Security Deposit Law
What Montana landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
No limit. Montana law does not cap residential security deposits.
Interest
No. Montana does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits.
Return deadline
30 days to send the itemized list and refund; only 10 days if there are no deductions.
Montana's security deposit statutes (MCA Title 70, chapter 25) regulate deductions and refunds but set no maximum deposit amount. Landlords may charge what the market bears, though one month's rent is common practice.
Nothing in MCA Title 70, chapter 25 requires deposits to be held in an interest-bearing account or interest to be paid to the tenant.
Within 30 days of termination of the tenancy or surrender and acceptance of the premises (whichever occurs first), the landlord must deliver a written list of any rent due and damage and cleaning charges, accompanied by the refund of the balance. If after inspection there are no damages, no cleaning required, no unpaid rent, and the tenant can demonstrate no utilities are unpaid, the deposit must be returned within 10 days. Refunds may be delivered by electronic fund transfer, cash, check, or other forms, or mailed to the tenant's new address — or last-known address if none was provided. Statute text: 'Each landlord, within 30 days subsequent to the termination of a tenancy or within 30 days subsequent to a surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever occurs first, shall provide the departing tenant with a written list of any rent due and any damage and cleaning charges.'
Montana law does not require security deposits to be held in a separate or escrow account, and imposes no bank-disclosure requirement. No section of MCA Title 70, chapter 25, part 2 addresses how deposits must be held.
A landlord who fails to provide the written list of damage and cleaning charges 'shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of the security deposit for the damages or cleaning charges' (§ 70-25-203). A landlord who wrongfully withholds a deposit 'is liable in damages to the tenant in a civil action for an amount equal to the sum determined to have been wrongfully withheld or deducted,' the court may award attorney fees, and the landlord bears the burden of proving the tenant caused the damage (§ 70-25-204).
None identified. Montana security deposit rules are uniform statewide under MCA Title 70, chapter 25; no Montana city is known to impose its own deposit cap, interest, or return-deadline ordinance.
Any landlord who requires a deposit must furnish a separate written statement of the present condition of the premises, signed by the landlord or agent, when the lease is executed. A landlord who skips it 'is barred from recovering any sum for damage to or cleaning of the leasehold premises' unless they can prove the damage by clear and convincing evidence.
Cleaning charges may not be deducted until the landlord gives written notice listing the cleaning not accomplished; after delivery of the notice the tenant has 24 hours to complete the cleaning (unless the lease was already terminated under § 70-24-427 or § 70-33-427 with a landlord claim pending in court). Certified-mail notice is deemed served 3 days after mailing.
Deductions are limited to damage caused by the tenant; unpaid rent, late charges, utilities, lease penalties, and other money owing (including rent owed under § 70-24-441(3)); and actual cleaning expenses including a reasonable charge for the landlord's labor. 'A person may not deduct or withhold from the security deposit any amount for purposes other than those set forth in this section.'
At the request of either party, the premises may be inspected within 1 week before the tenancy ends. Offering this inspection helps document condition and supports any later deductions.
The refund may be delivered by electronic fund transfer, cash, check, or other forms, or mailed to the tenant's new address — or the last-known address if no new one was provided. Mailing to the last-known address is not wrongful withholding if the tenant never gave a new address, though the landlord remains liable for the amount due.
You are barred from recovering anything for damage or cleaning unless you can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the damage occurred during the tenancy and was caused by the tenant or the tenant's family, licensees, or invitees — a much higher bar than normal.
Cleaning charges 'may not be deducted until written notice has been given to the tenant' and the tenant has had 24 hours to do the cleaning; deductions made without this process are unauthorized and expose you to wrongful-withholding liability.
You forfeit ALL rights to withhold any portion of the deposit for damages or cleaning charges, and the tenant can sue for the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees.
If inspection shows no damages, no cleaning needed, no unpaid rent, and the tenant demonstrates utilities are paid, the deadline is 10 days, not 30 — holding the deposit longer risks a wrongful-withholding claim.
Cleaning charges 'may not be imposed for normal maintenance performed on a cyclical basis by the landlord' unless tenant negligence forced the work — such deductions are unauthorized under § 70-25-201(4).
There is no statutory limit. Montana's security deposit law (MCA Title 70, chapter 25) regulates deductions and refunds but does not cap the deposit amount, so landlords set deposits by market practice — commonly one month's rent.
30 days from termination of the tenancy or surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever comes first, with a written list of any rent due and damage/cleaning charges. If there are no damages, no cleaning needed, no unpaid rent, and the tenant shows utilities are paid, the deadline drops to 10 days (MCA 70-25-202).
No. Montana law has no requirement to pay interest on deposits or to hold them in any particular account.
Damage caused by the tenant, unpaid rent, late charges, utilities, lease penalties and other money owing, and actual cleaning expenses including a reasonable charge for your own labor (MCA 70-25-201). Cleaning deductions require prior written notice and a 24-hour chance for the tenant to do the cleaning, and routine cyclical maintenance can't be charged unless the tenant's negligence caused it.
If you fail to provide the written list of damage and cleaning charges, you forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit for those charges (MCA 70-25-203). Wrongful withholding makes you liable for the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney fees at the court's discretion, and you bear the burden of proving the tenant caused the damage (MCA 70-25-204).
Yes. Since 2025, the statute expressly allows refund delivery 'by different forms of payment that include electronic fund transfers, cash, check, or other forms of refund,' or by mail to the tenant's new address — or last-known address if none was given (MCA 70-25-202).
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 11, 2026.
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