Montana Landlord Retaliation Law: 6-Month Presumption Explained

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Montana landlord retaliation is barred by Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-431, which forbids raising your rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an eviction case after you complain to a code agency, complain to the landlord in writing, or join a tenant union. A protected complaint made within 6 months before the landlord’s move creates a rebuttable presumption that the move was retaliatory, and a proven violation unlocks the money remedy in § 70-24-411.

Montana’s version is narrower than many states’. It protects three specific acts, and one of them only counts if it is in writing. That detail decides a lot of cases, so the sections below start there.

Rule	Montana	Statute
Protected acts	Code complaint to a government agency, written complaint to landlord about § 70-24-303 duties, organizing or joining a tenant union	§ 70-24-431(1)
Retaliatory acts	Rent increase, decreased services, bringing or threatening a possession action	§ 70-24-431(1)
Presumption window	6 months after the complaint	§ 70-24-431(3)
Damages	Up to the greater of 3 months’ rent or treble damages	§ 70-24-411
Utility shutoff to force you out	Prohibited	§ 70-24-428
Attorney fees	May be awarded to the prevailing party	§ 70-24-442

What Montana Protects: Three Specific Tenant Actions

Under § 70-24-431(1), the shield covers you after you have done one of these things:

Complained to a government agency responsible for enforcing a building or housing code, about a violation that materially affects health and safety.
Complained to the landlord in writing about a violation of the landlord’s maintenance duties under § 70-24-303, such as failing to keep plumbing, heat, or electrical systems working.
Organized or joined a tenant’s union or a similar organization.

The written-complaint requirement matters. A phone call or a hallway conversation about a leaking water heater is not on the list. If you have only raised a problem out loud, send a dated letter or email before anything else happens. The repair request letter generator can help you draft one that names the problem clearly.

What Counts as Retaliation in Montana

The statute names three landlord responses: increasing your rent, decreasing your services, and bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession. A threat counts. A text message saying “keep complaining and I’ll file to evict you” fits the statute even if no case is ever filed.

Decreased services can overlap with a separate, harsher rule. If a landlord purposely interrupts heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, or another essential service, § 70-24-428 says that is not a lawful way to take back the unit, and § 70-24-411 gives you a direct claim for it whether or not retaliation is involved.

The Six-Month Presumption and Who Has to Prove What

In any case brought by or against you, evidence that you made a protected complaint within 6 months before the landlord’s act creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation, according to § 70-24-431(3). The statute defines that term: the judge or jury must find retaliation unless and until the landlord introduces evidence that would support a finding that it did not happen.

There is one built-in exception. The presumption does not arise if you complained only after receiving notice of a proposed rent increase or cut in services. A complaint sent after the increase notice can still be protected, but you would have to prove the retaliatory motive without the presumption’s help.

After 6 months, the protection does not vanish. You can still argue retaliation; you simply carry the burden of showing it with timing, statements, and how the landlord treated other tenants.

When the Landlord Can Still File for Possession

Section 70-24-431(4) lists three situations where a landlord may go ahead with an eviction case despite your complaint:

The code violation was caused mainly by a lack of reasonable care by you, a family member, or someone on the premises with your consent.
You are behind on rent.
Fixing the code problem requires alteration, remodeling, or demolition that would effectively deprive you of the unit.

Being current on rent is the single best way to keep the retaliation defense intact. Under subsection (5), a landlord who files under one of these exceptions is still liable under § 70-24-405(2), which allows recovery of up to 3 months’ periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater, when a failure to deliver possession is purposeful and not in good faith.

Montana Landlord Retaliation Remedies

If the landlord violates § 70-24-431(1), subsection (2) gives you two tools. First, you have a defense in any retaliatory possession action. Second, you get the remedies in § 70-24-411: you may recover possession or end the rental agreement, and in either case recover an amount up to 3 months’ periodic rent or treble damages, whichever is greater. If you end the agreement, the landlord must return your recoverable security deposit and all prepaid rent.

Under § 70-24-442, the court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the party that wins final judgment, even if the lease says otherwise. That cuts both ways: losing a weak retaliation claim could expose you to the landlord’s fees.

A Worked Example

Tessa rents a duplex unit in Great Falls for $1,250 a month. On January 6, 2026, she emails her landlord that the furnace has failed and the unit is at 52 degrees, citing his duty to keep heating systems working. On February 20, 2026, he gives her written notice of a $200 rent increase. Because her written complaint came less than 6 months before the increase, § 70-24-431(3) presumes the increase was retaliatory, and the landlord must produce evidence of a legitimate reason.

If a court finds retaliation, § 70-24-411 sets her recovery at up to the greater of three months’ rent ($3,750) or three times her actual damages. Had the landlord’s increase notice arrived on January 2, before her email, the presumption would not apply and Tessa would need other proof.

Related Protections: Lockouts, Utilities and Harassment

Montana bars self-help eviction. Under § 70-24-428, except for abandonment, surrender, or as the act permits, a landlord may not take possession “by action or otherwise,” including by purposely interrupting essential services. Changing the locks or shutting off the power is covered by the same § 70-24-411 damages rule.

Entry is also limited. Section 70-24-312(3) says a landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass you, and generally must give at least 24 hours’ notice and enter only at reasonable times, except in emergencies. A sudden run of inspections after you complain is worth logging as part of a retaliation pattern.

If you rent a lot in a mobile home park, a parallel statute, § 70-33-431, applies the same 6-month presumption and adds mobile home park resident associations to the protected groups.

How to Document It

Keep a copy of every written complaint, with the date it was sent. In Montana the written version is what triggers protection.
If you called a city or county code office, write down the date, the office, and any case number.
Save the rent increase notice, eviction threat, or service cut, and mark its date next to your complaint date.
Keep proof that your rent is paid, since being in default is an exception that defeats the defense.
Run your dates through the landlord retaliation checker to see whether the 6-month window applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a verbal repair request count as protected in Montana?

Not under the landlord-complaint prong of § 70-24-431(1)(b), which requires a complaint in writing. A verbal complaint to a government code agency is a separate protected act under subsection (1)(a). To be safe, follow any conversation with a dated letter or email.

Is the Montana presumption 180 days or 6 months?

Section 70-24-431(3) says 6 months, not a number of days. Some summaries convert it to 180 days, but the statute’s own wording is the safer measure, so treat a landlord act within six calendar months of your complaint as inside the window and act promptly if you are near the edge.

Can I use retaliation as a defense if I owe rent?

Generally no. Section 70-24-431(4)(b) lets a landlord bring a possession action when the tenant is in default in rent, even if the tenant recently complained. Pay what you owe, or keep the rent ready, if you plan to raise retaliation.

What can I recover if the landlord cut off my water after I complained?

Under § 70-24-411, you can recover possession or end the lease, plus up to the greater of 3 months’ rent or treble damages. The same remedy applies to a purposeful shutoff even if you can’t prove a retaliatory motive.

Does joining a tenant association protect me?

Yes. Organizing or becoming a member of a tenant’s union or similar organization is protected under § 70-24-431(1)(c), and mobile home park residents get the same protection for park resident associations under § 70-33-431.

Your Next Step

If you think your landlord is retaliating, line up your written complaint and the landlord’s notice side by side and confirm the gap is under 6 months. Then compare your situation with the rules in the tenant protection laws by state hub, review the general landlord retaliation guide, and check your deposit rights in Montana security deposit law if you plan to end the lease. This page is general information, not legal advice; for help with your own case, use LSC’s get legal help finder to reach legal aid in Montana.

Sources

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