Montana law requires landlords to install an approved smoke detector (and carbon monoxide detector) in every rental dwelling unit and verify it works at move-in. Tenants must keep it working during the tenancy. New construction must meet the state-adopted International Fire Code.
Under the Montana Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord 'shall install in each dwelling unit under the landlord's control an approved carbon monoxide detector...and an approved smoke detector' (MCA 70-24-303(1)(g)). The landlord must verify the detectors are in good working order when the rental begins, and the tenant must maintain them during the rental period. Detector installation follows Department of Justice rules (Mont. Admin. R. 23.12.406). For new and remodeled homes, Montana has adopted the International Fire Code (2021 edition) under ARM 23.12.601, which sets smoke-alarm placement in bedrooms, outside sleeping areas, and on each level. Yellowstone County follows these statewide requirements; it does not set a separate detector ordinance.
A landlord who fails to provide required detectors breaches statutory duties under the Landlord-Tenant Act; the landlord is not liable for damages from a detector's later failure once installed (70-24-303(5)).
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