Montana eviction law

If rent is unpaid when due, give the tenant written notice of the nonpayment and of your intention to terminate the lease if the rent is not paid within 3 days. If the tenant does not pay within those 3 days, you may terminate and the tenant must move out.

MCA 70-24-422(2)

• Deliver notices by hand, or by mail with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail; mailed notice counts as served 3 days after mailing. MCA 70-24-108(1)(d)
• Email works only to an address the tenant gave in the rental agreement, and it is complete when you get a read receipt or a reply that is not automatic. You may not require a tenant to provide an email address. MCA 70-24-108(1)(c) MCA 70-24-202(4)
• Accepting full payment of the rent due waives the nonpayment breach. Accepting a partial payment waives nothing, including the rest of the rent. MCA 70-24-423
• Late fees and other charges agreed in the lease count as rent under the Act. MCA 70-24-103(14) See Rent and late fees on the Montana page

For most other breaches of the lease or of the tenant's duties, give written notice describing the breach and stating that the lease will end and the tenant must move out on a date at least 14 days after the tenant receives it. If the breach can be fixed and the tenant fixes it before that date, the lease does not end.

MCA 70-24-422(1)

• The notice period is 3 days for an unauthorized pet, an unauthorized person living in the unit, or verbal abuse of you; for verbal abuse, the lease does not end if the tenant adequately remedies it. MCA 70-24-422(1)(b) MCA 70-24-422(1)(c) MCA 70-24-422(1)(f)
• If substantially the same breach recurs within 6 months after a notice, you may terminate on at least 5 days' written notice. MCA 70-24-422(1)(e)
• You may terminate on 3 days' written notice if the tenant damages or removes part of the premises, or creates a reasonable risk of damage or of injury to neighbors, such as drug manufacturing, a clandestine lab, gang activity or unlawful weapons or hazardous substances. MCA 70-24-422(3) MCA 70-24-422(4) MCA 70-24-321(3)
• If the tenant refuses lawful access, or changes or adds a lock without giving you a key, you may give a 24-hour notice to correct and then a 3-day notice to terminate. MCA 70-24-424
• You may recover actual damages, and treble damages for a purposeful breach, but not treble damages for a tenant ending the tenancy early. MCA 70-24-422(5) MCA 70-24-422(6)
• Accepting rent does not waive a breach other than nonpayment. You may instead use the 30-day notice for a month-to-month tenancy. MCA 70-24-423 MCA 70-24-422(7) See Ending a month-to-month tenancy on the Montana page

After the lease is terminated, you may sue for possession, rent and actual damages. The court must hear the possession case within 10 business days after the tenant's appearance or answer date (5 business days when the lease ended for creating a risk of damage or injury), and rule within 5 days after the hearing.

MCA 70-24-427

• A possession case follows the Montana Justice and City Court Rules of Civil Procedure, except that the tenant has 5 business days after service, not counting the day of service, to answer. MCA 70-24-429(4)
• If you win possession, the court issues a writ of possession and a writ of assistance immediately, and the sheriff must carry it out within 5 business days after receiving it, or at a time you agree with the sheriff. MCA 70-24-427(4)
• A hearing on damages must be held within 45 days after possession and rent are decided. On appeal, the district court must hear the case within 10 business days (5 in risk cases) after it is transmitted. MCA 70-24-427(2)
• If a tenant under a term longer than month to month purposefully and in bad faith stays after a termination for cause, you may recover up to 3 months' periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater. MCA 70-24-429(2)
• The court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the party who wins final judgment, whatever the lease says. MCA 70-24-442
• The general unlawful detainer chapter does not apply to tenancies under the Act, except for forcible entry and forcible detainer. MCA 70-27-101(1)
• In a possession case for unpaid rent, the tenant may counterclaim for any amount owed under the lease or the Act, the court may order the tenant to pay accrued rent into court, and if no rent remains due after the counterclaim, judgment is entered for the tenant. MCA 70-24-421(1)
• The Montana Courts landlord-tenant page offers an Action for Possession packet for landlords, an answering packet for tenants, and a Writ of Assistance form. Start with the packet for your role and the actual case; check the filing court’s current instructions rather than combining forms or deadlines from different procedures. Keep the lease, notice, delivery records, payment ledger, relevant photos and messages together, and follow the summons and any court order for response and appearance requirements. A proposed agreement or payment conversation does not by itself show that a pending case has ended. Montana Courts: landlord-tenant forms and guides

Except after abandonment or surrender, or as the Act permits, you may not take back the home yourself, including by interrupting heat, water, hot water, electricity, gas or other essential services.

MCA 70-24-428

• If you unlawfully remove or exclude the tenant or purposefully cut essential services, the tenant may recover possession or end the lease, and in either case recover up to 3 months' periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater, plus the deposit and prepaid rent if the lease ends. MCA 70-24-411
• A person who cannot show authorization to be there, such as a written rental agreement or permission from you or from a tenant they are visiting, is a trespasser that law enforcement may remove. MCA 70-24-113

If the tenancy ended by court order, property left behind is considered abandoned and you may dispose of it as the law allows. Otherwise, once you have clear and convincing evidence the tenant abandoned it and at least 48 hours have passed, you may remove it and immediately dispose of hazardous, perishable or valueless items, but valueless never includes personal photos, jewelry or other small irreplaceable items.

MCA 70-24-430(1)

• Inventory and safely store anything you reasonably believe is valuable; you may charge reasonable storage, labor and moving costs. MCA 70-24-430(2)
• Then mail the tenant a notice, with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail to the last-known address, that the property will be disposed of at a stated time at least 10 days after mailing. MCA 70-24-430(3)
• If the tenant answers in writing by that day but does not remove the property within 7 days after delivering the answer, it is conclusively abandoned. The tenant must pay the allowed storage costs before taking it. MCA 70-24-430(5)
• You may then sell it at a public or private sale conducted under MCA 30-9A-610 or the sheriff's sale provisions of Title 25, chapter 13, part 7, or, if storage or sale would cost more than it is worth, dispose of it. From sale proceeds deduct costs and money owed, send the rest to the tenant with an accounting, or deposit it with the county treasurer if the tenant cannot be found. MCA 70-24-430(4) MCA 70-24-430(7) MCA 70-24-430(8)
• Items labeled rent to own or leased may be discarded only after the lessor confirms there is no lien, if the lessor is easy to identify and you try to reach them. MCA 70-24-430(1)(c)
• You must give the tenant the terms of this section in plain language as a notification when the lease ends. MCA 70-24-430(9)

You may not raise the rent, cut services, or sue or threaten to sue for possession because the tenant complained to a code agency about a health and safety violation, complained to you in writing about a repair duty, or organized or joined a tenants' union.

MCA 70-24-431(1)

• A tenant facing retaliation has the lockout remedies (possession or termination plus up to 3 months' rent or treble damages) and a defense to your possession case. MCA 70-24-431(2) MCA 70-24-411
• A complaint within 6 months before your action creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation, but not if the tenant complained after notice of a rent increase or service cut. MCA 70-24-431(3)
• You may still sue for possession if the tenant's side caused the code violation, the tenant is behind on rent, or compliance requires work that would deprive the tenant of the unit. MCA 70-24-431(4)