A Montana 3-day eviction notice is a written demand under MCA 70-24-422 that gives a tenant three calendar days to either correct a specific serious lease violation or move out. The statute reserves this short timeline for a defined list of violations, and even after the three days run, the landlord still has to go through court before anyone can physically remove the tenant. Small mistakes in the notice or how it’s delivered are the most common reason these cases fall apart.
When a Landlord Can Use a 3-Day Notice
Not every lease problem qualifies. Under MCA 70-24-422, a landlord can use the three-day timeline only for these situations:1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
- Unpaid rent.
- An unauthorized pet on the premises.
- An unauthorized occupant living in the unit.
- Damage to, defacement of, or removal of any part of the premises.
- Verbal abuse of the landlord.
- Conduct creating a reasonable potential for property damage or injury to neighbors, including drug manufacturing, operating a clandestine lab, gang-related activity, or unlawful possession of firearms or explosives.2Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-321 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit
Other lease violations outside this list get a 14-day notice period, not three days.1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
Which Violations You Can Cure
The three-day window means two very different things depending on the violation.
Unpaid rent, unauthorized pets, and unauthorized occupants are curable. If the tenant pays every dollar owed, removes the pet, or removes the extra person within the three days, the lease stays in place and the eviction cannot go forward.1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
Property damage, verbal abuse, and dangerous activity are not curable. The three-day notice in those cases is a directive to vacate, and nothing the tenant does in that window reverses the termination.1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
There’s also a repeat-violation rule. If a tenant cures a violation and then commits substantially the same one within six months, the second occurrence is handled with a 5-day notice to vacate and no chance to cure.1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
What Has to Be in the Notice and How It’s Delivered
The statute doesn’t require a specific form, but the notice has to be in writing, describe the specific acts or failures that make up the violation, state that the rental agreement will terminate, and give a vacate date at least three days after the tenant receives it. For unpaid rent, the notice must state the landlord’s intention to terminate if the rent is not paid within three days.1Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-422 – Noncompliance of Tenant Generally – Landlord’s Right of Termination – Damages – Injunction
Practical additions help: every tenant’s full name, the property address, and the exact amount of rent owed. Handwritten notices are valid. Vagueness is the easiest thing for a tenant to challenge, so the more specific the description of the violation, the harder it is to attack later.
Delivery is governed separately by MCA 70-24-108, which allows only three methods:3Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-108 – What Constitutes Notice
- Hand delivery directly to the tenant.
- Certified mail or a certificate of mailing.
- Email, but only if the tenant provided an email address in the rental agreement, and only when the landlord receives a read receipt or a non-automated reply.
The statute does not authorize leaving the notice with a roommate, a family member, or anyone else at the residence. Text messages are not an approved method either. Whatever the delivery method, the landlord should keep the receipt, mailing certificate, or email confirmation. Without proof of service, the case is in trouble before it starts.
How to Count the Three Days
The three days are calendar days. Weekends and holidays count. For hand delivery or qualifying email, day one is the day after the tenant receives the notice.
Mail is different. Service by mail is legally deemed to occur three days after the date of mailing, and only then does the three-day notice period start running.3Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-108 – What Constitutes Notice A mailed notice effectively gives the tenant about six calendar days from the mailing date before the landlord can take the next step. Hand delivery is faster.
What Happens If the Tenant Doesn’t Leave
If the deadline passes without a cure or move-out, the landlord has to file a Summons and Complaint for possession in the local Justice Court. Filing fees start at $50 but vary by court.4Madison County, MT. Landlord Tenant Actions This step is not optional. No matter how clear the violation looks, a court order is required before a tenant can be removed.
Once served with court papers, the tenant has five days to file a written answer. That five-day deadline excludes weekends and holidays, unlike the notice period itself. At the hearing, the landlord has to prove the notice was valid, properly served, and the violation actually occurred. If the judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment for possession.
Even a judgment doesn’t give the landlord the power to drag anyone out. If the tenant still won’t leave, the landlord has to request a writ of assistance, which directs the local sheriff to carry out the removal.4Madison County, MT. Landlord Tenant Actions
Trying to shortcut this process is where landlords get into real trouble. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or hauling the tenant’s belongings to the curb all violate MCA 70-24-411.5Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-411 – Unlawful Ouster, Exclusion, or Diminution of Service A tenant locked out this way can sue for damages and can also raise the lockout as a defense or counterclaim if the landlord later files a formal eviction.
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Because the landlord has the burden of proof, small errors in the notice or process can end the case.
Defective Notice or Service
A notice that doesn’t describe the violation, states the wrong deadline, or was delivered by a method the statute doesn’t authorize can be dismissed. A text-message notice is a common example of unauthorized service.3Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-108 – What Constitutes Notice Filing the lawsuit before the three days expire is another case-killer.
Retaliation
A landlord cannot evict a tenant for complaining to a government agency about health or safety conditions, giving the landlord a written complaint about maintenance, or joining a tenant organization. If the tenant did any of those things in the six months before the notice, the eviction is presumed retaliatory and the landlord has to rebut that presumption.6Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-431 – Retaliatory Conduct by Landlord Prohibited
The defense has limits. It doesn’t apply when the tenant caused the code violation, is behind on rent, or when fixing the violation would require demolition or remodeling that makes the unit uninhabitable.6Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 70-24-431 – Retaliatory Conduct by Landlord Prohibited
Habitability Counterclaims
A tenant who asked for necessary repairs the landlord ignored can file a counterclaim in the eviction case. A habitability failure may offset what the tenant owes and can produce money damages against the landlord, though it does not automatically stop the eviction.
Federal Rules That Can Change the Timeline
Montana’s three-day timeline isn’t always the last word.
In federally assisted housing, public housing authorities have to give at least 14 days’ written notice before filing for eviction based on nonpayment of rent. HUD revoked a longer 30-day requirement effective March 30, 2026. Project-based Section 8 properties now follow their lease terms and state law, which in Montana means the standard three-day timeline.7Federal Register. Revocation of the 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent
Active-duty service members and their dependents are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which requires a court order before eviction when the monthly rent falls below a threshold adjusted annually for inflation. A landlord who skips verification and proceeds without a court order risks having the eviction voided and facing federal penalties.
A tenant bankruptcy filing before the landlord gets a judgment for possession triggers the automatic stay under 11 USC 362, which temporarily halts the eviction. The landlord has to wait or get relief from the stay to continue. If the judgment was already entered before the bankruptcy, the stay generally doesn’t block enforcement; the tenant can buy up to 30 days by depositing the next month’s rent with the bankruptcy court clerk and certifying that state law would allow curing the default. The stay also doesn’t protect tenants whose eviction is based on illegal drug use or endangerment of the property.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay