Montana rules for property managers

Since a 2023 law, anyone in the business of leasing or renting Montana real estate for others, including showing units, collecting rent, procuring tenants, or overseeing maintenance, needs a property manager license unless exempt. Applicants need approved education in leasing principles and law and must pass an exam. Licensed brokers may manage property, and salespersons may do so only under a supervising broker.

Owners of the property-owning business and related-family management entities; spouses and close relatives of the owner; a person who leases no more than four residential units; attorneys-in-fact and attorneys; court-appointed persons and trustees; public officers; people who get reduced rent or salary (unless they sign on the trust account); owner employees whose management duties are incidental; a person employed on salary by only one person; managers of licensed lodging establishments.

Property managers must keep real estate trust funds in a trust account at a depository institution. The department can cite trust account violations with a $1,000 fine per violation.

Montana's deposit law sets no maximum. Any fee for cleaning or damage, whatever it is called, is presumed to be a security deposit and must follow the deposit rules.

Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, give a written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges with the remaining balance. If there is no damage, no cleaning, no unpaid rent, and the tenant shows utilities are paid, refund within 10 days. Refunds can go by electronic transfer, cash, check, or mail to the tenant's new or last known address. Before deducting cleaning, give written notice of what needs cleaning and allow 24 hours to do it, unless the tenant left without notice.

We found no Montana requirement to pay interest on deposits or keep them in a particular account. Licensed property managers must still hold client and tenant funds in a trust account.

Montana has no statute limiting late fees. Late charges and other penalties due under the lease can be deducted from the deposit.

We found no Montana statute regulating rental application or screening fees.

Montana has no rent increase notice statute. During a lease, follow its terms. Month-to-month tenancies can be ended on 30 days' written notice, so give at least that much notice before an increase.

Self-governing local governments may not control the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property, and may not add to or change the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act or deposit law.

If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within 3 days after written notice of nonpayment and your intent to terminate, you may end the rental agreement.

For most violations, give at least 14 days' written notice; if the tenant fixes the problem first, the agreement continues. Unauthorized pets, unauthorized occupants, and verbal abuse of the landlord need only 3 days. Damage to the premises or creating a reasonable risk of damage or injury allows a 3-day termination notice. A repeat of the same violation within 6 months allows termination on 5 days' notice.

Either side may end a month-to-month tenancy at any time with at least 30 days' written notice before the end date. Rent is apportioned day by day unless agreed otherwise.

The summons gives the tenant 10 days after service to appear and answer. The court must hold the possession hearing within 10 business days after the appearance or answer date (5 business days for safety cases) and rule within 5 days. If you win, the writ issues immediately and the sheriff carries it out within 5 business days.

After a court-ordered termination, property left behind is considered abandoned and may be disposed of as the law allows. Otherwise, with clear evidence of abandonment and 48 hours passed, you may remove items and discard trash and hazardous, perishable, or valueless items. Inventory and store items of value, then mail notice (certified or with a certificate of mailing) giving at least 10 days to claim them before sale or disposal.

Give at least 24 hours' notice unless there is an emergency or it is impracticable, and enter only at reasonable times. Posting notice on the main entry door counts. Entry may be to inspect, repair, supply services, or show the unit. Tenants may not unreasonably refuse entry or change locks without giving you a key.

Comply with health and safety building codes, make repairs to keep the unit fit and habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, heating, and other supplied systems, provide trash receptacles unless the lease says otherwise, and supply running and hot water and reasonable heat from October 1 to May 1. Install and verify working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at move-in.

At or before the start of the tenancy, disclose in writing the name and address of the manager and of the owner or agent for notices and service. When the lease ends, give a plain-language notice of the abandoned property rules. Give the federal lead disclosure for pre-1978 housing.

The Montana Human Rights Act covers sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, and national origin. A 2023 law, amended in 2025, sets what documentation a landlord may request for emotional support animals.

Landlords may return a security deposit by electronic transfer, cash, check, or other forms, or by mail to the tenant's new or last-known address. Cleaning deductions still require written notice and 24 hours for the tenant to clean.

Creates the crimes of unlawful squatting and fraudulent sale or lease of property. An owner or agent may ask law enforcement to remove a person who cannot show authorization to occupy and to stand by while locks are changed, and an owner who knowingly gives false information must indemnify the agency.

Supporting information for an emotional support animal must now come from a licensed health care practitioner, including license number and type, or from another source the landlord finds reliable under fair housing law. Online registrations alone still do not show need.

People managing an establishment licensed under Title 50, chapter 51 (licensed lodging) no longer need a property manager license.

• NARPM Big Sky Montana Chapter

• Montana Human Rights Bureau
• Montana Fair Housing