Montana Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, late fees, the 3-day rent notice, entry rules and the eviction timeline in Montana, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Montana keeps its rental rules in two places. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of 1977 covers leases, notices, repairs and evictions (MCA Title 70, chapter 24). Security deposits sit in a separate chapter of their own (MCA Title 70, chapter 25). The two are read together (§ 70-24-112).

The deposit chapter picked up amendments in 2023, and the eviction section was amended the same year. If your lease packet is older than that, give it a read.

Here is what a small landlord in Montana has to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Security deposits

There is no cap. Montana sets no dollar limit and no multiple of rent on a residential deposit. Set the number yourself and keep it in line with the market.

Anything you call a fee is probably a deposit. Any deposit required under a lease is presumed to be a security deposit, and a charge for cleaning or damages, no matter how you label it, is presumed to be one too (§ 70-25-101).

You can deduct six things. Damage caused by the tenant, unpaid rent, late charges, unpaid utilities, lease penalties and other money owed you, plus actual cleaning expenses including reasonable labor (§ 70-25-201(1)). Nothing outside that list (§ 70-25-201(4)).

Cleaning charges need a warning first. You cannot charge for routine cyclical maintenance you would have done anyway. Before you deduct cleaning costs, give written notice saying what needs cleaning and give the tenant 24 hours to do it. A tenant who moves out without telling you drops that step (§ 70-25-201(3)).

Thirty days to send the list and the money. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, or after surrender and acceptance of the unit if that comes first, mail a written list of rent due plus damage and cleaning charges, along with the balance of the deposit (§ 70-25-202(1)(a)).

Ten days if you are deducting nothing. No damage, no cleaning, no unpaid rent and no unpaid utilities means the full deposit goes back inside 10 days (§ 70-25-202(1)(b)).

No list, no deductions. A landlord who fails to give the departing tenant the written list of damage and cleaning charges forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit for those charges (§ 70-25-203).

Wrongful withholding is a civil action. The tenant recovers the amount wrongfully withheld, the court may award attorney fees to the winning side, and the burden of proving damage to the unit is on you (§ 70-25-204).

The move-in statement matters more than you think. If you take a deposit, you have to hand the tenant a separate written statement of the present condition of the unit at lease signing, signed by you or your agent. Skip it and you are barred from recovering anything for damage or cleaning without clear and convincing evidence that the tenant caused it (§ 70-25-206).

Either side may ask for a walkthrough inspection within one week before the tenancy ends (§ 70-25-201(2)). Take it. That inspection is what makes the 30-day list defensible.

Late fees

Montana sets no late-fee cap and no statutory grace period. Late charges are named as a permitted deposit deduction (§ 70-25-201(1)(c)), which tells you they are allowed when your lease provides for them. Write the amount and the trigger day into the lease and keep the number reasonable.

Rent increases and rent control

No local rent control. Montana denies local governments with self-government powers any power to control the amount of rent charged for private residential property (§ 7-1-111(26)).

No statutory notice period for a raise. Montana's residential act does not set one. On a month-to-month tenancy, the clean route is to give the same 30 days' written notice the act requires to end the tenancy (§ 70-24-441(2)). On a fixed term, raise it at renewal.

Watch the retaliation clock. A rent increase, a service cut or an eviction threat within 6 months after a tenant complains about health or safety conditions raises a rebuttable presumption of retaliation (§ 70-24-431).

Entering the unit

Give at least 24 hours' notice of intent to enter, and enter only at reasonable times. Emergencies are the exception. Posting the notice conspicuously on the main entry door counts (§ 70-24-312(3)).

Repeated entry demands that harass a tenant, or entry done in an unreasonable manner, let the tenant get an injunction or terminate the lease, plus actual damages (§ 70-24-410).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Either side gives at least 30 days' written notice before the termination date named in the notice (§ 70-24-441(2)). A week-to-week tenancy takes 7 days (§ 70-24-441(1)). The tenancy ends on the date you name, whatever the rent cycle says, and rent is apportioned day by day (§ 70-24-441(3)).

How you serve notice changes the math. Notice counts when handed over in person, when emailed to an address given in the rental agreement, or when mailed with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail. Mailed notice is treated as served 3 days after the mailing date (§ 70-24-108). Add those days before you count anything.

When rent isn't paid

Rent unpaid when due gets a written notice of nonpayment. The tenant has 3 days after that notice to pay. Pay and the tenancy stands. No payment and you may terminate (§ 70-24-422(2)).

Other notice lengths under the same section run as follows.

14 days for general noncompliance with the lease or with tenant duties
3 days for an unauthorized pet or an unauthorized person in the unit
5 days for a repeat of the same violation within 6 months of the first notice
3 days for purposeful or negligent damage to the property
3 days for conduct creating a reasonable potential for damage or injury

You may use the 30-day no-cause notice under § 70-24-441 in place of any of these (§ 70-24-422(7)).

The eviction timeline, step by step

Serve the right notice and let it expire. The clock and the wording come from § 70-24-422 or § 70-24-441.
File for possession. After termination you may bring an action for possession, rent and actual damages from the breach (§ 70-24-427(1)).
The tenant answers in 5 business days after service of the summons and complaint, not counting the day of service (§ 70-24-429(4)).
Hearing within 10 business days of the tenant's appearance or the answer date in the summons. Cases under § 70-24-321(3) get a hearing within 5 business days (§ 70-24-427(2)(a)).
Ruling within 5 days of the hearing. If you win possession, the court issues a writ of possession and a writ of assistance at once, and the sheriff executes the writ of assistance within 5 business days of receiving it (§ 70-24-427(4)).
Damage claims come later. A hearing on damages happens within 45 days after possession and rent are settled (§ 70-24-427(2)(b)).

Two things to stay away from. Locking a tenant out, or cutting heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas or other services on purpose, lets the tenant take back possession or end the lease and collect the greater of 3 months' rent or treble damages (§ 70-24-411). And a tenant who stays on in bad faith after a proper termination can owe you up to 3 months' rent or treble damages, whichever is greater (§ 70-24-429(2) and (3)).

Repairs and habitability

You have to meet building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, keep the unit fit and habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, keep electrical, plumbing, heating and similar systems in good working order, supply running water and reasonable hot water at all times, supply reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1, and install working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in each unit (§ 70-24-303).

Tenant remedies bite fast. After written notice of a breach affecting health and safety, you get 14 days to fix it or the lease ends 30 days after the notice. In an emergency you get 3 working days. A tenant may make repairs costing no more than one month's rent and deduct the cost from rent, and in an emergency may hire a qualified contractor without that dollar limit (§ 70-24-406).

The short version

No deposit cap, no escrow account required for an owner
Deposit list and refund within 30 days, or 10 days if you deduct nothing
No written move-in condition statement means no damage or cleaning deductions
No statutory late-fee cap, so keep the fee in the lease and reasonable
24 hours' notice before entry
30 days' written notice from either side to end a month-to-month
3 days' written notice for unpaid rent, 14 days for most other breaches
Tenant answers in 5 business days, hearing inside 10 business days

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks deposit deadlines, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records a Montana court would ask for, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to a Montana attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.