A Montana lease agreement is a legal document that helps a landlord rent out an apartment or house and state all their terms for the tenant.
Written residential rental agreements make it easier and less risky to comprehensively define and describe all the rental property conditions, including the lease term, monthly payment, utilities, parking, late fees, and other items related to leasing a Montana rental.
By Type
Commercial Lease Agreement
Permits an entity to enter into a tenancy so they can use a property for business purposes.
Rent-to-Own Lease Agreement
Establishes a traditional lease agreement and lets the tenant buy the property at the end of the rental period if they want to.
Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
This agreement is subject to monthly renewal, with no specified termination date.
Sublease Agreement
A secondary leasing arrangement is established, maintaining the primary tenant's responsibility to the original landlord.
Room Rental Agreement
Allows tenants to establish usage guidelines and financial commitments for a rented room within a larger space
Laws
Overview
Rent Control: No
Limit on Late Fees: No
Late Fees in Rental Agreement: Yes
Grace Period: No
License Required for Landlord: Yes
Required Lease Disclosures
Familiarize yourself with the disclosures a landlord must include in a lease agreement in Montana:
- Lead-based paint: A landlord renting a residence that was built before 1978 must include a notice that the property may contain harmful lead-based paint (42 U.S. Code § 4852d).
- Methamphetamine production: According to the Montana Code, a landlord must notify a prospective tenant if their property was once used as a space for producing methamphetamine (§ 75-10-1305(3)).
- Presence of mold: A landlord must declare they don’t have knowledge of mold on the premises and provide records of any past instances of mold on the property (§ 70-16-703).
- Move-in checklist: Once a tenant provides a landlord with a security deposit, the landlord must provide a move-in checklist. The tenant can use this document as guidance to inspect the property themselves and check for any existing damage (§ 70-25-206).
- Manager information: The landlord must include the contact information of the manager who has authorization to enter the premises (§ 70-24-301).
Security Deposit
Montana doesn’t specify the maximum amount on the security deposit landlords can charge. A landlord may choose their desired security deposit; standard guidance is one to two months’ rent.
Upon moving out, a tenant is entitled to receive their entire security deposit within ten days if there are no issues with the property’s condition. If the landlord has to make deductions, they must give the tenant an itemized statement and the appropriate funds within 30 days (§ 70-25-202).
Landlord Right of Entry
Unless there’s an emergency, a landlord must provide the tenant with at least 24 hours’ notice before they enter the property (§ 70-24-312).
Small Claims Court
If a landlord refuses to return the security deposit and the tenant has a reason to get it back, the tenant can sue their landlord for up to $7,000 in small claims court (§25-35-502).
Sample
Below is a Montana lease agreement template you can download as a PDF or Word file:
