In Montana, there is no single statute called "the HOA Act." Montana has a concise condominium statute, but a traditional homeowners association relies mostly on its own recorded documents and the nonprofit corporation law. The first questions are whether your community is a condominium and whether the association is incorporated. For your specific situation, a licensed Montana attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The full Montana stack typically includes:
- Montana Unit Ownership Act, MCA Title 70, Chapter 23 — Montana's condominium statute. It establishes the framework for condominium ownership but is concise: it does not lay out a modern records-access timeline, detailed open-meeting rules, or a comprehensive fining procedure. It contains no fine provision.
- Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act, MCA Title 35, Chapter 2 — the entity law for HOAs and condo associations incorporated as nonprofits. For most disputes, this layer plus the bylaws does the heavy lifting.
- The recorded governing documents — the declaration, bylaws, and rules. For non-condominium HOAs, these are central.
- Federal law — Fair Housing Act, ADA, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, OTARD, and the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.
The condominium statute is concise
Chapter 23 governs condominiums, but it is brief. It does not impose the detailed records, meeting, and fining procedures that modern comprehensive acts (like Rhode Island's or West Virginia's) do. That means the framework Montana owners actually rely on usually comes from elsewhere — the declaration, the bylaws, and the entity law. A traditional subdivision HOA, where you own a house and lot, is generally not a condominium and isn't governed by Chapter 23 at all. Its framework is the recorded declaration, bylaws, and rules, the Nonprofit Corporation Act if the HOA is incorporated, and general Montana contract and property law.
Compliance and enforcement (§ 70-23-506)
For condominiums, the statute requires owners to comply with the documents and provides a private right of action:
"Failure to comply with the bylaws, rules, covenants, conditions, and restrictions is grounds for an action maintainable by the association of unit owners or by an aggrieved unit owner." — Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-506
Note what this does and doesn't do: it makes non-compliance the basis for a lawsuit, but it does not authorize a specific fine schedule. Any fine power comes from the documents.
Fines come from the declaration
The Unit Ownership Act has no fine provision, and Montana has no general HOA fining statute. The power to fine, and any cap or procedure, comes from the recorded declaration, bylaws, and adopted rules. A fine the declaration doesn't authorize, one above the adopted fine schedule, or one imposed without the procedure the documents require stands on weaker ground. For incorporated HOAs, the board's fiduciary duties under the Nonprofit Corporation Act sit behind those documents: they don't set a fine amount, but they support a challenge to a board acting outside its authority. Whether the fine is proportionate, and whether the owner got the notice and chance to respond that the documents call for, are the questions the Montana HOA fine check walks through. Two Montana statutes can also take a rule (and any fine attached to it) off the table: § 70-1-522 on political signs and § 70-17-901 on newly tightened use restrictions. See When Is a Montana HOA Rule Unenforceable?.
Records (§ 70-23-606)
The condominium records provision is brief and access is on the manager's terms:
"Such records and the vouchers authorizing the payments and receipts for payments shall be available for examination at the manager's place of business by the unit owners at convenient hours of weekdays." — Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-606
There is no statutory deadline. For non-condo HOAs, records come from the bylaws and — for incorporated HOAs — the Nonprofit Corporation Act. See Getting Your HOA's Records in Montana.
The assessment lien (§§ 70-23-607, 608)
For condominiums, § 70-23-607 gives the association a lien for unpaid common expenses, with priority "prior to all other liens or encumbrances upon the unit except" tax and assessment liens and "a first mortgage or trust indenture of record." Foreclosure of the lien under § 70-23-608 "shall conform as nearly as possible to the proceedings to foreclose liens created by Title 71, chapter 3, part 5" — Montana's general mortgage-foreclosure framework. The association can also sue for a money judgment without foreclosing. For non-condominium HOAs, any lien comes from the declaration. See Can a Montana HOA Foreclose Over Dues?.
Frequently asked questions
Does Montana have a general HOA statute?
No. Montana has a concise condominium statute (the Unit Ownership Act, Title 70, Ch. 23), but no comprehensive statute governing non-condominium homeowners associations. Those communities are governed by their declaration, the Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act (Title 35, Ch. 2), and general Montana law.
Where do my records rights come from?
For condominiums, the Unit Ownership Act (§ 70-23-606) makes records "available for examination at the manager's place of business…at convenient hours of weekdays." For incorporated HOAs, the Nonprofit Corporation Act lets a member inspect and copy core corporate records on "written notice or a written demand at least 5 business days before the date on which the member wishes to inspect and copy" (§ 35-2-907(1)), with added good-faith and proper-purpose conditions for accounting records and the membership list (§ 35-2-907(3)); the bylaws may add detail.
Is there a statutory cap on HOA fines in Montana?
No. The Unit Ownership Act (condominiums) contains no fine provision, and there is no general HOA fining statute. Fine authority comes from the declaration and bylaws, with the fiduciary duties of the Nonprofit Corporation Act as a backstop for incorporated associations.
Sources
- MCA § 70-23-506 — Compliance with bylaws, rules, and covenants required
- MCA § 70-23-606 — Records of receipts and expenditures
- MCA § 70-23-607 — Claim for common expenses; priority of lien
- MCA § 70-23-608 — Foreclosure of lien
- MCA § 35-2-907 — Inspection of records by members
- MCA Title 35, Chapter 2 — Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act