Two exceptions that matter, and one of them covers most condominiums

The statute carries two express carve-outs, and which one a Montana board sits in matters:

• Subsection (5) — condominiums. The section does not apply to condominiums “where there are common elements that must be accessed by entering the unit and for which the declaration of covenants or bylaws set forth the terms of accessing the unit.” A condominium association whose documents actually spell out access terms is unaffected. One whose documents are silent should read that conditional clause carefully — the exception is written to depend on the documents saying something.
• Subsection (6) — recorded easements. The section does not apply to easements of record that specifically benefit the association. Maintenance easements over rear yards, utility corridors and drainage strips continue to operate on their own terms.

Who counts as a “homeowners' association”

Subsection (4) supplies a definition: an association of all owners in a geographic area defined by physical boundaries that (a) is formally governed by a declaration of covenants, bylaws, or both; (b) may be authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien; and (c) may enact or enforce rules concerning operation of the community or subdivision. Note the “may” in (b) and (c) — an association does not escape the statute by never having levied a lien.

What the statute changes in the inspection file

The drive-through violation sweep is not prohibited, but its reach shrank. Photographing a shed, a fence line, an RV or a dog run from inside the back yard is the act the statute addresses. Three concrete changes:

• Write the request, and name the area. “We would like to inspect the rear yard and the east side yard” satisfies (1)(b)(ii). “We will be conducting an inspection” does not.
• Offer times, and record that you did. The duty is to seek to establish a time convenient to the owner. That is an effort the file has to show, not an outcome.
• Expect to be escorted. Subsection (2) is the owner's call, not the board's. Build it into the scheduling rather than treating it as an obstruction.

Violation-notice templates are worth a second look too. A notice whose evidence came from an entry that did not follow § 70-16-110 hands the owner an argument that has nothing to do with the merits of the violation.²

What the statute leaves out

There is no stated remedy and no penalty for an association that enters anyway. The section was codified into Title 70, chapter 16, part 1 — Montana's general real-property provisions, alongside trespass — which is where an owner would presumably look. We found no penalty provision and no Montana decision applying the statute, so what happens to a board that ignores it is genuinely unsettled.

What is not unsettled is the direction of travel. HB 416 was one of four narrow HOA statutes Montana enacted in 2025 while every broad reform died, and the Legislature's own interim committee has described it as part of “owner-protection measures … which reflect legislative interest in reining in HOA authority over members.”³