Montana Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: 180 days
• Governing authority: MCA § 70-24-431(1)

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Montana — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

MCA § 70-24-431 — 禁止房东在租客投诉健康安全违规、书面投诉 70-24-303 违规、或组织/加入租客工会后，报复性涨租/减服务/驱逐。

受保护行为 3 类：①向政府机构投诉健康安全违规；②书面投诉 70-24-303 违规；③组织/加入租客工会或类似组织。

MCA § 70-24-431(1) ↗

The protection window

For 180 days after a protected act, certain landlord actions are presumed retaliatory.

431(3)：租客投诉后 **6 个月（约 180 天）**内的报复行为 → 可反驳推定，举证责任转房东。

MCA § 70-24-431(3) ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

6 个月内报复行为 → 可反驳推定，举证责任转房东；投诉在涨租/减服务通知之后 → 无推定（431(3)）。

MCA § 70-24-431(3) ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

房东仍可驱逐若：①违规系租客过错；②租客欠租；③需改造/拆除（431(4)）。

MCA § 70-24-431(4) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
MCA § 70-24-431(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
MCA § 70-24-431(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
MCA § 70-24-431(1)(a)-(b)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
MCA § 70-24-431(1)(c)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
MCA § 70-24-431(2), 70-24-411	2026-10-16	official text ↗
MCA § 70-24-431(4)	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Montana guides

Montana Security Deposit Return · Montana Security Deposit Rules · Montana Eviction Process · Montana Rent Increase Rules · Montana Repairs & Habitability

→ All Montana tenant rights topics

Common questions