Montana Eviction Process: Notice Periods, Timeline, and Costs

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-422(2) lets you terminate the rental agreement if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within three days after written notice of the nonpayment and of your intention to terminate if the rent is not paid in that period. Count three calendar days from the tenant's receipt, and say both things the statute requires — the amount unpaid and that the agreement terminates if it is not paid — because a notice that only demands rent does not satisfy the section. Delivery must follow Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-108, which governs how notice is given under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-422(1) sets a 14-day cure period for general noncompliance with the rental agreement, but the statute drops to three days' written notice for unauthorized pets, unauthorized persons residing in the unit, destroying, defacing, damaging, impairing, or removing part of the premises, and creating a reasonable potential that the premises will be damaged or neighboring tenants injured. If substantially the same act or omission recurs within six months of a prior notice, you may terminate on at least five days' written notice with no further chance to cure.

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-441 either the landlord or the tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy on at least 30 days' written notice before the termination date named in the notice, and a week-to-week tenancy on at least seven days' notice. Montana has no statewide just-cause eviction requirement, so a no-cause termination is available provided it is not retaliatory or discriminatory.

Most residential evictions are filed in the Justice Court for the county, where the plaintiff's complaint fee is $40 under Mont. Code Ann. § 25-31-112; a District Court action costs $120 under § 25-1-201. Some county Justice Courts add local charges, and you pay separately for service of the summons and complaint and for the sheriff to execute the writ.

Montana gives an evicted tenant five business days from the day after service to file a written answer with the court, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays — noticeably shorter than the 10 days several landlord websites report. The hearing then follows within 10 business days of the appearance or answer date, or within five business days where the claim involves conduct under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-321(3).

Montana moves faster than most states: after the notice period runs, the tenant has five business days to answer, the hearing is set within 10 business days of that date, the court must rule on possession within five days, and the writ of possession and writ of assistance issue immediately with the sheriff executing within five business days of receipt. A contested hearing, a defective notice that forces you to start over, or the separate damages claim — heard within 45 days after possession and rent are decided — stretches it.

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-411 is blunt: if a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant from the premises, or purposefully diminishes services by interrupting heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, or other essential services, the tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement and in either case recover the greater of three months' periodic rent or treble damages. If the tenant terminates, you also owe back all recoverable security and prepaid rent. Only the sheriff, executing the court's writ of possession and writ of assistance, may remove a tenant, and abandoned property must be handled under § 70-24-430 rather than set on the curb.

No changes to Montana's eviction notice periods or summary possession procedure were identified from the 2025 legislative session; the 2025 housing package, including SB 528 and SB 532, addressed zoning, building standards, and housing supply rather than landlord-tenant procedure. Because Montana's legislature meets only in odd-numbered years, the next opportunity for change is the 2027 session.

Montana's notice ladder is unusually granular and choosing the wrong rung is the most common way a landlord loses: three days for nonpayment, three days for unauthorized pets or occupants and for damage or hazard, five days for a repeat of substantially the same breach within six months, 14 days for everything else, and 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy with no cause. Delivery has to follow Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-108, and a notice that omits the statement of intent to terminate is defective even if the day count is right. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not reach every arrangement — hotel stays and some owner-occupied situations fall outside it — so confirm the Act applies before you rely on these periods. An individual owner can file in Justice Court without a lawyer, but a corporation or LLC generally needs one.

• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-422
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-441
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-411