Mobile Home Lot Rentals and Eviction

This article may be right for you if you own your mobile home and rent a lot in Montana. 

When you own a mobile home and only rent the lot it sits on, you have different rights than if you were renting both the mobile home and the lot. In your case, both you and your landlord are covered by the Montana Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act. We’ll call it the “Lot Rental Act“ to keep it short. You can find the law at 70-33-101 in Montana Code Annotated. 

When you own a mobile home and rent the lot, you have different rights than if you were renting both the mobile home and the lot. This article talks about your specific rights when you own your mobile home and are renting only the lot. If that is not your situation, you’ll want to look at our other article “What You Should Know about Evictions in Montana.” 

If you do not own your mobile home, check out our other articles in the Housing section of MontanaLawHelp. 

The landlord cannot make you move for no reason.

The landlord must have a reason to terminate your rental agreement. Even if you have a month-to-month rental agreement, the landowner must have a good reason to end your rental agreement. We’ll talk about the reasons a landowner may be able to evict you in the next question. 

If your landlord asks you to move for no reason and you want to stay, talk to your landlord to try to work out the dispute.  You can also talk to a lawyer. 

The law allows the landlord to terminate your rental agreement for basically two kinds of reasons:

1. if you have violated the terms of your rental agreement or have violated state law; or
2. if you haven’t done anything wrong, but the landlord has other reasons allowed under law.

For the first kind of notice, see the chart below for those reasons and how many days’ notice the landlord must give you before they can terminate your rental agreement. 

For the second kind of notice, the law allows the landlord to terminate your rental agreement for:

• A legitimate business reason; or
• A change of use of the land.

If the landlord wants to end your rental agreement for a legitimate business reason, the landlord must give you a 90 day written notice. The law doesn't say what is considered a "legitimate business reason."

A change in the use of land usually means that the landlord wants to use it for something other than mobile home lots. For example, a change of use in the land would be if the landowner wants to get rid of the mobile lots and build an apartment complex. If the landlord plans to change the use of the land, the landlord must give you 180 days written notice to move. 

The landowner may need to ask the local government for a permit to change the use of the land. If government hearings are necessary to get permits for the new land use, the landlord must give each resident 15 days written notice before the hearing. You have the right to show up and testify at the government hearing.

A change in the use of land usually means that the landlord wants to use it for something other than mobile home lots. For example, a change of use in the land would be if the landowner wants to get rid of the mobile lots and build an apartment complex. If the landlord plans to change the use of the land, the landlord must give you 180 days written notice to move. 

The landowner may need to ask the local government for a permit to change the use of the land. If government hearings are necessary to get permits for the new land use, the landlord must give each resident 15 days written notice before the hearing. You have the right to show up and testify at the government hearing.

(To read the laws for yourself, go to Section 70-33-433 , MCA.)

(To read the laws for yourself, go to Section 70-33-433 (3), MCA or 70-33-422, MCA.) 

If a landlord wants to evict you, regardless of the reason for the eviction, they must:

1. Give you a valid notice terminating your rental agreement, that tells you the date by when you must move, 
2. If you don’t move out by the date given in the notice, the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit against you in court, 
3. If you file a written answer with the Clerk of Court, the judge will set a hearing date,
4. At the hearing, the landlord must prove to the court that the eviction is lawful.

A landlord cannot force you out without a court order signed by a judge. But, it’s usually best for everyone if you can resolve the dispute with the landlord, with no eviction lawsuit being filed. So, talk to your landlord to try to resolve the dispute. If there’s a lawsuit filed and you lose in court, that can be expensive for you. The judge has the power to order you to pay up to 3 times the rent or actual loss to the landlord as “holdover damages” for you not moving by the date in the landlord’s termination notice. And, the judge has the power to order you to pay the landlord’s attorney fees.

The law allows the landlord to ask you to move if they are selling the park, or changing the use of the land. Even if you can’t find a place to move, the landlord can still force you out. 

When the landlord wants to sell the park or change the use of land, they must give you the following notices before they file the eviction lawsuit in court:

1. The landlord must give the mobile home owner and a tenant of the mobile home owner at least 15 days' written notice that the landowner will be appearing before a unit of local government to request permits for a change of use of the mobile home park.
2. After all required permits requesting a change of use have been approved by the unit of local government, the landowner must give the mobile home owner and a tenant of the mobile home owner 6 months' written notice of termination of tenancy. 
3. If the change of use does not require local government permits, the landlord must give the written notice at least 6 months prior to the change of use. In the notice, the landowner must describe in detail the nature of the change of use. 

A landlord cannot force you out of the rental just because you stay past the date given in the notice of termination. Even if you are behind on the rent or other fees, the landowner cannot legally shut off your utilities, throw your belongings out, or change your locks as a way to force you out. Without a court order for an eviction signed by a judge, the landlord cannot send a deputy over to forcibly remove you from the lot.

All a landlord can legally do to force you to move out is to file an eviction lawsuit.

When you get the landlord’s termination notice, you have to make a decision. You can choose to stay past the deadline given in the notice and risk going to court, or you can choose to move out by the deadline given in the notice.

You have these options:

1. Move out by the deadline given in the landlord’s termination notice. This insures that the landlord won’t file an eviction lawsuit against you in court. Moving out by the deadline also insures that the court won’t order you to pay the landlord up to 3 times the rent or 3 times the landlord’s actual losses.
2. Stay and defend yourself in court if you have a valid defense to eviction. At the hearing, the landlord has the burden to prove that you should be evicted. The landlord must prove that they properly terminated your tenancy before filing the eviction lawsuit. If the notice wasn't proper, the judge may throw out the lawsuit and let you stay in the rental.

Important: You have the right to stay and defend yourself in an eviction lawsuit, but there are risks to staying past the date in the notice to vacate. The judge could rule in the landlord's favor. You could have to pay the landlord's attorney fees. You could have to pay up to three times the rent or three times the landlord’s actual losses. You can find the law that says this at Section 70-33-429, MCA. 

So, if your landlord gives you a notice to vacate and you want to stay or you need more time to move, your best option may be to talk to your landlord to try and reach an agreement, instead of waiting for the landlord to file an eviction suit against you.

It is a good idea to talk to your landlord. It is usually better if you can work out the problem with your landlord before taking more action. If you do work out a deal with your landlord, you may want to write down what the landlord agreed to do, and have the landlord sign the agreement. Keep a copy for yourself.

If there is a tenants union in your area, they may have resources that can help you navigate your situation. Here are a few in Montana:

• Missoula Tenants Union
• Bozeman Tenants United
• Prickly Pear Housing Alliance

You can also do an online search for tenant unions in your area.

• The State Bar Lawyer Referral Service may provide you with contact information for attorneys who provide the type of assistance you are seeking, for a fee. You can contact the State Bar Lawyer Referral Service at montanabar.org. 
• Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) provides free civil, non-criminal legal help to eligible clients. Learn more about how to apply for free legal help in Montana. 
• If you qualify for help from MLSA, you may be able to get free legal advice from a volunteer attorney by email using Ask Karla. 
• Contact your nearest Self Help Law Center for free legal information and forms. 

• If you have been served with court eviction papers, you can use our free Answer to Eviction forms to file a written answer. 
• If the landowner won’t make repairs, you can use our free Repairs Demand Letter.