Montana · Repairs · Updated Oct 2026
Montana tenant repair rights
In Montana, ask your landlord for repairs in writing first. Our free letter does it for you.
Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026
Short answer
The landlord must keep the unit fit and habitable, follow building and housing codes affecting health and safety, keep common areas clean and safe, keep electrical, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and supplied appliances working, provide trash receptacles, supply running and hot water and reasonable heat from October 1 to May 1, and install working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (MCA 70-24-303).
- Repair and deduct
- Allowed (with conditions)
- Withholding rent
- Not allowed
- Notice before entry
- 24 hours
Get repairs made, step by step
- Write down the problem and take dated photos or video.
- Ask in writing and keep a copy. In Montana: Give the landlord written notice of the problem.
- Give the landlord the time the rule allows, and let them in to do the work with proper notice.
- If nothing happens, call your local housing or code inspector and talk to legal aid before you stop paying any rent.
- Keep paying rent unless the rule above lets you withhold it and you follow its steps exactly.
Repair request letter for Montana
Ask your landlord in writing to fix the problem by a date. A written, dated request is the first step in almost every state, and it is proof that the landlord knew. Check the problems, add dates, then download the letter as PDF or Word (or copy it). Sign it, keep a copy and photos, and send it in a way you can prove.
Where to get free help in Montana
Repairs in Montana
- The landlord's duty
- The landlord must keep the unit fit and habitable, follow building and housing codes affecting health and safety, keep common areas clean and safe, keep electrical, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and supplied appliances working, provide trash receptacles, supply running and hot water and reasonable heat from October 1 to May 1, and install working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (MCA 70-24-303).
- How to ask for repairs
- Give the landlord written notice of the problem. To end the lease: notice that it will end at least 30 days later if not fixed within 14 days; in an emergency, you may end the lease if the landlord does not fix it within 3 working days after written notice (MCA 70-24-406).
- Repair and deduct
- Allowed for problems affecting health and safety: after you notify the landlord (do it in writing), if the landlord does not repair within a reasonable time, you may make repairs costing no more than one month's rent and deduct the cost from rent. Emergency repairs must be done by a qualified person (MCA 70-24-406(1)(b)).
- Withholding rent
- not allowed (no rent escrow statute).
- Law
- MCA 70-24-303, 70-24-406
Landlord entry in Montana
At least 24 hours' notice, at reasonable times, except in an emergency or if impracticable. Posting the notice on your main entry door counts. The landlord may not use entry to harass you (MCA 70-24-312).
Retaliation in Montana
A landlord may not raise rent, cut services, or file or threaten eviction because you complained to a code agency, complained to the landlord in writing about repairs, or joined a tenants' union. A complaint within 6 months before the landlord's action creates a presumption of retaliation (not if you complained after notice of a rent increase). Remedies: as for lockouts, up to 3 months' rent or treble damages, and a defense to eviction (MCA 70-24-431).
More for Montana renters
- All Montana tenant rights
- Security deposit: Montana
- Eviction: Montana
- Guide: how to get your landlord to make repairs
- Landlord entry notice by state