Facing Eviction in Montana: What Can I Do?
This page covers eviction notices and the court case in Montana. It explains the notice periods, what happens in court, and when a landlord cannot punish you for a complaint.
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If you do not pay rent when it is due, your landlord can give you written notice that the rent is unpaid. The notice must also say your landlord plans to end your lease if you do not pay. You then have 3 days after that notice to pay.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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A notice to you counts if it is handed to you. It also counts if it is mailed with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail. It goes to the place you named for notices, or to your last-known address. Mailed that way, it is served 3 days after the mailing date. Save texts and emails as well; they are also a record of what you sent.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If your landlord says you broke the rental agreement, the written notice must say what you did. It must say the agreement will end and give the date you must move out. The notice period is 3 days in two cases. One is a pet or other people living in the home that the landlord did not approve. The other is verbal abuse of the landlord. For any other problem the notice period is 14 days. If you repeat the same problem within 6 months after a notice, the landlord may end the agreement on at least 5 days' written notice.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Among other cases, the notice period is 3 days if the problem is an unauthorized pet or unauthorized people living in the rental unit. The 3 days count from when you receive the notice.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Some problems can be fixed by repairs, by paying for damage, or by written approval from you and your landlord. If yours can, fix it before the date in the notice. Then your rental agreement does not end.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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In a month-to-month rental, your landlord can end the rental by giving you at least 30 days' notice in writing. The notice names the date the rental ends.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Except as the law allows otherwise, a court case for possession (to take back the home) must be heard within 10 business days. The time counts from the day you appear or from the answer date on the summons (the court papers you were served). In one case the time is 5 business days. That is when your agreement ended because of something done in the home that could damage or destroy it or hurt neighbors. It counts if you did it or knowingly let someone else do it.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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After the hearing, the court must rule within 5 days. If it grants the landlord's claim for possession, it issues a writ (a court order) right away.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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The sheriff carries out the writ of assistance (the court order). The sheriff must do it within 5 business days of receiving it. The sheriff may instead act at a time the landlord and the sheriff agree on.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord may not retaliate (act against you for a complaint) after you report a violation that materially affects health and safety. You report it to a government agency in charge of building or housing codes. Retaliating means raising rent, cutting services, or bringing an eviction case. An inspector can condemn a bad home and make everyone leave.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord may not retaliate (act against you for a complaint). Raising rent, cutting services, and bringing or threatening an eviction case count. The rule applies after you complain in writing to your landlord that your landlord's duties to maintain the home were not met. Those duties include keeping the home fit to live in and keeping electric, plumbing, and heating in good working order. The rule applies after you organize or join a tenant's union or similar group. Some limits apply.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If your landlord retaliates (acts against you for a complaint), you have a defense. The defense works in any action against you for possession. A defense is a reason the court should not rule against you.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If you complained within 6 months before the landlord's act, the court presumes the act was retaliation (acting against you for a complaint). Presume means the judge or jury must find it true unless evidence shows it did not happen. It does not apply if you complained after notice of a proposed rent increase or a cut in services.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Your landlord can still bring an action for possession (an eviction case) in 3 cases. First, the code violation was caused mainly by lack of reasonable care by you, your family, or others there with your consent. Second, you are in default in rent (behind on rent). Third, fixing the violation needs changes, remodeling, or demolition that would effectively take away your use of the unit.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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