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Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities
General Provisions
Montana law recognises that both tenants and landlords have an
interest in maintaining the rental unit and that the tenant/landlord
relationship is by nature a symbiotic one. Tenants need landlords to provide
a place for them to live and without tenants, landlords would be deprived
of a source of income. Correspondingly, tenants and landlords have responsibilities
to one another. Generally, tenants have a responsibility to pay the
landlord rent in a timely manner and to maintain and care for the landlords
property (
MCA 70-24-201
,
70-24-321
). Alternately, landlords have a responsibility to provide the tenant
with a fit and habitable dwelling and to maintain the premises for which
the tenant is paying (
MCA 70-24-302
,
70-24-303
).
Providing a fit and habitable dwelling means that the rental
unit must comply with local building codes affecting health and safety
and must have at least basic amenities such as heating, hot and cold
running water, electricity, proper plumbing, a smoke detector and adequate
ventilation. Landlords must also maintain any and all appliances supplied
as part of the rental agreement (
MCA 70-24-303
). In addition, rules and regulations set forth by the landlord
must be applied and enforced uniformly and fairly (
MCA 70-24-311
).
The tenant has a corresponding responsibility to maintain the
dwelling, as far as it is in their control, and to keep the unit safe
and reasonably clean. Tenants must dispose of all waste in accordance
with health and safety codes. The tenant may not destroy, deface, damage
or remove any part of the premises and must use the areas within the dwelling
unit as they are designed to be used. For instance, a kitchen may not be
turned into a ceramics studio. Also, the tenant may not unduly harass or
disturb neighbours or use the rental in such a way so as to interfere with
neighbour's peaceable enjoyment of their premises (
MCA 70-24-321
).
Maintenance of Premises and Property
Damages and Repairs
As stated above, the landlord must keep the premises in fit and
habitable condition. The tenant has a corresponding obligation to treat
the rental unit with care. If the tenant or a guest of the tenant accidentally
or intentionally damages the rental property, the tenant is responsible
for covering cost of repairs and/or replacement. Tenants must promptly
notify the landlord of any damage to the unit.
Occasionally, repairs will be necessary through no fault of the
tenant. Before asking the landlord to do repairs, tenants should make
sure that: (1) the repairs are not for damages which are the tenants fault,
and (2) the damages affect the fitness and habitability of the rental
unit. If the tenant thinks the damages might pose a serious health or
safety hazard, they should arrange for the county or city building inspector
to examine the rental unit. The inspector will normally notify the owner,
in writing, of any defects.
Tenants may never withhold rent
to induce the landlord to perform repairs. Montana law recognizes
that tenants need effective processes to ensure prompt repairs, but
it draws a sharp distinction between these processes and prompt rent
payment. Withholding rent in order to force repairs is improper; in response,
the landlord can terminate the rental agreement on three days notice
and sue the tenant for up to three times the amount of rent (see
Termination
and Eviction
in Ending the Rental Agreement
).
If a repair needs to be made and it is the landlord's responsibility
to make the repair (i.e. the tenant did not cause the damage and the
repair is necessary to keep the premisis in a habitable condition or to
maintain appliances provided by the landlord) the tenants first step is
always to inform the landlord of the problem. None
of the tenants rights to have repairs made arise until the landlord has
been notified of the problem. As a rule, the notification should
be in writing and sent to the landlord via certified mail with a copy retained
for the tenant's records. Some repairs, however, may necessitate notifying
the landlord in a more prompt manner than that provided by the US Postal
Service. In such cases, the tenant may choose to notify the landlord in
person or by phone or e-mail. Like verbal rental agreements, verbal notification
is recognized by Montana law. A landlord may not refuse to make necessary
repairs because notice was not given in writing. However, a tenant who
gives verbal notification would be well advised to send the landlord a
certified letter documenting the prior notification so as to avoid the possibility
of a landlord claiming that notification was, in fact, not given.
Montana law specifies a time period of 14 days for the repair
of problems in the unit that materially affect health and safety of the
premesis. If the problem results in a case of emergency, the problem must
be fixed in 3 days. In the initial notification letter, the tenant may specify
that if the repair is not completed within 14 days the rental agreement
will terminate in 30 days. In the case of an emergency, the tenant may
specify that the rental agreement will terminate immediately if the repair
is not completed in 3 days. If the landlord fails to have the necessary
repairs made within the proper time period the tenant has a variety of
options for having the repair made, if they do not wish to terminate the
agreement.
Option 1: Repair & Deduct
If the cost of the repair is less than one month's rent, the tenant
may have the repair made, pay for it, and deduct the cost from the next
month's rent. The repair must be made by a professional and a copy of
the receipt should be included with the next month's rent payment. This
method, commonly known as "repair and deduct", may not be used to make
repairs costing more than one month's rent. In addition, the tenant may
file a Small Claims Court
charge against the landlord to recover any damages s/he incurred
due to the landlord's negligence.
Option 2: Injuctive Relief
If the cost of the repairs is more than one month's rent, the tenant
may seek "injunctive relief" to force the landlord to comply with his/her
responibilities to maintain the premisis. To do this, the tenant must file
a complaint in the Justice Court specifying the repairs which are necessary
and requesting a court order requiring that the landlord have the repairs
made in a timely manner. As in option 1 above, the tenant may recover
any damages incurred due to the landlord's negligence through the
Small Claims Court
.
Options 1 and 2 are generally
employed by tenants to have minor repairs made that do not affect the
delivery of essential services. If the failure of the landlord to make
the required repairs results in the interuption or loss of essential
services such as heating or running water, the tenant may either utilize
option 1 or 2 or pursue one of the following options.
It is important to note that in pursuing options 3,4 or 5, the tenant
gives up his/her right to pursue options 1 or 2. In all cases,
the landlord must first be notified of the problem and be given an adequate
amount of time in which to fix it.
Option 3: Obtaining Service
The tenant may obtain reasonable amounts of the service from some
other source and deduct the cost of the service from the next month's
rent, and continue to do so until the landlord has made the necessary
repairs, provided, of course, that the costs do not exceed the amount
of rent. For example, if the landlord fails to repair the furnace, resulting
in the loss of heat, the tenant, after notifying the landlord of the problem,
may purchase a space heater and deduct its cost along with the increased
amount of the electricity bill from the next month's rent. In this case,
the space heater would belong to the landlord once its cost has been deducted
from the rent.
Option 4: Substitute Housing
The tenant may procure substitue housing until such time as the
landlord has made the necessary repairs. During this time the tenant
is not required to pay rent to the landlord.
Option 5: Diminished Fair Rental Value
The tenant may recover damages from the landlord based on the diminished
fair rental value of the unit. The idea here is that if the unit is
worth $300 per month when everything is in good working order, it is
worth less when everything isn't working. If the running water has stopped
working, the unit may only be worth $150 per month. Montana law doesn't
specify what diminished fair rental value is in monetary terms for specific
situations, so it is up to the tenant and the landlord to work out
exactly how diminished the rental value is. If they cannot come to
an agreement, the Small Claims Court judge may ultimately decide.
Utilities
The rental agreement should specify which utilities the landlord
provides and which the tenant is responsible for. The landlord must
provide garbage cans, unless otherwise specified in the rental contract,
but you may be required to pay for garbage pick-up.
If the landlord controls the
heat, s/he must supply it between October 1 and May 1. If the tenant
is responsible for the heating bills, Montana Power cannot shut it off
from November 1 through April 1 unless it receives permission from the
Public Service Commission.
If you need help paying for your utility bills, apply through
the Human Resource Council (see Montana Resource
Directory
) for assistance from the "Low Income Energy Assistance Program
(LIEAP)" or "Energy Share". LIEAP is designed to help low income individuals
or families who cannot afford to pay their full heating bills during
the winter, based on family and house size, annual income, and the type
of heat you use (electric or gas). Energy Share is a state program, providing
emergency assistance in paying power bills for those without the funds
to pay their own bills. Assistance is available from October 1 through
April 30.
Fire Safety
Be sure your dwelling conforms to fire safety codes. If you are
not familiar with general fire prevention practices, consult your local
fire department.
Use stoves and fireplaces properly and carefully. Plug electric
ranges into an outlet. Do not wire them directly into the wall. Make
sure fireplaces and wood stoves have safe, clean chimneys or other outside
ventilation sources. Keep combustible materials, such as wood and paper,
at least four feet from wood stoves.
Use and maintain smoke detectors. All landlords
are required to install a certified smoke detector, at their expense,
in each dwelling unit under their control.
It is the Tenant's responsibility to properly maintain these detectors
(i.e. replacing batteries when necessary and reporting to the Landlord
if the detector seems to be malfunctioning). Use ionization or photoelectric
smoke detectors, not heat detectors. There should be at least one smoke
detector per dwelling unit. The tenant should check to make sure smoke detectors
are properly installed, and s/he also might want to install additional smoke
detectors as needed. However, if the tenant installs a smoke detectors
on the wall, it may become the property of the landlord.
Follow the guidelines below to ensure that your smoke
detector is properly placed:
1. A smoke detector's primary function is to awaken sleeping
persons and warn them of a dangerous fire. As such, the most important
rule for locating a smoke detector is that the detector be between the
bedrooms and the rest of the house, but closer to the bedrooms.
2. Place smoke detectors on the ceiling or on a wall six to 12
inches from the ceiling. Never install within six inches of where the
wall and the ceiling meet. This is usually dead air space and smoke tends
to miss it.
3. Do not place smoke detectors near vents, heating ducts, and
other sources of air current which may keep smoke from reaching the
detector.
4. Do not place smoke detectors in or adjacent to the kitchen
or bathrooms where cooking, steam, etc. might unnecessarily set off the
alarm.
5. Avoid placing detectors on a ceiling which is significantly
warmer or colder than the rest of the room because a thermal barrier
might exist which prevents smoke from entering the smoke detector. This
is of primary concern with mobile homes, poorly insulated houses, outside
ceilings, and outside walls. If you live in a mobile home, never install
the detector on the ceiling or any outside wallsuse an interior wall.
6. For multistory homes, place a detector on each level of the
house, preferably at the top of stairwells. Don't forget to put one
in the basement.
7. Follow the manufacturer's installment directions carefully.
Smoke detectors are effective life saving alarms,
but they save lives and property only if maintained properly. Follow these
rules to keep your alarm working.
1. Test your alarm once a month. Some smoke alarms have a "test
button." However, this is not always reliable. It may test the electrical
circuit only and not the alarm's ability to detect smoke adequately.
To test properly, hold a candle six inches under the detector. To test
ionization alarms, let the candle burn. To test photoelectric alarms, extinguish
the candle and let the smoke drift into the detector. The alarm should
sound within 20 seconds. If it does, fan the smoke away to stop the alarm,
and leave as is: the alarm is ready.
2. Replace batteries as needed but at least once a year. Keep
spares handy.
3. Replace light bulbs in photoelectric detectors as needed.
Keep spares handy.
Renter's Insurance
Renters may have property of considerable value in the apartment
or house. The landlord's insurance probably will not cover damage which
occurs to tenant's property due to fire, theft, broken water pipes, or
natural disaster. Thus, tenants should consider purchasing renter's insurance.
Renter's insurance is designed to cover only losses of the tenant's property,
not the landlord's. Tenant's seeking insurance should call a variety
of insurance agents to get the policy that meets their needs for the
best price. Yearly premiums are based on the value of the property the
tenant is insuring and generally range from $50 on up. If the tenant
is a student under age 21, their property may be covered by their family's
homeowner policy.
Landlord's Right to Access; Tenant's Right to Privacy
(
MCA 70-24-312
,
70-24-410
,
70-24-424
)
Both tenant privacy and landlord access are protected under Montana
law. Landlords cannot abuse their right of access, nor can tenants unreasonably
withhold consent from the landlord or the landlord's agent to lawfully
enter the unit. In particular:
1. The tenant cannot unreasonably deny
access to the landlord in order to inspect the premises, make
repairs or improvements, supply services, or show the dwelling to prospective
tenants, purchasers, workers, contractors, etc.
2. The landlord cannot abuse the right of access to harass the
tenant. Except in emergencies or unless it is impracticable to do so,
the landlord must give the tenant
24 hours notice (verbal or written) of her/his intent to enter the premises.
The landlord can enter only at reasonable times. Notice may be considered
impractable if the tenant is absent from the dwelling for an extended
period.
3. The landlord can enter the premises without 24 hour notice
only: a) in an emergency; b) if s/he has a court order or; c) if the
rental agreement contains a provision allowing the landlord access when
reasonably necessary in cases where the tenant is absent more than seven
days.
4. If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry
in an unreasonable manner (such as an entry at an unreasonable time),
or makes repeated demands for access which harasses the tenant (for
example, giving the tenant a 24 hour notice every day for a week), the
tenant may obtain injunctive (court ordered) relief from the Justice
Court or terminate the rental agreement (
MCA 70-24-410
). On the other hand, if a tenant refuses access to the landlord,
the landlord may obtain injunctive relief from the Justice Court to force
the tenant to allow access or terminate the rental agreement (
MCA 70-24-424
). In cases of abuse by the landlord or refusal by the tenant of
access, the law allows for recovery of actual damages through the
Small Claims Court
.
5. The tenant may not remove, replace or add a lock to the premises
without the written permission of the landlord. If the tenant adds or
replaces a lock not supplied by the landlord, then the tenant must provide
a key to ensure that the landlord will continue to have the right of access.
If the tenant fails to supply a key, then the landlord may either obtain
an order from the court or terminate the rental agreement.
Road Maintenance Obligations (Mobile Homes)
The mobile home park landlord must keep common roads within the
park in safe condition, including arranging for snow plowing when needed
to make the roads passable.
Section 8 (Subsidized) Housing
Landlord Responsibilities (Section 8)
Section 8 landlords are required to maintain
their units in accordance with
MCA 70-24-303
(see Subsidized Housing
) and with federal Housing Quality Standards. MDOC local agents
may perform inspections of Section 8 housing once a year, or in response
to a tenant complaint, to insure that all units are meeting the standards.
If a defeciency is found the landlord will recieve a deficiency letter
stating what the landlord needs to do to bring the unit into compliance
and specifying a period of time in which the repairs must be made. If
the defect is life threatening, the landlord must correct the problem
in 24 hours. After the deficiency has been fixed, the tenant must call
the local Section 8 agency to schedule another inspection to verify that
the problem has been fixed. The landlord should verify with the local
agency that a reinspection has been scheduled. MDOC will not issue a rent
check to the landlord until a reinspection has been completed.
In Moderate Rehabilitation units, landlords are responsible for
repairing all damages to the unit, even those caused by the tenants.
The landlord may, however, seek compensation for damages to the unit caused
by the tenant in Civil Court and/or terminate the rental agreement.
Landlords are also reponsible for enforcing all tenant obligations
under the lease. It is not the reponsibility of MDOC or their local
field agents to ensure tenant compliance with the lease. If the unit
is to be occupied by a disabled person, it is also the landlord's responsibility
to make any nessecary modifications to the unit though these modifications
may be at the tenant's expense.
Tenant Responsibilities (Section 8)
All Section 8 tenants are required to abide by
Montana tenant/landlord law in regards to the care
and maintainence of the unit they are renting. Tenants are responsible
for correcting any breach of the Housing Quality Standards that were
caused by the tenant, within the amount of time specified by MDOC. If
the breach is life threatening, the tenant must correct the situation
in 24 hours.
In addition to these responsibilities, tenants must supply all
information that MDOC, its local agents or HUD determines is necessary
for the administration of the program. The family must also provide
local Section 8 agents with at least a 30 day written notice if they
intend to terminate their rental agreement or a copy of any eviction
notice from the owner of the unit. Families are also required to notify
their local agents of any change in the composition of the household.
No family members may be added to the household without prior consent
from MDOC.
Also see Subsidized Housing
.
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General Provisions
Montana Residential Landlord Tenant Act