Montana Code 70-25-202. List of damages and refund — delivery to departing tenant
70-25-202. List of damages and refund — delivery to departing tenant. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2):
Terms Used In Montana Code 70-25-202
- Damage: means any and all tangible loss, injury, or deterioration of a leasehold premises caused by the willful or accidental acts of the tenant occupying the leasehold premises or by the tenant's family, licensees, or invitees, as well as any and all tangible loss, injury, or deterioration resulting from the tenant's omissions or failure to perform any duty imposed upon the tenant by law with respect to the leasehold. See Montana Code 70-25-101
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Leasehold premises: means the premises occupied by the tenant together with all common areas, recreational facilities, parking areas, and storage facilities to which the tenant has access, as well as all personal property owned or controlled by the landlord the use of which is permitted to the tenant. See Montana Code 70-25-101
- Security deposit: means value given, in money or its equivalent, to secure the payment of rent by the tenant under a leasehold agreement or to secure payment for damage to and cleaning of the leasehold premises. See Montana Code 70-25-101
(a)Each landlord, within 30 days subsequent to the termination of a tenancy or within 30 days subsequent to a surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever occurs first, shall provide the departing tenant with a written list of any rent due and any damage and cleaning charges, brought after the provisions of 70-25-201 have been followed, with regard to the leasehold premises that the landlord alleges are the responsibility of the tenant. Delivery of the list must be accompanied by payment of the difference, if any, between the security deposit and the permitted charges set forth in 70-25-201. Delivery must be accomplished by mailing the list and refund to the new address provided by the tenant or, if a new address is not provided, to the tenant’s last-known address.
(b)If after inspection there are no damages to the premises, no cleaning required, and no rent unpaid and if the tenant can demonstrate that no utilities are unpaid by the tenant, the landlord shall return the security deposit within 10 days by mailing it to the new address provided by the tenant or, if a new address is not provided, to the tenant’s last-known address.
(c)It is not a wrongful withholding of security deposit funds if the landlord mails the funds to the last-known address of a tenant who has departed and the tenant does not receive the funds because the tenant has not given the landlord the tenant’s new address, but the landlord remains liable to the tenant for the amount due the tenant.
(2)This section does not apply if a rental agreement is terminated pursuant to 70-24-427 or 70-33-427 and the landlord has a pending claim for actual damages filed in court.