Montana studied property-manager licensing — and community managers were not on the list
Montana studied property-manager licensing — and community managers were not on the list
2026-09-15 · Montana · Regulation · Pending — not yet law
What is pending. Montana spent 2026 examining whether its property-manager licence is set up correctly. The committee record suggests community association management was never really in scope — which is itself the answer to a question Montana boards ask constantly.
The resolution
House Joint Resolution 55, LC0878, “Study resolution on property management licensing and practice,” sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier (R–Kalispell). It passed House Judiciary 15-5, the House 78-22 and 73-26, Senate committee 11-0, and the Senate 37-13 and 34-16, and was filed with the Secretary of State on May 6, 2025. Assigned to the Economic Affairs Interim Committee, which heard it on March 10, 2026 and May 19, 2026.1
It directs review of property-manager licensing, education and fees, conformance with the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and commercial rental law, the end-user costs charged to landowners and tenants, and other states' practices.
What the licence actually covers
The committee's March 10, 2026 handout, “Montana Property Management Licensing — Briefing for Legislative Study – HJ 55,” prepared by Sarnen Steinbarth of Montana Property Education, states that owners may self-manage, but anyone managing rental property on behalf of others must hold a property management licence. Requirements: minimum age 18, a 30-hour pre-licence course, an 80 percent passing score, and continuing education. 47 states and the District of Columbia require a licence to manage rental property for others. Typical one-time pre-licence course cost is given as about $500 and typical annual continuing education about $190 per licensee.2
The duties the handout lists are all landlord-tenant: security deposits and trust accounts, Montana Residential Landlord and Tenant Act compliance, lease enforcement and eviction, maintenance and habitability, fair housing. Community association management is not among them.
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- The practical consequence for a board hiring a manager
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Related Montana HOA Topics
- Economic Affairs Interim Committee — studies and topics page, listing HJ 55, its hearing dates and posted stakeholder materials ↩
- “Montana Property Management Licensing — Briefing for Legislative Study – HJ 55,” handout to the Economic Affairs Interim Committee, Mar. 10, 2026 ↩
- MAR Notice No. 2025-349.2 — the Board of Realty Regulation trust-account rule effective February 21, 2026, which reaches association money through the broker licence ↩
- 2027 Session Bill Draft Requests — Montana Legislature (331 entries as of Sept. 12, 2026) ↩
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