Montana Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent on a mobile-home lot: it's a 7-day notice, not 3

If your resident falls behind on lot rent, late charges, or common-area-maintenance fees, Montana's Mobile Home Lot Rental Act lets you terminate on a 7-day written notice to pay or vacate under MCA §70-33-433(1)(a). This is the single most common place operators get it wrong: the familiar 3-day pay-or-quit is the general apartment/house rule under a different act (Title 70, chapter 24) and does not apply to a lot tenant who owns the home. Montana Legal Services says it directly — nonpayment gives 7 days if you are only renting the lot for your mobile home.

Serve it in writing, specify the exact amount owed and the deadline, and keep proof of service. If the resident pays the full amount within the 7 days, the tenancy is not terminated — §70-33-433(3) makes nonpayment a curable ground, so a timely, full cure stops the eviction.

Do not confuse §70-33-422 with nonpayment. That section (Noncompliance of tenant generally) is about a tenant who destroys or damages the premises or creates a risk of injury, and it carries its own 3-day notice — it is not the rent-default section.

Other lease and rule violations: match the clock to the violation

Montana ties the notice period to the seriousness of the breach under §70-33-433(1). A rule or lease violation that is NOT an immediate health-or-safety threat gets 14 days to cure or vacate (subsection (b)). A violation that creates an immediate threat to health and safety gets just 24 hours (subsection (c)).

Repeat problems have their own tracks: a third-or-more late rent payment within a 12-month period supports a 30-day termination (subsection (d)), and two or more violations of the same rule within 6 months supports 30 days (subsection (f)). Disorderly conduct that disrupts other residents' peaceful enjoyment is a 7-day notice (subsection (i)), and conduct endangering others, substantial damage, or certain criminal convictions is 14 days (subsections (j),(k)).

Separately, under §70-33-422 you may terminate on 3 days' notice when a tenant destroys or damages the premises (§70-33-321(3)) or acts in a way that creates a real potential for damage or injury (§70-33-321(4)). Purposeful noncompliance can expose the tenant to treble damages. In every curable case, spell out the specific violation and the deadline, and give the tenant the chance to fix it within the window.

Filing the eviction: notice alone never removes anyone

A termination notice is only step one. If the resident does not cure or leave, you must file an action for possession — a forcible-entry-and-detainer (eviction) lawsuit — in the Justice's Court or District Court of the county where the park sits (§70-33-427; FED procedures in Title 70, chapter 27). Self-help lockouts, utility shutoffs, or removing the home yourself are illegal and expose you to damages under §§70-33-409 and 70-33-431.

The statute front-loads the schedule. The possession action must be heard within 10 business days after the tenant's appearance or answer date — 5 business days for the immediate health-and-safety noncompliance under §70-33-321(4). The court must rule within 5 days of the hearing, and once it grants possession it shall issue a writ of possession immediately, which the sheriff enforces.

A claim for back rent and actual damages rides along with possession, but the damages hearing can be held separately within 45 days after possession and rent are decided (§70-33-427(2)-(4)). The prevailing party can recover attorney fees and costs (§70-33-434), so clean notices and clean service pay off.

The resident owns the home: removal window and lot-tenant protections

Winning possession of the LOT does not give you the home — the resident owns it. If they leave it behind, follow §70-33-432 (Disposition of abandoned mobile home) precisely: form a reasonable belief of abandonment and wait at least 5 days, notify local law enforcement of any storage location, identify any lienholders, and mail certified notice stating that the home will be disposed of at a set time not less than 15 days after mailing the notice. The owner has 15 days to respond in writing of intent to remove, and if they do, 20 days after that response to actually remove it. You must store it with reasonable care, may charge reasonable removal and storage costs, and hold a lien for those costs plus delinquent rent against any sale proceeds before returning the balance.

Chapter 33 also gives lot tenants protections ordinary renters lack, and operators should plan around them. You may terminate only for a ground listed in §70-33-433 — there is no bare no-cause termination of a lot tenant. Ending a tenancy for a legitimate business reason requires 90 days' notice (§70-33-433(1)(m)), and converting the land to a different use requires 180 days' notice, plus 15 days' notice of any change-of-use permit request and generally 6 months after approval (§70-33-433(1)(l),(2)).

On rent: Montana has no rent control and no cap on how much lot rent can rise, but for a month-to-month lot tenancy you must give at least 30 days' advance written notice of an increase (Montana Legal Services; the default tenancy is month-to-month and rent is set by the landlord under §70-33-201). Note two recent items: 2023 HB 429 requires owners of larger parks (more than 50 lots) to give roughly 60 days' notice before a sale and let a residents' association try to buy; and HB 889, which would have mandated a 60-day rent-increase notice and an annual-lease option, was vetoed and is NOT law. Retaliation against a tenant is prohibited (§70-33-431).

Typical timeline in Montana

• Day 0 — Serve the correct written notice
  7 days for nonpayment of lot rent/CAM fees (§70-33-433(1)(a)); 14 days for a non-emergency rule/lease violation (b); 24 hours for an immediate health/safety threat (c); 30 days for repeat late payments or repeat same-rule violations (d),(f); 3 days for tenant damage or risk of injury (§70-33-422). Keep proof of service.
• During the notice period — Cure window runs
  For curable grounds under §70-33-433(1)(a)-(c), a full and timely cure stops the termination (§70-33-433(3)). Track whether the resident pays or fixes the issue before the deadline.
• After the deadline — File the action for possession
  If uncured, file a forcible-entry-and-detainer/eviction suit in the county Justice's Court or District Court (§70-33-427). Have the summons and complaint served by a sheriff, deputy, or licensed process server.
• Roughly 5-10 business days — Court hearing
  The possession hearing must occur within 10 business days of the tenant's appearance/answer date (5 business days for immediate health/safety cases under §70-33-321(4)); parties may stipulate to a continuance (§70-33-427(3)).
• Within 5 days of the hearing — Ruling and writ
  The court rules within 5 days and, if it grants possession, issues the writ of possession immediately (§70-33-427(4)); the sheriff enforces it. A damages hearing may follow within 45 days.
• After the writ — The resident's home comes off the lot
  If the home is left behind, run the §70-33-432 abandoned-home process: 5-day belief period, certified notice (disposal no sooner than 15 days), 15 days for the owner to state intent to remove, then 20 days to remove. You hold a lien for storage and unpaid rent against any sale proceeds.

Operator best practices in Montana

• Build a relationship with a Montana MHP attorney
  Chapter 33 differs meaningfully from ordinary landlord-tenant law and the day-counts are unforgiving. Have a Montana mobile-home-park attorney pre-approve your notice templates and review any change-of-use or park-sale plan before you act.
• Use the right notice for the right ground
  Do not default to a 3-day notice — lot nonpayment is 7 days (§70-33-433(1)(a)). Pick the period the statute assigns to the specific violation and cite the subsection in the notice.
• Document the debt or violation precisely
  State the exact amount owed or the exact rule broken, the cure deadline, and the consequence. Vague notices get thrown out and reset your clock.
• Never use self-help
  No lockouts, no utility shutoffs, no moving or disposing of the home outside §70-33-432. These trigger tenant remedies under §§70-33-409 and 70-33-431 and can cost you far more than the unpaid rent.
• Honor the long-lead notices
  Plan park sales, closures, and change-of-use around the statutory windows: 60 days for a sale of a larger park (HB 429), 90 days for a legitimate-business-reason termination, and 180 days for a change of use (§70-33-433(1)(l),(m)).
• Give clean rent-increase notice
  With no rent cap in Montana, your leverage is doing it correctly: at least 30 days' written notice for a month-to-month lot tenancy. Keep dated copies and proof of delivery.
• Offer cash-for-keys before filing
  A negotiated move-out or home buyout is common market practice and is often cheaper and faster than an eviction plus a §70-33-432 abandoned-home proceeding. Put any agreement in writing.
• Keep a clean paper trail
  Retain ledgers, notices, certified-mail receipts, and photos. The prevailing party can recover attorney fees and costs (§70-33-434), and good records are what win the possession hearing on the statutory fast track.