Montana condominium compliance, with the statute behind every deadline
A self-managed Montana condominium answers to the Unit Ownership Act — Title 70, Chapter 23: detailed common-element financial records open to every unit owner, a 75% owner vote before amending the bylaws, and insurance that's required only if your own declaration, bylaws, or a majority of owners say so. GnomeOwner's compliance calendar tracks duties like these automatically, and shows the exact statute sentence behind each one, not just a due date.
Montana has no separate homeowners'-association law — a non-condominium Montana subdivision runs on its own recorded covenants plus the state's general nonprofit-corporation law, not this page's Chapter 23. One scope note worth knowing: Montana lets a property file an “optional declaration for townhomes,” so a townhome-titled community may or may not actually sit under this chapter — confirm from your own recorded declaration.
Montana doesn't require your condominium to carry insurance — your own documents do
Chapter 23 puts the manager in charge of insuring the building only if your declaration, your bylaws, or a majority vote of the unit owners requires it — a conditional duty, not a standing mandate the way some states write it. The chapter is silent on reserves the same way: no reserve-fund requirement and no reserve-study duty appear anywhere in it. Whether your association insures the building, and whether it funds a reserve, is a decision your own governing documents and board make — not a statewide floor.
“The manager as trustee for the unit owners shall, if required by the declaration, by the bylaws, or by a majority of the unit owners, insure the building against loss or damage by fire and other hazards as required, without prejudice to the right of each unit owner to insure the owner's own unit for the owner's own benefit.”
A few of the duties GnomeOwner tracks for Montana condominium associations governed by the Unit Ownership Act, Mont. Code Ann. Title 70, Chapter 23
Every deadline here shows you the exact sentence of the statute it comes from, so you — or your attorney — can check it in seconds.
Keep detailed common-element financial records and let owners examine them
Keep detailed, accurate records in chronological order of the receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements, itemizing maintenance and repair expenses and any other expenses incurred, and make those records and the payment vouchers available for unit owners to examine at the manager's place of business during convenient weekday hours.
“The manager shall keep detailed accurate records in chronological order of the receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements, itemizing the maintenance and repair expenses of the common elements and any other expenses incurred.”
Furnish a statement of unpaid common-expense charges on a buyer's request
On the request of a prospective purchaser of a unit, prepare and deliver a statement of the unpaid common-expense charges against the prospective seller.
“upon request of a prospective purchaser, the manager shall make and deliver a statement of the unpaid charges against the prospective grantor, and the grantee in that case is not liable for nor is the unit when conveyed subject to a lien filed for any unpaid charges against the grantor in excess of the amount set forth in the statement.”
Insure the building if your declaration, bylaws, or owners require it
Keep the building insured against loss or damage by fire and other hazards; the premiums are a shared common expense either way, and each unit owner separately keeps the right to insure their own unit for their own benefit.
Your declaration, your bylaws, or a majority vote of the unit owners requires the association to insure the building.
“The manager as trustee for the unit owners shall, if required by the declaration, by the bylaws, or by a majority of the unit owners, insure the building against loss or damage by fire and other hazards as required, without prejudice to the right of each unit owner to insure the owner's own unit for the owner's own benefit.”
Get 75% owner approval before amending the bylaws, then record them
Before a bylaws amendment takes effect, get affirmative approval from 75% of the unit owners, then record a certified copy of the bylaws as amended.
“An amendment of the bylaws shall not be effective unless approved by 75% of the unit owners and until a copy of the bylaws, as amended, certified by the presiding officer and secretary of the association of unit owners, is recorded.”
Keep bylaws in place covering every topic Montana law requires
Keep the bylaws addressing: board composition, election, and removal, including whether the board may engage a manager or managing agent; how meetings are called and what counts as a quorum; election of officers; common-element upkeep and how expenses for it get approved; staffing needed for upkeep; how owners' shares of the common expenses are collected; adopting and amending administrative rules; use and maintenance restrictions on units and common elements; and the bylaws' own amendment method.
“Subject to 70-1-522, the bylaws must provide for: (1) the election from among the unit owners of a board of directors, the number of persons constituting the board, and that the terms of at least one-third of the directors expire annually”
Every item above is drafted from Montana’s statute text and shown beside the exact sentence it comes from — check any claim against the law’s own words. This page hasn’t had a full attorney review. Confirm anything you plan to act on with your own attorney or CPA; law as reflected here is current as of 2026-08-16.
The newest amendment visible anywhere in our captured text of Chapter 23 is from 2023; no 2024-2026 amendment was found, though this wasn't independently checked against a live Montana Legislature session-law index. Confirm current law with your attorney before relying on any exact figure or deadline.
Montana questions we hear a lot
Does Montana require condo insurance?
Only conditionally. Montana's Unit Ownership Act puts the manager in charge of insuring the building “if required by the declaration, by the bylaws, or by a majority of the unit owners” (Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-612) — not an unconditional statewide mandate. Whether your condominium carries master property insurance, and how much, comes from your own governing documents or a member vote.
Does Montana require a condo reserve fund?
No. A full search of Chapter 23 found no reserve-fund requirement and no reserve-disclosure duty of any kind. Any reserve funding a Montana association carries is a voluntary board choice, not a statutory floor — confirm your own approach with a professional if you want one.
How does a Montana condominium amend its bylaws?
With a real supermajority, then a recording: “An amendment of the bylaws shall not be effective unless approved by 75% of the unit owners and until a copy of the bylaws, as amended, certified by the presiding officer and secretary of the association of unit owners, is recorded” (Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-307(3)).
Is GnomeOwner's Montana compliance calendar reviewed by a lawyer?
Every duty on this page is shown beside the exact sentence of the statute it comes from — so you can check each claim against the law's own words, right here on the page. What this page hasn't had yet is a full attorney review. It's legal information, not legal advice: confirm anything you plan to act on with your own attorney.
Also covered: North Carolina, Nevada, Virginia, Arizona, Washington, South Carolina, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, California, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Florida, New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wyoming, Connecticut, Alaska, West Virginia, Vermont, Delaware, Alabama, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Dakota, Maine, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee. More states are added as their compliance calendars are built — see the full list.
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