Montana HOA laws

Montana HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

Montana has one statute that govern community associations: Unit Ownership Act. Here is what each covers, who it applies to, and the rules that come with a sale, with a link to the official text of every one.

A summary for boards and owners, not a substitute for the statute or your attorney. Every act links to its official text, and the association that acts on a rule is responsible for reading it.

The actsWhen a home sellsQuestions

HOA laws

Montana

MT
Unit Ownership Act
Resale documentResale Package
Fee capNo fixed dollar cap
DeadlineNone set by statute
Buyer may cancelNo statutory right tied to this document

The Acts, and Who Each One Covers

Community type decides which act applies, and a community created before an act took effect may still be under the older one. The declaration says which.

MCA 70-23 (Unit Ownership Act)

Condominiums

Montana's Unit Ownership Act governs condominiums, and townhouses that elect to submit under it, created by a recorded declaration, regardless of when the project was formed. It covers the creation and legal nature of unit ownership, the association's bylaws and administrative regulations, common elements and common expenses, and the lien an association may place on a unit for unpaid assessments. On resale it requires a seller who holds or is tied to a majority of the units to disclose that status and furnish the governing documents to a buyer, but it does not set up a separate payoff or estoppel certificate procedure for assessments due and does not cap resale document fees.

  • MCA 70-23-613 (Disclosure by Seller)

    A seller's duty rather than the association's: whenever a person or entity constitutes a majority of the unit owners, the seller or the seller's agent must, before any buy-sell agreement is signed, tell a prospective purchaser that the seller holds that majority, that the bylaws and administrative regulations were adopted by it, and that changes to them while it holds the majority need its approval. On request the seller furnishes the prospective buyer, before signing, a copy of the Unit Ownership Act, the association's bylaws, and its administrative regulations, and any buy-sell agreement takes effect only 72 hours after the buyer receives those documents, during which the buyer may withdraw without penalty.

    Official text

  • MCA 70-23-611 (Statement of unpaid common expenses on conveyance)

    In a voluntary conveyance the grantee of a unit is jointly and severally liable with the grantor for the grantor's unpaid share of the common expenses up to the conveyance, but on a prospective purchaser's request the manager must make and deliver a statement of the unpaid charges against the prospective grantor, and the grantee is then not liable, nor is the unit subject to a lien, for any unpaid charges beyond the amount the statement sets forth. No fee and no deadline are stated. Montana has no resale certificate statute and no planned-community act.

    Official text
Read MCA 70-23 on the state's site

When a Home Sells in Montana

No Montana statute requires resale package, but lenders and title companies ask for one. Associations furnish it under their governing documents.

What Montana calls the resale document
Resale Package
Fee cap
No fixed dollar cap
Delivery deadline
None set by statute
Buyer's right to cancel
No statutory right tied to this document

On request of a prospective purchaser, the manager must make and deliver a statement of the unpaid charges against the prospective grantor.

The full Montana resale rules, who pays, and how to order are on the Montana resale package page. Every state's cap and deadline sit side by side in the fee and deadline table.

Montana HOA Law Questions

Which law governs condominiums in Montana?

MCA 70-23 (Unit Ownership Act). Montana's Unit Ownership Act governs condominiums, and townhouses that elect to submit under it, created by a recorded declaration, regardless of when the project was formed.

Does Montana cap the fee for a resale certificate?

No. Montana sets no dollar cap on resale package, so the association or its management company sets the fee under the governing documents.

How long does a Montana association have to deliver resale package?

Montana sets no statutory deadline. The closing date sets the pace.

Where can I read the Montana statutes?

Each act on this page links to its official text on the state legislature's site. Havn summarizes the law and links to the source rather than restating it.

Nearby States

Idaho HOA laws

Resale fee: no fee allowed · 5 business days

Wyoming HOA laws

Resale fee: no fixed dollar cap · no statutory deadline

North Dakota HOA laws

Resale fee: no fixed dollar cap · 10 days

South Dakota HOA laws

Resale fee: no fixed dollar cap · no statutory deadline

Keep Reading

Guides

Templates

  • HOA Annual Meeting Notice TemplateA free HOA annual meeting notice template: date, place, agenda, the election, quorum, and the proxy or ballot enclosed, written to meet the notice window in your bylaws.
  • HOA Violation Notice TemplateA free HOA violation letter template: the rule cited, what was observed and when, the photo, the cure date, what happens next, and how the owner can respond or request a hearing.
  • HOA Dues Increase and Special Assessment Notice TemplateA free HOA letter template for a dues increase or a special assessment: the new amount and when it starts, why, the payment schedule, how to pay, and where to ask questions.
  • HOA Proxy Form TemplateA free HOA proxy form template: the owner, the home, the proxy holder, the meeting, directed instructions on each item, the expiration, and the signature.

Terms to Know

  • Resale certificateThe disclosure package an HOA or condo association furnishes when a home in the community is sold: what is owed, what is coming, and the documents that govern the home.
  • HOA lienThe association's legal claim on a home for unpaid assessments, created by the declaration and, in most states, by statute.
  • Super lienIn roughly twenty states, a slice of the association's assessment lien that takes priority over the first mortgage, usually a set number of months of assessments.
  • QuorumThe minimum number of owners, or share of the votes, that must be present or represented for a meeting to act.
  • Special assessmentA one-time charge beyond the regular assessment, levied to cover a shortfall or a project the budget and the reserves cannot: a roof, a lawsuit, a storm.

In Havn

  • Self-Managed HOAsEverything a volunteer board needs, for a dollar a home a month.
  • AccountingFund accounting, budgets, bank feeds, payables, and owner statements.
  • CommunicationsMeeting notices, violation letters, and dues notices by email, text, and mail, with delivery logged.

Run a Montana community with the rules built in.

HOA management software with a homeowner portal owners actually use. Resale documents are included; the requester pays for each one.

Get Started FreeSee the Homeowner Portal