Montana Eviction Notice Requirements

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-422 sets the notice periods before a landlord may file for eviction. If rent is unpaid when due and 'the tenant fails to pay rent within 3 days after written notice,' the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. For most other material noncompliance, the tenant gets a 14-day period to cure before termination takes effect. The statute shortens that to a 3-day notice where the noncompliance 'involves an unauthorized pet' or 'unauthorized persons residing in the rental unit.' If the tenant remedies a curable violation before the date specified in the notice, 'the rental agreement does not terminate.' Eviction itself proceeds through the courts; self-help lockouts are prohibited.

A landlord who uses self-help eviction — lockouts, removing belongings, or shutting off essential services instead of a court action — is liable to the tenant for recovery of possession or termination plus damages (§ 70-24-411). Notices that omit the required cure period are defective.