Montana tenant screening laws: what landlords need to know

This search did not find a Montana statute capping rental application or tenant-screening fees. The Montana Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 70, chapter 24) does not address application fees, so landlords generally set these fees at their own discretion.

Criminal history is not a protected category under the Montana Human Rights Act (MCA §49-2-305). However, Montana's consumer-reporting law generally bars a consumer reporting agency from including "records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime" that are more than 7 years old from the date of disposition, release, or parole, along with other adverse information older than 7 years (MCA §31-3-112). This reads as a blanket 7-year limit that does not distinguish by report purpose or applicant income, which is more protective in this respect than the federal FCRA (which generally does not cap the reporting of conviction records at all). Because this state-specific limit could affect how a background-check report is compiled, landlords should be cautious about its scope and interaction with the FCRA.

Source of income (including housing vouchers) is not listed as a protected category under the Montana Human Rights Act, and Montana law separately prevents self-governing local units from adding landlord-tenant regulations beyond the state's own statutes (MCA §7-1-111(13)), so a Montana city could not add this protection on its own even if it wanted to.

Montana landlords generally need to satisfy both frameworks: the federal FCRA §615 baseline (authorization, permissible purpose, adverse-action notice naming the reporting agency, dispute rights) and Montana's own investigative-consumer-report disclosure and adverse-action provisions under MCA §§31-3-113 and 31-3-131. These state provisions are independently enforceable, not just a restatement of federal law.

Montana law does not set a dollar cap on security deposits. Deductions are limited to damage caused by the tenant, unpaid rent and related charges, and actual cleaning expenses, with specific notice-and-cure procedures for cleaning charges (MCA §70-25-201, amended in 2025). If there are no damages, no required cleaning, and no unpaid rent or utilities, the landlord must return the deposit within 10 days; if the landlord is withholding any amount, it must generally deliver an itemized list of damages and any refund due within 30 days of the tenancy ending (MCA §70-25-202, also amended in 2025).

Montana has no rent-control law, and state law goes further by prohibiting local self-governing units from regulating "the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property" at all, with a narrow exception for property in which the local government itself has an interest (MCA §7-1-111(26)). Montana is not a just-cause eviction state: a month-to-month tenancy may generally be terminated by either party with 30 days' written notice, and a week-to-week tenancy with 7 days' notice, without needing a specific reason (MCA §70-24-441). For-cause terminations have their own shorter notice periods under MCA §70-24-422 — generally 3 days for unpaid rent (after a pay-or-quit notice), unauthorized pets/occupants, property-damage risk, or verbal abuse; 14 days for other lease noncompliance; and 5 days for a repeat violation within 6 months.

Montana law expressly denies self-governing local units the power to "license landlords or... regulate their activities with regard to tenants beyond what is provided" in the state's landlord-tenant statutes, or to "deviate from or add to" the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the security-deposit law, or the Mobile Home Lot Rental Act — and separately bars them from regulating rent amounts at all (MCA §7-1-111(13), (26)). Consistent with this statewide preemption, this search did not find tenant-screening, source-of-income, or rent-control ordinances specific to Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, or Helena — which is the expected result given how broadly §7-1-111 forecloses local regulation in this area, rather than an oversight in the research. Montana organizes non-city land primarily by county rather than by township, and the same §7-1-111 preemption applies statewide regardless of whether a property sits inside city limits or in an unincorporated county area, so there is no separate county-level tenant-screening layer to check.

Does Montana cap security deposits? No — Montana does not set a dollar limit, though deposits must generally be returned within 10 days (no deductions) or 30 days (with an itemized deduction list).

Is source of income protected in Montana? No. It is not listed under the Montana Human Rights Act, and Montana cities cannot add this protection locally because state law preempts local landlord-tenant regulation.

Can Montana cities pass rent control? No — state law bars local governments from regulating the amount of rent charged on private property, with a narrow exception for government-owned property.

Does Montana limit how far back criminal records can be reported? Generally yes — Montana's consumer-reporting law bars reporting of arrest, indictment, or conviction records more than 7 years old, which appears stricter than federal law in this respect; confirm current interpretation with counsel before relying on this for compliance decisions.

Looking to screen tenants in Montana in line with both FCRA and Montana's own consumer-reporting requirements? Get started with Checkr to run background checks designed to support consistent, compliant leasing decisions.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.