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Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Montana

In Montana, the landlord must inventory and store valuable abandoned property and mail the tenant written notice giving at least 10 days to remove it; after a court-ordered termination the property may be disposed of immediately.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Montana at a glance

Written notice required
Yes, except after court-ordered termination
Notice by certificate of mailing or certified mail to the last known address.
Holding period
At least 10 days after mailed notice
If the tenancy ended by court order, the property is considered abandoned and may be disposed of immediately.
After the holding period
Sell, or destroy if value is too low
Sale costs and unpaid rent may be deducted; the rest goes to the tenant or, if not found, the county treasurer.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Montana

Does a landlord in Montana have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes, except after court-ordered termination. Written notice required in Montana: yes, except after court-ordered termination. Notice by certificate of mailing or certified mail to the last known address.

How long must a landlord in Montana keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Montana: At least 10 days after mailed notice. If the tenancy ended by court order, the property is considered abandoned and may be disposed of immediately.

What can a landlord in Montana do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Montana: Sell, or destroy if value is too low. Sale costs and unpaid rent may be deducted; the rest goes to the tenant or, if not found, the county treasurer.

Where do the Montana tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from Mont. Code Ann. 70-24-430. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Trash and hazardous, perishable or valueless items may be disposed of right away once 48 hours pass after the landlord has clear and convincing evidence of abandonment.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.