Montana Security Deposit Demand Letter

It is a written demand a Montana tenant sends a former landlord to recover a security deposit the landlord did not return within the deadlines that Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-202 sets. The letter states the amount owed, disputes any improper deductions, and asks for payment by a set date. A written demand also matters in Montana because a tenant may not maintain an action until the landlord gives a written denial or the statutory 10-day or 30-day period passes (70-25-204(2)).

A Montana security deposit demand letter is an informal written request that costs nothing to send and asks the landlord to pay before any case is filed. Small claims court is a formal case you file, usually after the demand is ignored, where the claim limit is $7,000 (Mont. Code Ann. 25-35-502). The demand letter often resolves the dispute on its own, and if it does not, it can also produce the written denial the statute treats as a step toward suit.

Montana sets two deadlines. If after inspection there are no damages, no cleaning required, no rent unpaid, and the tenant can show no unpaid utilities, the landlord must return the deposit within 10 days (Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-202(1)(b)(i)). If the landlord makes deductions, the landlord must deliver a written list of any rent due and damage and cleaning charges, with payment of any balance, within 30 days after termination or surrender, whichever comes first (70-25-202(1)(a)(i)).

Montana does not impose a doubling or trebling of the deposit. Instead, a landlord who fails to provide the required written list of damage and cleaning charges forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit (Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-203), and a landlord who wrongfully withholds is liable in a civil action for the amount wrongfully withheld, with attorney fees available to the prevailing party at the court discretion (70-25-204). The burden of proving tenant-caused damage is on the landlord.

A Montana landlord may deduct only for the items listed in the statute: damage caused by the tenant, unpaid rent, late charges, utilities, penalties due under lease provisions, other money owing to the landlord, and actual cleaning expenses including a reasonable charge for the landlord labor (Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-201(1)). No amount may be deducted for any other purpose (70-25-201(4)), and deductions outside these categories can be disputed.

Yes. When a Montana landlord retains any part of the deposit, the landlord must deliver a written list of any rent due and any damage and cleaning charges, along with payment of any balance, within 30 days of termination or surrender (Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-202(1)(a)(i)). Before any cleaning charge, the landlord must first give written notice of the specific cleaning needed and allow the tenant 24 hours to complete it (70-25-201(3)). A landlord who gives no written list forfeits the right to withhold (70-25-203).

Montana small claims court hears claims up to $7,000, exclusive of costs (Mont. Code Ann. 25-35-502). A deposit claim can seek the amount wrongfully withheld under Mont. Code Ann. 70-25-204, and the court may award attorney fees to the prevailing party. The deadline to sue on a written lease is six years (Mont. Code Ann. 27-2-202), though filing promptly after the demand is the practical approach.