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Montana security deposit laws set fewer hard rules than most states do, but the ones they set are strict. Under the state’s Residential Tenants’ Security Deposits Act (Title 70, chapter 25), a Montana deposit works like this:
- No cap. Montana sets no maximum on the deposit amount (70-25-101).
- 30 days to return it, or 10 days when nothing is deducted (70-25-202).
- A written itemized list of any damage and cleaning charges is mandatory. Fail to send it and you forfeit the right to keep any of the deposit for those costs (70-25-203).
- Wrongful withholding costs the amount back, plus the other side’s attorney fees at the court’s discretion (70-25-204).
One correction worth making at the top, because it appears in a lot of older Montana deposit guides: the penalty for keeping a deposit unlawfully is the amount owed, not double it. Montana is not a double-damages state. Every rule below is checked against the current statute, last amended in 2025. To see how Montana compares with stricter states, start with our guide to landlord-tenant laws by state.
How Much Can a Landlord Charge for a Security Deposit in Montana?
Whatever the market will bear. Montana is one of the states with no statutory ceiling on the deposit amount, so the number is set by the lease rather than a cap (70-25-101). One month’s rent is common, and a larger deposit for a higher-risk applicant is legal.
What you cannot do is rename the money to escape the deposit rules. Montana defines a security deposit broadly: a fee or charge for cleaning and damages, no matter how it is designated, is presumed to be a security deposit (70-25-101). So a “non-refundable cleaning fee” or a “non-refundable damage fee” is treated as part of the deposit and comes back to the resident unless you follow the deduction and itemization steps below. A charge for a genuinely separate service can sit outside the deposit, but anything tied to cleaning or damage will be read as deposit money.
What Can a Landlord Deduct From a Security Deposit in Montana?
A Montana landlord may take deductions for a short list of things (70-25-201):
- unpaid rent and any late charges the lease provides for
- unpaid utilities the resident was responsible for
- penalties due under the lease
- damage beyond normal wear and tear, meaning loss or deterioration caused by the resident, their household, or their guests
- actual cleaning expenses needed to bring the home back to its move-in condition, including a reasonable charge for the landlord’s own labor
What the deposit can never absorb is normal wear and tear: the faded paint, light carpet wear, and small scuffs that come from ordinary living. Charging for those is the fastest way to lose a deposit dispute.
Cleaning carries an extra step landlords routinely miss. You cannot deduct cleaning charges until you have given the resident written notice that describes the cleaning left undone and gives them 24 hours to handle it themselves (70-25-201). Bill for cleaning without that notice and the deduction does not stand. Routine, cyclical upkeep cannot be charged to the resident at all unless their neglect is what forced you to do it.
What Must a Montana Landlord Give You at Move-In?
A written statement of the home’s condition, handed over when the lease is signed. Any landlord who collects a deposit must give the resident a separate written statement describing the present condition of the premises at the start of the lease (70-25-206). This is the record Montana builds its whole damage analysis around, and skipping it is costly: a landlord who never provided the statement is barred from keeping any part of the deposit for damage or cleaning unless they can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the resident caused the damage during the tenancy.
For residents, that statement is your starting line. Read it before you sign, write in anything already broken or dirty, photograph the place on move-in day, and keep the dated photos somewhere you will still have them a year later. The same record protects both sides when it is time to leave.
How Long Does a Landlord Have to Return a Security Deposit in Montana?
30 days, and only 10 days when there is nothing to deduct. Within 30 days of the tenancy ending or the resident surrendering the home, whichever comes first, the landlord must deliver a written list of any rent due plus damage and cleaning charges, along with a check for the balance (70-25-202). When the inspection finds no damage, no cleaning needed, no unpaid rent, and the resident can show no unpaid utilities, the deadline drops to 10 days for the full refund.
That 10-day fast track came in with the 2023 amendment to the statute (Ch. 383, Laws of 2023). The option to refund by electronic transfer, cash, check, or mail is newer: it arrived with the 2025 amendment (Ch. 656, Laws of 2025, enacted as HB 444). If a Montana guide you are reading predates either change, treat its timelines with suspicion.
One myth to retire: some sources say Montana landlords get up to 60 days. They do not. The statute allows 30 days, measured from the earlier of termination or surrender, and there is no 60-day backstop anywhere in it.
What Happens If a Landlord Wrongfully Withholds the Deposit?
The landlord owes the money back and can be ordered to cover the resident’s legal costs. When a landlord keeps a deposit, or part of one, without a lawful basis, Montana makes them liable for an amount equal to the sum wrongfully withheld or deducted, and the court may award attorney fees to whichever side prevails (70-25-204). Here Montana diverges from many states: liability tops out at the amount wrongfully withheld.
Two separate slip-ups each cost a landlord the deductions. Failing to send the itemized list forfeits the right to withhold anything for damage or cleaning (70-25-203). Failing to provide the move-in condition statement bars damage and cleaning deductions unless the landlord meets that clear-and-convincing bar. Either one turns a defensible deduction into a full refund.
Residents get one piece of protection that surprises people. You do not lose your claim by forgetting to leave a forwarding address. Montana law states plainly that failing to give the landlord a new written address does not bar you from recovering what you are owed (70-25-205). Leaving one still helps you get the check faster and to the right place. A resident who is stonewalled can file in small claims court, which in Montana handles disputes up to $7,000 (25-35-502). Our renters’ guide walks through the wider set of rights that come with a lease.
How Montana Landlords Stay on the Right Side of These Rules
Nearly every rule above rewards the same handful of habits, and most deposit fights are decided by paperwork created months before anyone moves out. The essentials:
- Give the written condition statement at signing. Without it, Montana law presumes you cannot deduct for damage or cleaning at all.
- Photograph move-in and move-out. Dated photos plus a signed condition statement turn “that was already there” into a checkable claim.
- Send the cleaning notice before charging for cleaning. The 24-hour cure step is easy to forget and fatal to the deduction if you skip it.
- Calendar day 20. Mail the itemized list and refund early enough that a holiday week cannot push you past day 30, or past day 10 on a clean move-out.
The same record-keeping pays off across the whole tenancy. Our guide to managing a rental property covers the inspection and documentation systems that make move-outs uneventful.
FAQ
Is there a limit on security deposits in Montana?
No. Montana sets no statutory maximum on the deposit amount, so it is governed by the lease and the market. One caveat matters: a fee tied to cleaning or damage counts as part of the deposit no matter what you call it, so you cannot stack a “non-refundable” cleaning fee on top of the deposit to get around the rules.
How long does a landlord have to return a deposit in Montana?
30 days from the end of the tenancy or the surrender of the home, whichever comes first, together with a written itemized list of any damage and cleaning charges. If there is nothing to deduct and the resident shows no unpaid utilities, the full deposit is due back within 10 days.
Does Montana require landlords to pay interest on security deposits?
No. Montana’s security deposit statute contains no requirement to pay interest, so the deposit comes back in the amount it went in, minus any lawful and itemized deductions.
Can a Montana landlord charge a non-refundable cleaning fee?
Not as a way around the deposit rules. Montana treats any fee or charge for cleaning and damages as a presumed security deposit regardless of the label, which means it is refundable unless the landlord follows the notice, itemization, and deadline requirements for a lawful deduction.
What can I do if my Montana landlord will not return my deposit?
Send a written request that includes your forwarding address, then file in small claims court, which handles claims up to $7,000. If the withholding was unlawful, the court can order the landlord to return the amount wrongfully kept and may award attorney fees to the prevailing party. Bring your move-in condition statement, dated photos, and the relevant dates.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and every situation is different. For guidance on a specific situation, talk to a Montana-licensed attorney.
