What Montana Sellers Must Disclose

Montana requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Montana Owner's Property Disclosure Statement. Under MCA 70-20-502 (enacted 2023), a seller of residential real property must provide a disclosure statement, before or contemporaneously with execution of a contract, disclosing adverse material facts concerning the property of which the seller has actual knowledge.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

Get the disclosure before or at signing — unless you and the seller agree otherwise in writing, a contract is not effective until 3 days after you receive the statement, and you may withdraw without penalty in that window. The statement covers title, water, wastewater, utilities, structure, hazards and other adverse material facts the seller actually knows. Montana also has separate mold and agent-disclosure duties, so ask about both.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Montana law does not impose a flood-specific disclosure duty, so the paperwork may say nothing about water at all — even for a house in a FEMA flood zone. That silence is why the flood check is on you: run the exact parcel through FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer before you offer, not after.

The Montana traps inside the paperwork

Homestead rates require enrollment and 7-month occupancy from 2026. The 2026 tiered homestead rates (0.76% to 1.9% depending on value versus the statewide median) apply only to enrolled principal residences and qualifying long-term rentals; second homes and short-term rentals pay a flat 1.9%, so a buyer who misses enrollment can pay materially more than an owner-occupant seller did.

Water, wastewater and water-rights facts are core Montana disclosure items. MCA 70-20-502's disclosure list expressly includes water service or source and the wastewater treatment system, and Montana transactions separately address water rights — verify well, septic and what water rights, if any, actually transfer with the land before closing.

What no disclosure will ever tell you

A disclosure is the seller's knowledge, on the seller's timeline. It says nothing about the street's crime trend, the registry, the tax bill you will pay after the sale, permits pulled (or never pulled) for the renovation in the photos, or the rezoning working its way through the planning office. In Montana, property tax reassessment works like this: Montana reappraises on a two-year state cycle, not at the moment of sale, so your bill tracks the Department of Revenue's market value for the cycle rather than your purchase price. Your rate class matters as much as value: if you do not enroll a qualifying principal residence for the homestead rates, the property can be taxed at the higher non-homestead rate the seller may not have paid — which is why the seller's current bill is a poor guide to yours. Pull those records yourself; they are all public.

Your checks, in order

• Read the disclosure line by line, and get 'unknown' answers in writing anyway — an unknown is a flag, not a pass.
• Run the exact parcel on FEMA's flood map.
• Estimate your post-sale tax bill with the Montana records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official Montana registry.
• Ask the county for open and expired permits on the address before you waive anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a seller disclosure form required in Montana?

Yes — the Montana Owner's Property Disclosure Statement. Under MCA 70-20-502 (enacted 2023), a seller of residential real property must provide a disclosure statement, before or contemporaneously with execution of a contract, disclosing adverse material facts concerning the property of which the seller has actual knowledge.

Does a Montana seller have to disclose flooding?

There is no flood-specific disclosure duty in Montana law. Assume nothing and check the parcel on FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer yourself.

The seller answered 'unknown' to half the form. Now what?

'Unknown' is legal in most regimes and useful to nobody. Treat every unknown as a job: inspection, permit search, and the county record file. If the seller genuinely doesn't know, the records usually do.

Sources: dojmt.gov · revenuefiles.mt.gov · bozemanrealestate.group · codes.findlaw.com · nolo.com · policygenius.com