Sources checked:
Quick answer. Montana: deposit returned within 30 days; 30-day notice to end month-to-month; 3-day notice for unpaid rent; 24-hour entry notice; $7,000 small claims limit. 12 of 23 items are confirmed on official pages; 11 are marked not confirmed, with the page to check.
Key numbers
- Deposit back within
- 30 days
- Month-to-month notice (landlord)
- 30 days
- Unpaid rent notice
- 3 days
- Entry notice
- 24 hours
- Time to answer or appear
- 5 court days
- Judgment to writ
- No wait stated
- Writ to lockout
- Up to 5 court days
- Small claims limit
- $7,000
Security deposit (3 of 6 confirmed)
Law read: MCA 70-25-202 and 70-25-203.
Need the other side served? Process serving with an affidavit of service.
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Not confirmedDeposit limit
Not confirmed — check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund. Not confirmed from official text. Check MCA Title 70, chapter 25.
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ConfirmedReturn deadline
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends or the premises are surrendered and accepted: a written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges with any balance. With no damage, cleaning or unpaid rent: the deposit within 10 days (70-25-202).
No deductions: 10 days
Source: Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund, checked November 2026
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ConfirmedItemized list of deductions
A written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges, with payment of the difference (70-25-202(1)(a)).
Source: Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund, checked November 2026
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Not confirmedInterest on the deposit
Not confirmed — check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund. Not confirmed from official text. Check MCA Title 70, chapter 25.
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Not confirmedWhere the deposit is held
Not confirmed — check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund. Not confirmed from official text. Check MCA Title 70, chapter 25.
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ConfirmedPenalty the law states
Without the written list, the landlord forfeits all rights to withhold for damage or cleaning (70-25-203).
Source: Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-203, Failure to provide list, checked November 2026
More: Security deposit rules by state · Deposit return deadline calculator
Notice periods (3 of 6 confirmed)
What the official text says about each notice. Cities and counties can add their own notice, just-cause or rent rules. Check local rules too.
| Notice | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ending month-to-month (landlord) | 30 days' notice to end a month-to-month tenancy. | Source: Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023), checked November 2026 (MCA 70-24-441(2)) |
| Ending month-to-month (tenant) | Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023). The court packet covers the landlord's notice only. Check MCA 70-24-441. | |
| Rent increase notice | Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023). Not in the court packet. Check MCA Title 70, Chapter 24. | |
| Unpaid rent notice | 3 days after the tenant receives the notice to pay in full or move out. The count starts the day after hand delivery and includes weekends and holidays; mailed notice starts running on the 3rd day after mailing. If mailed, the court packet says the period starts on the 3rd day after mailing. | Source: Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023), checked November 2026 (MCA 70-24-422(2)) |
| Entry notice | At least 24 hours' notice of the intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable. The 2022 text: "Except in the case of 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." 2023 HB 282 (enrolled text on leg.mt.gov) amends other sections of the act, not 70-24-312. | Source: Justia (statute text) (secondary source): 2022 Montana Code Annotated 70-24-312, checked November 2026 (MCA 70-24-312(3)(a)) |
| Late fee limits | Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023). Not in the court packet. Check MCA Title 70, Chapter 24. |
More: Notice periods by state · Notice date calculator
Eviction case, in order (5 of 10 confirmed)
- Notice before filing The written notice comes first; its length is in the notice table above.
Unpaid rent: 3 days after the tenant receives the notice to pay in full or move out. The count starts the day after hand delivery and includes weekends and holidays; mailed notice starts running on the 3rd day after mailing.
- Filing the case Where the case goes and what it costs to start.
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Not confirmedCourt
Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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Not confirmedFiling fee
Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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- The tenant's answer or appearance
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ConfirmedTime to answer or appear
Five business days to file an Answer; the hearing must then be held within 10 business days of the Answer.
You have 5 business days to file your Answer with the Clerk of Court.
Source: Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23), checked November 2026
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- Hearing or trial
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Not confirmedHearing after filing
Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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- Judgment and the writ The order that lets the officer act.
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ConfirmedJudgment to writ
If possession is granted, the court issues the writ of possession and writ of assistance immediately.
the court shall issue a writ of possession and a writ of assistance immediately
Source: Montana Code Annotated 70-24-427: Landlord's remedies after termination, action for possession, checked November 2026
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- Lockout Carried out by an officer, not by either side.
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ConfirmedWrit to lockout
The sheriff executes the writ of assistance within 5 business days of receiving it, unless the landlord and sheriff agree otherwise.
within 5 business days of the sheriff receiving the writ
Source: Montana Code Annotated 70-24-427: Landlord's remedies after termination, action for possession, checked November 2026
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ConfirmedWho carries out the lockout
The sheriff executes the writ of assistance.
within 5 business days of the sheriff receiving the writ
Source: Montana Code Annotated 70-24-427: Landlord's remedies after termination, action for possession, checked November 2026
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- Along the way Paying to stop the case, counsel and diversion programs.
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Not confirmedPaying to stop the case
Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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ConfirmedRight to counsel (statewide)
No statewide right to counsel for tenants in eviction cases (as of November 2026, per the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel): its tracker of enacted laws lists no statewide law here. Local: Bozeman (2025) have their own right-to-counsel laws.
An eviction right to counsel is created by an enacted law that, at a minimum:
Source: National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source): National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel: Enacted Eviction Right to Counsel and Eviction Defense Programs (last modified November 2026), checked November 2026
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Not confirmedDiversion or mediation (statewide)
Not confirmed — check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23). Not confirmed on an official page we opened.
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Example: a case filed Monday, March 1, 2027
The earliest date of each stage the confirmed rules allow, from our eviction timeline estimator. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.
| Stage | Earliest date |
|---|---|
| Case filed | Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Answer due (if served the day of filing) | Monday, March 8, 2027 |
Help the official pages name: Montana Legal Services Association, free legal help for low-income people.
More: Montana eviction process · Eviction timeline estimator
Deposit disputes: small claims
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ConfirmedSmall claims limit (for a deposit dispute)
$7,000: the most a small claims case can ask for.
MCA 25-35-502 (2025 code): small claims jurisdiction over actions for recovery of money or specific personal property when the amount claimed does not exceed $7,000, exclusive of costs, and the defendant can be served within the county where the action is commenced. Last amended 2011 (Ch. 284, L. 2011). A Montana courts justice court form also states real estate eviction cases cannot be filed in small claims.
Filing fee to start a case: $30.
Source: Montana Judicial Branch: Civil Complaints vs. Small Claims (justice court form, rev. 07/13), checked November 2026
More: Montana small claims court
Still to confirm
- Deposit limit: check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund
- Interest on the deposit: check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund
- Where the deposit is held: check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund
- Ending month-to-month (tenant): check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023)
- Rent increase notice: check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023)
- Late fee limits: check Montana Judicial Branch, Commission on Self-Represented Litigants: Giving your tenant notice to vacate (updated April 18, 2023)
- Court: check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23)
- Filing fee: check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23)
- Hearing after filing: check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23)
- Paying to stop the case: check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23)
- Diversion or mediation (statewide): check Montana Judicial Branch: Answering Your Landlord's Complaint to Evict You (05/23/23)
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. The same rules apply whichever side of the lease you are on; this page describes them and doesn't take a side. Rules change, cities and counties can add their own, a lease can add terms, and the official source has the final word.
Common questions
How long does a Montana landlord have to return a deposit?
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends or the premises are surrendered and accepted: a written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges with any balance. With no damage, cleaning or unpaid rent: the deposit within 10 days (70-25-202). What goes with it: A written list of rent due and damage and cleaning charges, with payment of the difference (70-25-202(1)(a)).
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Montana?
From the landlord: 30 days' notice to end a month-to-month tenancy.
What notice comes before an unpaid-rent case in Montana?
3 days after the tenant receives the notice to pay in full or move out. The count starts the day after hand delivery and includes weekends and holidays; mailed notice starts running on the 3rd day after mailing.
How much notice before a landlord enters a rental in Montana?
At least 24 hours' notice of the intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.
How long does an eviction case take in Montana?
Time to answer or appear: 5 court days. Judgment to writ: No wait stated. Writ to lockout: Up to 5 court days. These are the stated rules; the court's calendar often takes longer.
Can a Montana deposit dispute go to small claims court?
The small claims limit in our data: $7,000: the most a small claims case can ask for. The court's own page explains what kinds of cases it hears.
How much can a security deposit be in Montana?
Not confirmed in our data files. Check Montana Legislature: MCA 70-25-202, List of damages and refund (https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0250/part_0020/section_0020/0700-0250-0020-0020.html).
Related: Landlord rules by state · Kits for landlords