Montana broadened who can sue to enforce a covenant
Montana broadened who can sue to enforce a covenant
2026-09-15 · Montana · Legislation
What happened. Since October 1, 2025, an individual Montana owner no longer needs the board's cooperation to enforce a covenant. The statute now says who may sue, and the list is three items long.
The new standing list
House Bill 325, “Revise covenant laws,” introduced by Rep. S. Fitzpatrick, became Chapter 258, Laws of 2025. Signed May 1, 2025, effective October 1, 2025. It rewrote the opening subsections of Mont. Code Ann. § 70-17-210 so that an action may be brought by:1
“(a) a party to an agreement containing real property covenants, conditions, or restrictions or the party's successors in interest; (b) the owner of an interest in real property burdened or benefited by a covenant, condition, or restriction; or (c) a homeowners' association or other governing body of a real property development…”
The bill also replaced “parcel owner” and “parcel” with “owner of an interest in real property” and “property” throughout, and extended the venue for recording a notice of abandonment to “the county where the property is situated.”
What stayed
The fifteen-year dormancy bar in subsection (3)(a) survives, as do its six exceptions in (3)(b): compliance with federal, state or local law; an easement or right-of-way; maintenance of infrastructure; a court order or governmental approval; utility installation, maintenance or removal; and nuisance abatement. One of those was re-worded — the infrastructure carve-out now reads “for the maintenance of infrastructure or improvements serving the real properties burdened or benefited by the covenants,” where it previously said “in the development.”
Keep reading with the Montana State Pass
The rest of this analysis — what an association can actually do, the recent bills and rulings, and how Montana compares nationally — is for subscribers. $49/month for every Montana topic on HOA Weekly.
$49/month, $449/year, or a $19.99 day pass.
What you unlock
- The board is no longer the gatekeeper
- What a board is likely to see more of
- The reading trap this bill created
and 1 more section in detail
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Recurring monthly subscription · Cancel anytime · Need help?
Related Montana HOA Topics
- House Bill 325 (2025), enrolled bill with strike-and-insert text — Chapter 258, Laws of 2025 (Montana Legislature document store) ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. § 70-17-210 — merged current text and history note (Montana Code Annotated, official) ↩
- Montana Legislature session-law effective-date record for HB 325 — all sections effective October 1, 2025 ↩
Stay on top of Montana HOA law
Every week: new Montana legislation, court rulings, and regulatory developments affecting condos, planned communities, and property managers. Free.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.