unreasonable entry, or by repeated demands that unreasonably harass, may obtain injunctive relief, terminate the agreement, and recover actual damages.
• Enter-and-repair (§ 70-24-425): if the tenant's § 70-24-321 noncompliance affecting health and safety can be remedied by repair, replacement, or cleaning and the tenant does not comply as promptly as conditions require in an emergency, or within 14 days after the landlord's written notice specifying the breach, the landlord may enter, do the work in a workmanlike manner, and bill the actual and reasonable cost as rent on the next rent due date (or immediately, if the agreement has terminated).

When the landlord doesn't maintain: §§ 70-24-406 to 70-24-409

Give tenants a written maintenance channel at move-in and date-stamp every report — every remedy in this stack starts with the tenant's notice. See how to handle maintenance requests.

• Termination and repair-and-deduct (§ 70-24-406(1)). For a § 70-24-303 noncompliance affecting health and safety, the tenant may (a) deliver written notice specifying the breach, stating the agreement will terminate on a date not less than 30 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in 14 days. If the noncompliance results in a case of emergency and the landlord fails to remedy it within 3 working days after the tenant's written notice of the situation and the intent to terminate, the tenant may terminate. Termination fails if the landlord adequately remedies before the specified date; a substantially similar recurrence within 6 months lets the tenant terminate on 14 days' written notice; and the tenant may never terminate for a condition the tenant, family, or guests caused. Or (b) the tenant may make repairs costing not more than 1 month's rent and deduct the cost from the rent, if the tenant gave the landlord notice and the landlord did not make the repairs within a reasonable time. In an emergency, repairs may be made only by a person qualified to make them. The cap is on the cost of the repairs, and the precondition is notice plus a reasonable time — a tenant who deducts without either has simply underpaid rent.
• Damages (§ 70-24-406(2)–(4)). The tenant may also recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance with the agreement or § 70-24-303; if the agreement is terminated, the landlord returns all security recoverable under Chapter 25.
• Minor violations (§ 70-24-407) carry their own damages remedy for landlord violations that do not rise to the § 70-24-406 track.
• Essential services (§ 70-24-408). If, contrary to the agreement or § 70-24-303, the landlord purposefully or negligently fails to supply heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential services, the tenant may give written notice specifying the breach and elect one remedy: (a) procure reasonable amounts of the service and deduct the actual and reasonable cost from rent; (b) recover damages based on the diminution in fair rental value; or (c) procure reasonable substitute housing during the noncompliance, with rent excused for that period. Rights arise only after notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct, never for tenant-caused conditions, and a tenant who proceeds under § 70-24-408 may not also proceed under § 70-24-406 or § 70-24-407 for the same breach.
• Fire or casualty (§ 70-24-409). If the unit or premises are damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty so enjoyment is substantially impaired, the tenant may (a) immediately vacate and notify the landlord in writing within 14 days of the intention to terminate — the agreement terminates as of the date of vacating — or (b) vacate only the part rendered unusable, in which case rent reduces in proportion to the decrease in fair rental value. On a termination, security and prepaid rent are accounted for under the usual rules — the old page's flat "gets the deposit back" skipped the lawful deductions, which still apply. Example, weekday-verified: a tenant who vacates after a fire on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 must give the written termination notice by Wednesday, October 14, 2026, and the agreement terminates as of September 30.

How much notice is required to terminate a tenancy in Montana? (§ 70-24-422)

Periodic and fixed-term endings

• Week-to-week: either party may terminate on written notice given at least 7 days before the termination date specified (§ 70-24-441(1)).
• Month-to-month: either party may terminate by giving at least 30 days' written notice before the date designated for termination (§ 70-24-441(2)). The tenancy terminates on the date designated in the notice, without regard to the expiration of the period for which rent is payable; unless otherwise agreed, rent is uniformly apportioned daily (§ 70-24-441(3), which is also why § 70-25-201(1) lets a deposit be applied to rent owed under § 70-24-441(3) when a tenant stays past the designated date).
• Conversion at the end of a term (§ 70-24-205): if the lease does not establish a default extension period and neither party gives 30 days' written notice to terminate before the original termination date, the tenancy continues month-to-month on the same terms. A sloppy lease auto-extends — calendar the 30-day point before every fixed term ends.
• Fixed-term: ends by its own terms; no renewal notice is required unless the lease demands one. If the landlord consents to a holdover tenant's continued occupancy, § 70-24-201(2)(e) supplies the default: the tenancy is week-to-week for a weekly roomer and month-to-month in all other cases.

The ladder, rung by rung (§ 70-24-422)

Every rung requires a written notice delivered under § 70-24-108 specifying the acts and omissions constituting the noncompliance and the termination date. Draft with exact dollar amounts and specific breaches, and keep rent ledgers current.

1. Nonpayment — 3 days (§ 70-24-422(2)). If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within 3 days after written notice of the nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate if the rent is not paid within that period, the landlord may terminate, and the tenant must vacate if the landlord terminates. Example, weekday-verified: rent due Sunday, March 1, 2026 is unpaid; your written notice is received Monday, March 2; the tenant has through Thursday, March 5, 2026 to pay in full.

2. General noncompliance — 14 days to cure (§ 70-24-422(1)(d)). For a noncompliance with the agreement or with § 70-24-321 that is not listed in the special rungs, the notice period is 14 days. If the noncompliance is remediable by repairs, payment of damages, or the landlord's written approval, and the tenant adequately remedies it before the specified date, the agreement does not terminate (§ 70-24-422(1)(a)).

3. Unauthorized pet — 3 days to cure (§ 70-24-422(1)(b)).

4. Unauthorized persons residing in the unit — 3 days to cure (§ 70-24-422(1)(c)).

5. Verbal abuse of the landlord — 3 days to cure (§ 70-24-422(1)(f)). If the tenant adequately remedies the noncompliance, the agreement does not terminate.

6. Repeat noncompliance — 5 days, no cure (§ 70-24-422(1)(e)). If substantially the same act or omission that constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was given recurs within 6 months, the landlord may terminate on at least 5 days' written notice. The first notice is what arms this rung — serve and file it even when the tenant cures.

7. Property damage — 3 days, unconditional (§ 70-24-422(3)). If the tenant destroys, defaces, damages, impairs, or removes any part of the premises in violation of § 70-24-321(2), the landlord may terminate on 3 days' written notice specifying the noncompliance. No cure right is stated.

8. Dangerous activity — 3 days, unconditional (§ 70-24-422(4)). If the tenant creates a reasonable potential that the premises may be damaged or destroyed or neighboring tenants injured, as evidenced by the tenant being arrested for or charged with an act violating § 70-24-321(3), the landlord may terminate on 3 days' written notice. The arrest-or-charge evidence requirement is in the statute — suspicion alone does not reach this rung.

Two structural points. The subsection (1) ladder does not apply to a tenant who rents space for a mobile home but does not rent the mobile home (Chapter 33 governs there), while subsections (3) through (6) do (§ 70-24-422(1)(f), (7) in the current numbering — check the current text before relying on a subsection number in a filed notice). And under § 70-24-422(8), the landlord is not bound by § 70-24-422 where the tenancy is not a mobile-home-space-only rental and the landlord instead elects the 30-day termination notice under § 70-24-441 — the no-cause route remains available for periodic tenancies even when a for-cause notice could also be served.

Money and waiver. Beyond termination, the landlord may recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance with the agreement or § 70-24-321; if the tenant's noncompliance is purposeful, the landlord may recover treble damages — except that treble damages may not be recovered for the tenant's early termination of the tenancy (§ 70-24-422(5), (6)). Acceptance rules matter: accepting full payment of rent due waives a claimed breach only when the claimed breach is nonpayment; accepting full payment for a different breach, or any partial payment, waives nothing (§ 70-24-423).

Full process: how to evict a tenant.

Getting possession back: the § 70-24-427 action

Self-help is off the table. Except in the case of abandonment or surrender, or as the chapter otherwise permits, a landlord may not recover or take possession by action or otherwise — including by purposefully diminishing services by interrupting heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, or other essential services (§ 70-24-428). A landlord who unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant, or purposefully diminishes services that way, faces § 70-24-411: the tenant may recover possession or terminate, and in either case recover up to 3 months' periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater; on a termination the landlord must return all security recoverable under Chapter 25 and all prepaid rent. The same § 70-24-411 remedy is the tenant's remedy for retaliation under § 70-24-431(2).

When a rental agreement has terminated, the landlord has a claim for possession, a claim for rent, and a separate claim for actual damages for any breach (§ 70-24-427(1)). The action for possession is deliberately fast, and its clocks are the ones the old version of this page garbled:

• Answer — 5 business days. The Montana Justice and City Court Rules of Civil Procedure apply, except the tenant's time to answer is 5 business days after service of the summons and complaint, exclusive of the date of service (§ 70-24-429(4)). Ch. 715, Laws of 2023, cut this from the former 10 days and split the holdover damages rules — pre-2023 guides stating a 10-day answer are stale. Example, weekday-verified: service on Monday, March 2, 2026 makes the answer due Monday, March 9, 2026 (March 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 are the five business days).
• Hearing — 10 business days. The action must be heard within 10 business days after the tenant's appearance or the answer date stated in the summons; if the agreement was terminated for noncompliance under § 70-24-321(3) (the dangerous-activity track), within 5 business days. The same limits govern a case appealed to district court after transmission. The parties may stipulate to a continuance (§ 70-24-427(2)(a)).
• Damages hearing — 45 days. A hearing on damages must be held within 45 days after possession and rent are adjudicated (§ 70-24-427(2)(b)).
• Ruling and writs — 5 days, then 5 business days. The court rules within 5 days after the hearing; if possession is granted, it issues a writ of possession and a writ of assistance immediately, and the sheriff executes the writ of assistance within 5 business days of receiving it (excluding the receipt date), or at another time the landlord and sheriff agree (§ 70-24-427(4)).
• Counterclaims in nonpayment cases (§ 70-24-421). The tenant may counterclaim for any amount recoverable under the agreement or the chapter; the court may order rent paid into court and determine the amounts due each side — and if no rent remains due after the offsets, judgment is entered for the tenant in the possession action.

Where Chapter 27 fits. Title 70, Chapter 27 (forcible entry and unlawful detainer) is the older, general chapter: § 70-27-108 defines unlawful detainer (including holding over after term and, in subsection (3), continuing after failure to perform lease covenants following a 3-day written notice demanding performance or possession, with a 3-day window to perform and save the lease), §§ 70-27-113 and 70-27-114 govern the summons and its service (answer within 10 days in a Chapter 27 action), and § 70-27-202 requires an action in justice court under that chapter to be tried within 10 days. For an ordinary Chapter 24 residential tenancy, the termination notices come from § 70-24-422 and the possession action runs on the § 70-24-427 clocks above — do not borrow Chapter 27's 10-day answer for a Chapter 24 case, and do not repeat the old page's claim that cases are "heard within 5 days (illegal activity) or 14 days (all other)": no Montana section says that.

Holdover (§ 70-24-429). If the tenant remains in possession without consent after expiration or termination, the landlord may bring an action for possession (§ 70-24-429(1)). Money exposure for the tenant comes in two tracks: (2) where the term is longer than month-to-month, the landlord terminated with cause, and the holdover is purposeful and not in good faith — up to 3 months' periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater; (3) where the tenancy is month-to-month, the landlord terminated without cause on a lawful 30-day notice, and the tenant remains past the termination date — the holdover is deemed purposeful and the same measure applies.

Unauthorized occupants who were never tenants (§ 70-24-113). A person who cannot produce authorization to occupy — a written rental agreement, or written or verified verbal authorization from the landlord, or from a tenant if the person is the tenant's guest — is an unauthorized person or trespasser with no legal right to occupy, and may be removed immediately by law enforcement at the property owner's or authorized agent's request. The agency may charge a fee for the service and may stand by while locks are changed. An owner who knowingly provides false information in the request must indemnify the agency for damages awarded for its good-faith conduct, and a wrongfully removed person has a civil action for restoration of possession, actual costs, damages, and attorney fees. Section 70-24-113 was amended by SB 101 (2025), which also created the crime of unlawful squatting at § 45-6-206. This route is for true trespassers — a person holding under a rental agreement is a tenant, and § 70-24-113 is not a way around § 70-24-427.

Abandonment and property left behind

• Absence (§ 70-24-426(1), (2)): if the agreement requires the tenant to give notice of an anticipated extended absence over 7 days (see § 70-24-322) and the tenant fails to, the landlord may recover actual damages. During an absence over 7 days, the landlord may enter at times reasonably necessary.
• Abandonment and mitigation (§ 70-24-426(3)): if the tenant abandons the unit, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental. If the landlord re-rents for a term beginning before the agreement expires, the agreement terminates on the date of the new tenancy. If the landlord fails to use reasonable efforts, or accepts the abandonment as a surrender, the agreement is terminated as of the date the landlord has notice of the abandonment. For a month-to-month or week-to-week tenancy, "the term" for this purpose is a month or a week. The old page cited this duty to § 70-24-427; the mitigation duty is § 70-24-426(3) — § 70-24-427 is the possession action.
• Personal property (§ 70-24-430): the procedure forks on how the tenancy ended. If it terminated by court order, the personal property is considered abandoned and the landlord may immediately dispose of it as allowed by law (§ 70-24-430(1)(a)). If it terminated any other way, the landlord must reasonably believe from clear and convincing evidence that the tenant abandoned the property and wait at least 48 hours after obtaining that evidence before removing it; trash and hazardous, perishable, or genuinely valueless items may be discarded (not personal photos, jewelry, or other small irreplaceable items). For property the landlord reasonably believes is valuable: inventory and store it in a place of safekeeping with reasonable care (reasonable storage and labor charges, plus removal cost, are chargeable); then make a reasonable attempt to notify the tenant in writing — by certificate of mailing or certified mail to the last-known address — stating the property will be disposed of at a specified time not less than 10 days after mailing if not removed (§ 70-24-430(2), (3)). After complying, the landlord may sell at a public or private sale or dispose of property whose value is so low that storage or sale would cost more (§ 70-24-430(4)). If the tenant responds in writing by the specified day that the tenant intends to remove the property and does not do so within 7 days after delivery of the response, the property is conclusively presumed abandoned (§ 70-24-430(5)). Sale proceeds go first to the reasonable costs of notice, storage, labor, and sale and any delinquent rent or damages; the balance, with an itemized accounting, goes to the tenant — or, if the tenant cannot after due diligence be found, to the county treasurer, reverting to the county general fund if unclaimed within 3 years (§ 70-24-430(8)). Finally, § 70-24-430(9) requires the landlord to include the terms of the section, in plain and understandable language, as a notification upon termination of the lease — build it into your termination paperwork now, not after a move-out.

What counts as illegal retaliation by a Montana landlord? (§ 70-24-431)

A landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent, decreasing services, or bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession after the tenant has:

• (a) complained of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety to a governmental agency charged with enforcing a building or housing code;
• (b) complained to the landlord in writing of a violation under § 70-24-303; or
• (c) organized or become a member of a tenant's union or similar organization (§ 70-24-431(1)).

A tenant subjected to retaliation gets the § 70-24-411 remedies (possession or termination, plus up to 3 months' rent or treble damages, whichever is greater) and a defense in any retaliatory possession action (§ 70-24-431(2)). Timing is evidence: a complaint within 6 months before the alleged act of retaliation creates a rebuttable presumption that the landlord's conduct was retaliatory — the trier of fact must find retaliation unless evidence supporting its nonexistence is introduced. The presumption does not arise if the tenant complained after notice of a proposed rent increase or diminution of services (§ 70-24-431(3)). The ban does not prevent a possession action where (a) the code violation was caused primarily by the tenant's (or the tenant's household's or guests') lack of reasonable care, (b) the tenant is in default in rent, or (c) compliance requires alteration, remodeling, or demolition that would effectively deprive the tenant of use of the unit (§ 70-24-431(4)). Practical translation: document the independent reason for every rent change, service change, and filing for at least six months after any complaint lands.

Discrimination: federal law and § 49-2-305

The federal Fair Housing Act applies in Montana, and Montana's own housing provision, § 49-2-305, covers more classes in some respects and fewer in others — state it exactly. Under § 49-2-305(1) it is an unlawful discriminatory practice to refuse to sell, lease, or rent, to discriminate in any term, condition, or privilege, to make a discriminatory inquiry, to refuse to negotiate or otherwise make housing unavailable, or to represent that housing is unavailable when it is available, because of sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin. The section also bars discriminatory advertising and coercion, intimidation, threats, or interference with a person exercising these rights, and it carries exemptions (including, among others, sleeping rooms in an owner-occupied single-family residence where the owner rents no more than three rooms).

Two precision points the old page got wrong or blurred. Marital status, age, and creed are Montana additions with no exact federal counterpart — screening language like "perfect for young professionals" or refusing unmarried couples is actionable in Montana. And sexual orientation and gender identity do not appear in the text of § 49-2-305; the previous version of this page listed sexual orientation as a Montana statutory class, and it is not one. (Federal protection runs on a separate track: HUD has read the Fair Housing Act's sex discrimination ban to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and several Montana localities have their own ordinances — comply with the strictest rule that applies to your unit, and never let a screening file turn on any of these characteristics.) Apply identical written criteria to every applicant and document decisions. Our fair housing guide covers what you can and can't ask.

What changed in 2023–2026 — and what didn't

• 2023 — Ch. 715 amended the Chapter 24 remedies stack, including § 70-24-422's notice ladder (the verbal-abuse rung) and § 70-24-429: the possession-action answer is now 5 business days (it was 10 days), and holdover damages were split into the with-cause and no-cause tracks stated above.
• 2023 — SB 105 added the rent-control preemption at § 7-1-111(26).
• 2025 — HB 488 amended Chapter 25: the § 70-25-202(2) exception and the cleaning-notice exception for tenancies terminated under § 70-24-427 or § 70-33-427 with a claim pending in court.
• 2025 — HB 810 added § 70-24-201(4) (the payment-type fee ban) and the § 70-24-201(2)(f) early-termination damages cap, with parallel Chapter 33 amendments.
• 2025 — SB 101 amended § 70-24-113 (law-enforcement removal of unauthorized persons, with the fee, indemnity, and wrongful-removal provisions) and created the unlawful-squatting crime at § 45-6-206.
• Not enacted: HB 501 (2025), an affidavit-style squatter-removal process, died in process; a draft proposal to stretch the § 70-25-201(3) cleaning cure window from 24 to 48 hours was never enacted — the window is still 24 hours. A Montana source-of-income protection and a screening/application-fee statute were likewise not enacted in this period. If a secondary guide presents any of these as law, it is wrong.

Montana compliance checklist

1. At signing, disclose the manager's and owner's/agent's names and addresses in writing (§ 70-24-301), include the § 70-16-703 mold statement verbatim, give the § 75-10-1305 written notice before signing if you know of meth or fentanyl lab use or contamination, and attach the federal lead disclosure for pre-1978 housing.

2. If you take a deposit, furnish the separate signed condition statement (§ 70-25-206) and photograph the unit; without the statement, damage and cleaning recovery needs clear and convincing proof.

3. Verify detectors — approved smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed and working at commencement (§ 70-24-303(1)(g)); heat available October 1 to May 1 (§ 70-24-303(1)(f)).

4. Strip payment-type fees from the lease beyond the actual electronic bank fee (§ 70-24-201(4)), and state the late fee and any grace period in plain numbers — the statute sets neither.

5. Serve notices to be received, not just sent: hand-deliver § 70-24-422 notices where possible; if you mail, service is deemed made 3 days after mailing, and every cure clock runs from receipt (§ 70-24-108).

6. Use the right rung: 3 days nonpayment, 14 days general cure, 3 days cure for pets, unauthorized occupants, and verbal abuse, 5 days no-cure for a repeat within 6 months, 3 days unconditional for damage and for arrested-or-charged dangerous activity (§ 70-24-422).

7. File every first notice even when the tenant cures — the 5-day repeat rung requires a prior noticed noncompliance, and accepting full rent waives only a nonpayment breach (§§ 70-24-422(1)(e), 70-24-423).

8. Give 24 hours' notice before entry, at reasonable times, by § 70-24-108 notice or door posting; emergencies and impracticability are the only exceptions (§ 70-24-312(3)).

9. Answer repair notices on the § 70-24-406 clocks: remedy in 14 days, 3 working days in an emergency, before the tenant's repair-and-deduct right (capped at 1 month's rent) or termination right ripens; treat an essential-services failure under § 70-24-408 as same-day urgent.

10. Calendar the § 70-24-205 conversion date 30 days before every fixed term ends, and the § 70-24-441 notices (30 days month-to-month, 7 days week-to-week).

11. At move-out, offer the § 70-25-201(2) inspection, serve the cleaning notice and honor the 24-hour window, then run the right deposit clock — 10 days clean, 30 days with the itemized list and balance (§ 70-25-202) — and include the § 70-24-430(9) abandoned-property notification with the termination paperwork.

12. Never self-help: no lockouts, no utility interruptions, no removals outside §§ 70-24-427/428/411 — and after any tenant complaint, expect the § 70-24-431 6-month presumption and document your independent reasons.

FAQ

Is there a cap on security deposits in Montana?

No. No section of Title 70, Chapter 25 limits the amount of a security deposit. What the chapter regulates is what the deposit can be used for (§ 70-25-201), how fast it must be accounted for (§ 70-25-202), and what happens if the landlord misses the accounting (§§ 70-25-203, 70-25-204). Check a planned deposit against Montana's no-cap rule with the Security Deposit Max Checker, which returns a compliant or over-the-limit verdict for the amount and state you enter.

How long does a Montana landlord have to return a security deposit?

Two clocks under § 70-25-202(1). If after inspection there is no damage, no cleaning required, and no rent unpaid, and the tenant demonstrates no utilities are unpaid, the full deposit is due within 10 days. Otherwise the landlord has 30 days after termination or surrender and acceptance, whichever first, to deliver a written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges with the balance.

What is the penalty for wrongfully withholding a Montana security deposit?

There is no multiplier. Under § 70-25-204 the tenant recovers the amount wrongfully withheld, and the landlord bears the burden of proving the tenant caused the damage or cleaning charges. Separately, a landlord who fails to provide the § 70-25-202 written list forfeits the right to withhold for damage and cleaning charges at all (§ 70-25-203). Claims of a treble deposit penalty confuse Chapter 25 with §§ 70-24-411 and 70-24-429, which measure different wrongs.

Can a Montana landlord deduct cleaning from the deposit?

Only after the § 70-25-201(3) procedure: a written notice with an itemized list of the cleaning not accomplished, estimated costs, and the additional cleaning needed, followed by a 24-hour window for the tenant to complete it. No notice is required if the tenant left without giving notice of vacating, and cyclical normal maintenance is never chargeable unless tenant negligence forced it.

How much notice is required for nonpayment of rent in Montana?

3 days. Under § 70-24-422(2), if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within 3 days after written notice of the nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate if it is not paid, the landlord may terminate and the tenant must vacate.

What notice ends a Montana month-to-month tenancy?

At least 30 days' written notice before the termination date designated in the notice, by either party (§ 70-24-441(2)). A week-to-week tenancy takes 7 days (§ 70-24-441(1)). And if a fixed-term lease is silent on extension and neither party gives 30 days' notice before the term ends, the tenancy continues month-to-month automatically (§ 70-24-205).

How much notice must a Montana landlord give before entering?

At least 24 hours' notice of the intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times — except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable (§ 70-24-312(3)). Notice may be given under § 70-24-108 or by conspicuously posting the intent to enter on the main entry door.

Can a Montana tenant repair and deduct?

Yes, within § 70-24-406(1)(b): for a § 70-24-303 noncompliance affecting health and safety, after giving the landlord notice and a reasonable time to make the repairs, the tenant may make repairs costing not more than 1 month's rent and deduct the cost from the rent. In an emergency, the repairs may be made only by a person qualified to make them.

Can a Montana landlord change the locks or shut off utilities to force a tenant out?

No. Section 70-24-428 bars a landlord from recovering possession except on abandonment, surrender, or as the chapter permits — expressly including purposeful diminution of services by interrupting heat, water, hot water, electricity, gas, or other essential services. A tenant subjected to an unlawful ouster or service cut may recover possession or terminate and recover up to 3 months' periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater (§ 70-24-411).

How fast is a Montana eviction case?

Fast, on statutory clocks: the tenant answers within 5 business days of service (§ 70-24-429(4)); the action is heard within 10 business days after the appearance or answer date — 5 business days for a § 70-24-321(3) dangerous-activity termination; the court rules within 5 days after the hearing and immediately issues the writs; the sheriff executes within 5 business days (§ 70-24-427). Claims of a general "5 days for illegal activity, 14 days for everything else" hearing rule do not come from any Montana statute. To run these same dates for your own case — the 5-business-day answer, the 10-business-day hearing window, and the sheriff's 5-business-day execution window under § 70-24-427 — use the Eviction Timeline Calculator.

Is there rent control in Montana?

No, and local governments cannot create it: § 7-1-111(26) (SB 105, 2023) bars a local government with self-government powers from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential property. There is also no state cap on increases and no dedicated increase-notice statute; on a periodic tenancy the § 70-24-441 notice framework is the practical route.

Does Montana law protect tenants who complain about conditions?

Yes. Under § 70-24-431 a landlord may not raise rent, decrease services, or bring or threaten a possession action after the tenant complains to a housing-code agency, complains to the landlord in writing about a § 70-24-303 violation, or organizes or joins a tenant's union. A complaint within 6 months before the landlord's act creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation. The protection does not block a possession action where the tenant is in default in rent, caused the code violation, or compliance would require demolition-level work.

Primary sources

• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-108 (Montana Code Annotated, official) — what constitutes notice: actual knowledge, delivery at the landlord's place of business, email complete on a read receipt or non-automated reply, hand delivery, and mail service deemed made 3 days after mailing.
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-303 (Montana Legislature, official) — the landlord's duties in full: code compliance as of original construction, fit and habitable, common areas, systems and appliances, waste receptacles, water, hot water and October-to-May heat, and the smoke and carbon monoxide detector duty, with the limits on delegating duties to the tenant.
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-406 (Justia) — failure to maintain: the 30-day termination notice with a 14-day remedy window, the 3-working-day emergency track, the 6-month recurrence rule, and repair-and-deduct capped at 1 month's rent.
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-426 (Justia, 2025) — absence and abandonment: actual damages for an unannounced extended absence, entry during an absence over 7 days, and the duty to make reasonable efforts to re-rent at a fair rental.
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-429 (Justia, 2025) — holdover remedies as amended by Ch. 715, Laws of 2023: the two purposeful-holdover tracks (up to 3 months' rent or treble damages) and the 5-business-day answer rule.
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-429 (Montana Code Annotated, official) — the official text of the same section, with its history line (En. 1977; amd. Ch. 176, L. 1993; amd. Ch. 715, L. 2023).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-431 (LawServer) — retaliatory conduct prohibited: the three protected actions, the § 70-24-411 remedies and possession defense, the 6-month rebuttable presumption, and the preserved possession actions.
• Mont. Code Ann. Title 70, Chapter 24, Part 4 (LawServer index) — the remedies part in full: §§ 70-24-401 to 70-24-442, including § 70-24-408 (essential services), § 70-24-411 (unlawful ouster), § 70-24-422 (the notice ladder), § 70-24-427 (action for possession), § 70-24-428 (recovery of possession limited), and § 70-24-430 (abandoned property).
• Mont. Code Ann. Title 70, Chapter 27 (LawServer index) — forcible entry and unlawful detainer: § 70-27-108 (unlawful detainer defined), §§ 70-27-113/114 (summons and service), and § 70-27-202 (trial timing in justice court).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-305 (Justia, 2025) — discrimination in housing: the exact protected-class list (sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, national origin), the barred practices, and the exemptions.
• Landlord Fees FAQ (Montana Legal Services Association / MontanaLawHelp) — the 2025 § 70-24-201(4) rule in practice: no additional fee based on rent payment type except the electronic bank fee actually incurred, in Chapter 24 and Chapter 33 alike.

More landlord-tenant law guides

• Landlord-tenant law by state
• Montana security deposit law
• Missouri landlord-tenant law
• Nebraska landlord-tenant law
• Mississippi landlord-tenant law
• Nevada landlord-tenant law

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a Montana landlord-tenant attorney for specific situations.