A Montana Rental Application can ensure you ask the necessary questions before offering a potential tenant a lease agreement.
You want to screen applicants thoroughly to ensure you have reliable tenants living on your property.
- Montana Rental Application Fees
- Information To Collect With Your Montana Rental Application
- Authorization for Background Check
- How to Conduct an Eviction Records Search in Montana
- Other Landlord Resources
- Montana Housing Discrimination News and Statistics
- How to Write a Montana Rental Application
- Sample Montana Rental Application Form
Montana Rental Application Fees
Application Fees – The Montana Landlord and Tenant Act has no limit on the application fee that a landlord can charge. However, landlords should charge a reasonable application fee approximate to the cost of processing the rental application.
Security Deposits – Montana landlords are allowed to charge a security deposit. The state law does not set a maximum security deposit that a landlord can require of a tenant but the average amount is typically one to two months’ rent.
Pet Deposits – Pet deposits are subject to the same rules and regulations as security deposits in Montana and must be refundable unless deductions are taken.
Information To Collect With Your Montana Rental Application
As you create your rental application in Montana, you may consider asking for these types of information:
Number of Residents
You can ask for the number of people living on your property to ensure they can live in your home safely.
On the other hand, you cannot use the presence of children as a pretext for denying someone from renting your property.
This would violate the Federal Fair Housing Act and Montana fair housing laws.
Level of Income
You should confirm that the potential renter makes enough money to afford to rent your property.
Landlords can ask where the money comes from and how much the renter makes, but you cannot use his or her employment background as a pretext for discriminating against him or her.
Authorization for Background Check
You should conduct a credit check and background check on all potential tenants, but you must get the individual’s permission with a background check authorization form or with a consent statement on the rental application.
Make sure you provide a spot on the application for individuals to give their permission for you to collect this information.
How to Conduct an Eviction Records Search in Montana
- Navigate to the District Courts Public Access Portal
- Select the county court you wish to search
- Follow the county court’s instructions for searching eviction records
Other Landlord Resources
Montana Fair Housing Laws prohibit housing discrimination based on sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin.
Montana Housing Discrimination News and Statistics
While you should collect the necessary information on your rental application, you must ensure you do not discriminate against any potential applicants.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced they settled a lawsuit with Montana developers because they did not ensure their properties were accessible to people with disabilities.
How to Write a Montana Rental Application
When you develop your Montana rental application form, always include your property address at the top.
Then, remember to ask each applicant for his or her prior address history. You may want to reach out to their prior landlords as references.
Finally, you may also want to ask about each renter’s smoking status and pets.
Do you want to make sure you don’t overlook anything? Use our Montana rental application template and screen your residents quickly.
Sample Montana Rental Application Form
Below is an example of a standard Montana rental application form.
You may download this free form or use our document builder to create a customized Montana rental application that covers all the details unique to your real estate needs.