Montana HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Montana takes a condominium-first approach to common-interest housing. The Montana Unit Ownership Act, found at Mont. Code Ann. title 70, chapter 23, serves as the state's condominium statute.1 Associations that fall outside the condominium category answer instead to recorded covenants, the state's nonprofit entity law if they incorporate, and a handful of targeted HOA provisions covering property entry and covenant enforcement.2
When disputes head to appeal, they travel a short road. The Judicial Branch notes that Montana operates without an intermediate appellate court, so the Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the District Courts.3 The state's real-estate licensing and consumer-complaint channels identify no dedicated HOA regulator; the Department of Labor and Industry's Property Management Program oversees property-manager licensing, and the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection handles consumer complaints.4
Recent state activity stays narrow. The 2025 session produced enactments on open-space title, covenant enforcement, and HOA entry, and the Supreme Court issued 2025 opinions on covenant interpretation and use restrictions.5 Montana, in short, sits on the low-statute, covenant-driven side of the American association-law spectrum.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Targeted HOA and covenant statutes, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 70-16-110 and 70-17-210, plus title 35, chapter 2. These cover HOA entry, covenant enforcement, and nonprofit entity governance rather than a single planned-community HOA act.6
- Montana Unit Ownership Act, Mont. Code Ann. title 70, chapter 23. This is Montana's condominium statute, covering declaration, bylaws, and unit-owner association provisions.7
- Montana Judicial Branch. Montana operates without an intermediate appellate court; District Court appeals go directly to the Montana Supreme Court.8
- Montana Property Management Program and Board of Realty Regulation. Property managers need a state license, while the realty board channel handles broker and salesperson licensing.9
- Montana Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection. OCP publishes consumer complaint resources covering business, fraud, and consumer matters.10
4. Montana's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
The 2025 Montana Legislative Review serves as the source record; the items below capture HOA and covenant enactments from that record and the corresponding chapter laws.11
HB 147 · 2025 Session
Signed as Chapter 423, HB 147 amended § 70-17-210 to define "enforcement action" for a parcel owner's abandonment defense as equal and consistent covenant enforcement across at least a 2-year period.[12]
| Property managers | Keep consistent violation logs and board-action records for at least 2 years. |
| HOA board members | Selective or dormant enforcement can weaken later covenant enforcement. |
| Community association attorneys | Abandonment defenses now turn on documented equal enforcement over a 2-year period. |
| Homeowners | A homeowner asserting abandonment needs evidence of no qualifying enforcement. |
HB 233 · 2025 Session
Signed as Chapter 187, HB 233 allows an HOA to petition a governing body to transfer title to open spaces, parks, or similar common-use areas after a public hearing and written findings. The act applies retroactively to final subdivision plats recorded on or after Oct. 1, 1973.[13]
| Property managers | Confirm plat, covenant, and maintenance records before supporting a transfer petition. |
| HOA board members | Transfer approval requires a public hearing and recorded government approval. |
| Community association attorneys | Petition files should address statutory findings and retroactive plat applicability. |
| Homeowners | Common-use land may move into HOA title through a public process. |
HB 325 · 2025 Session
Signed as Chapter 258, HB 325 amended § 70-17-210 to specify who may sue to enforce CC&Rs, including parties or successors, burdened or benefited owners, and an HOA or other governing body. The bill carries no special effective clause, so the default Montana effective-date rule applies.[14][15]
| Property managers | Check standing and association-meeting history before enforcement escalation. |
| HOA board members | Long inactivity can affect whether an association may enforce against similar uses. |
| Community association attorneys | Plead standing under the amended statute and address abandonment defenses early. |
| Homeowners | The statute identifies who can enforce covenants and when abandonment may be argued. |
HB 416 · 2025 Session
Signed as Chapter 452 and codified at § 70-16-110, HB 416 requires HOA permission before an agent enters private real property, directs the HOA to seek a convenient time and identify the access area, and allows the owner or owner's agent to be present. Exceptions cover public-access areas, specified condominium access, and recorded easements benefiting the HOA.[16][17]
| Property managers | Inspection protocols need consent steps, access-area detail, and presence options. |
| HOA board members | Update entry rules before covenant inspections or compliance walks. |
| Community association attorneys | Review easements, condominium documents, and entry notices before enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Owners may require presence during non-exempt HOA entry onto their property. |
Recent Court Rulings
Montana operates only one appellate court, so the rulings below come from the Montana Supreme Court rather than an intermediate appellate decision.18
Waddell v. Studer
The Court reversed summary judgment and fee awards for neighboring owners and the Summer Ridge HOA, holding that covenant text requiring consideration of neighboring dwellings with allowance for views and solar gains required genuine, good-faith consideration of neighboring impacts. Practically, architectural review files should show actual consideration of view and solar language when covenants contain those terms.[19]
| Property managers | Design-review files should document nearby homes, views, and solar-gain impacts. |
| HOA board members | Approval decisions need a record of consideration, not only a final vote. |
| Community association attorneys | Summary judgment may fail when the review record leaves good-faith consideration disputed. |
| Homeowners | View and solar language may matter even when a covenant uses softer wording. |
Brandt v. R&R Mountain Escapes, LLC
The Court affirmed that the relevant covenants, read as a whole, barred short-term rentals of 5 days and 10 guests and affirmed the denial of attorney fees. Practically, short-term rental analysis in Montana turns on the full covenant set, including commercial-use and residential-living terms.[20]
| Property managers | Evaluate STR complaints against all covenant provisions together. |
| HOA board members | Rental policy decisions should not rely on one isolated "residential use" phrase. |
| Community association attorneys | Draft opinions around the full declaration and Montana's STR covenant cases. |
| Homeowners | STR rights may be limited by commercial-use and residential-living covenants. |
Larsen v. Sayers
The Court held that a freestyle motocross course breached covenants limiting property to residential or agricultural use and remanded for attorney fees. Practically, repeated recreational uses can violate residential-use and no-disturbance covenants when the activity materially affects neighboring owners.[21]
| Property managers | Preserve noise, dust, frequency, and neighbor-impact evidence. |
| HOA board members | Recreational uses can still breach residential-purpose covenants. |
| Community association attorneys | Injunction and fee claims should track both use limits and disturbance language. |
| Homeowners | Covenant protection may apply to disruptive noncommercial uses. |
Regulatory Developments
Montana's state-level regulatory contact points stay in licensing and consumer channels — the DLI Property Management Program and the DOJ Office of Consumer Protection — rather than an HOA-specific regulator.
DLI Property Management Program & DOJ Office of Consumer Protection
The DLI Property Management Program requires a property manager license to conduct property-management business, and the DOJ Office of Consumer Protection publishes consumer complaint resources. Neither office serves as a dedicated HOA regulator.[22]
| Property managers | Hold a current property manager license before conducting Montana property-management business. |
| HOA board members | Verify that management vendors hold the required state licenses. |
| Community association attorneys | Route consumer-protection issues through DOJ OCP, not an HOA regulator that does not exist. |
| Homeowners | Use OCP's consumer complaint resources for business, fraud, or consumer matters. |
Active Policy Debates
The state-level pattern favors targeted amendment over a uniform planned-community code. The 2025 enacted bills changed common-area title transfer, covenant enforcement, and entry onto owner property without adding a broad HOA act.23 Future debates will likely stay in those issue lanes unless the Legislature opens a standalone planned-community bill.
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's Montana coverage will expand as new bills, rulings, and regulatory developments emerge. Federal frameworks, including the Fair Housing Act, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and FCC OTARD rule, also apply to Montana associations where their subject matter is triggered. Federal coverage will live at /federal/ once built.24
Footnotes
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, Title 70, Chapter 23, Unit Ownership Act, Condominiums ↩
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, Title 35, Chapter 2, Nonprofit Corporations; Mont. Code Ann. § 70-16-110; Mont. Code Ann. § 70-17-210 ↩
- Montana Judicial Branch, About Judicial Branch ↩
- Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Property Manager Licensing; Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, Consumer Complaints ↩
- Montana Legislative Services Division, 2025 Montana Legislative Review; Montana Supreme Court, Published Opinion Summaries ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. § 70-16-110; Mont. Code Ann. § 70-17-210; Mont. Code Ann. title 35, chapter 2 ↩
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, Title 70, Chapter 23, Unit Ownership Act, Condominiums ↩
- Montana Judicial Branch, About Judicial Branch ↩
- Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Property Manager Licensing; Montana Board of Realty Regulation ↩
- Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, Consumer Complaints ↩
- Montana Legislative Services Division, 2025 Montana Legislative Review ↩
- 2025 Montana Session Law, Chapter 423, HB 147 ↩
- 2025 Montana Session Law, Chapter 187, HB 233 ↩
- 2025 Montana Session Law, Chapter 258, HB 325 ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. § 1-2-201, Statutes, Effective Date ↩
- 2025 Montana Session Law, Chapter 452, HB 416; Mont. Code Ann. § 70-16-110 ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. § 1-2-201, Statutes, Effective Date ↩
- Montana Judicial Branch, About Judicial Branch ↩
- Waddell v. Studer, 2025 MT 269, Montana Supreme Court ↩
- Brandt v. R&R Mountain Escapes, LLC, 2025 MT 155, Montana Supreme Court ↩
- Larsen v. Sayers, 2025 MT 24, Montana Supreme Court ↩
- Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Property Manager Licensing; Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, Consumer Complaints ↩
- Montana Legislative Services Division, 2025 Montana Legislative Review ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act Overview; ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F; U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Summary; Federal Communications Commission, OTARD Rule ↩