A Montana 3 Day Notice To Vacate is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for illegal activity on the premises, such as unlawful possession of a firearm. The tenant is not given an opportunity to take corrective action, and must move out within three (3) calendar days of receiving notice.
When To Use a Montana 3 Day Notice To Vacate
A Montana 3 Day Notice To Vacate begins the eviction process for the following tenant violations:
- Engagement in criminal production or manufacture of dangerous drugs
- Unlawful possession of a firearm, explosives or hazardous materials
- Involvement in gang-related activity
- Other conduct prohibited by law
Some types of Montana lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write a Montana 3 Day Notice To Vacate
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Vacate:
- Use the full name of the receiving parties, and address of record, if known
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve a Montana 3 Day Notice To Vacate
Montana landlords may deliver a Notice To Vacate by any method which results in actual notification of the other party. State law gives a presumption of legal validity to the following methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Delivery by certified mail, or by first class mail with a certificate of mailing
- Delivery of electronic notice (by email), if the tenant has provided an email address in the rental agreement
Electronic notice is considered delivered when the tenant replies (other than an automatic reply), or when the system generates a read receipt. Mailed notice extends a notice period by three (3) calendar days, to account for variable delivery times.
Sources
- 1 MT Code § 70-24-321
-
A tenant may not destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises or permit any person to do so.
(3) A tenant may not engage or knowingly allow any person to engage in any activity on the premises that creates a reasonable potential that the premises may be damaged or destroyed or that neighboring tenants may be injured, including but not limited to any of the following activities:
(a) criminal production or manufacture of dangerous drugs as prohibited by 45-9-110;
(b) operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory as prohibited by 45-9-132;
(c) gang-related activities as prohibited by Title 45, chapter 8, part 4;
(d) unlawful possession of a firearm, explosive, or hazardous or toxic substance; or
(e) any activity that is otherwise prohibited by law.
Source Link - 2 Mont. Code § 70-24-108(1)
-
Source Link
A person has notice of a fact if any of the following is true:
(a) the person has actual knowledge of it; (b) in the case of a landlord, it is delivered at the place of business of the landlord through which the rental agreement was made; (c) in the case of a tenant or a landlord, it is transmitted to an electronic mail address provided by the tenant or the landlord in the rental agreement. Notice by electronic mail is complete on receipt of a read receipt generated by an electronic mail system or an electronic mail reply other than an automatically generated electronic mail reply. (d) in the case of a landlord or tenant, it is delivered in hand to the landlord or tenant or mailed with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail to the person at the place indicated by the person as the place for receipt of the communication or, in the absence of a designation, to the person’s last-known address. If notice is made with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail, service of the notice is considered to have been made on the date 3 days after the date of mailing.