• State Eviction Directory

• Montana State Guide

• Normal Wear and Tear

• Security Deposit Guide

The Montana EVICTION PROCESS

If a landlord wishes to remove a tenant from a rental unit, the steps s/he can take are limited to terminating the rental agreement, asking the tenant to leave, and finally, taking the tenant to court to get an eviction order. In no instance can the landlord physically remove either the tenant or her/his possessions from the dwelling, nor may s/he change the locks or turn off the tenant's power or other services in order to force the tenant out. Doing so entitiles the tenant, whether in the rental unit wrongfully or not, to collect three month's rent from the landlord.

Before the landlord can bring an " action for possession" ( a legal claim for the tenant's removal from the rental unit ), s/he must first terminate the rental agreement. The landlord can terminate the rental agreement in the following ways ( MCA 70-24-422 ):

1. On Three (3) days, after notifying the tenant in writing if:

• rent is unpaid when due. If the rent is paid within the three days then the notice is void. The three day time is increased to fifteen days for situations requiring the tenant to move a mobile home from rented space 

• the tenant has physically destroyed, defaced, damaged, impaired or removed any part of the premises. The landlord does not have to give the tenant the opportunity to remedy the situation in cases of property damage .

• the tenant is keeping an "unathorized pet", (one not allowed by the rental agreement) on the premises. The rental agreement terminates if the pet is not removed from the premises within those three days. If the pet is removed then the notice is void . If this breach of the rental agreement occurs again within six months, the landlord may terminate on five (5) days written notice , with no opportunity for the tenant to correct the situation .

• there are unauthorized people (people other than are on the contract, or that the landlord has not authorized) residing in the rental. The rental agreement terminates if the unathorized person is not removed within those three days. If the unathorized person does leave within three days, the notice is void ( MCA 70-24-422, 1 (c) ). If this breach of the rental agreement occurs again within six months, the landlord may terminate on five (5) days written notice with no opportunity for the tenant to remedy the situation ( MCA 70-24-422, 1(d) )*.