In Montana, a private landlord may ask about a DUI and may turn down an application because of one. State law does not make criminal history a protected category, and Montana's landlord-tenant act says nothing about screening. The protections that do exist are procedural: limits on what a screening company can report, your right to learn that a report was used against you, and specific rules for public and subsidized housing. This page explains each. It is part of our Montana DUI Guide.
Landlord-tenant disputes are not part of our practice. We include this page because housing is one of the first things people ask about after a DUI, and much of what is online is out of date.
The Rules by Type of Housing
| Housing | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Private landlord or property manager | May ask about and consider a conviction. Criminal record is not a protected class in Montana's housing discrimination statute. | MCA § 49-2-305 |
| Landlord using a tenant screening company | The report may not include an arrest or conviction more than 7 years old. You must be told if the report was a reason for a denial. | MCA § 31-3-112(5); 15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a) |
| Public housing | The housing authority must have standards barring admission where it has reasonable cause to believe a pattern of alcohol abuse may threaten other residents. | 24 CFR § 960.204(b) |
| Housing choice voucher (Section 8) | The same alcohol abuse standard applies to admission, and a similar one to termination. | 24 CFR § 982.553 |
What Montana Law Says About Private Landlords
Two bodies of Montana law could have addressed this. Neither restricts screening for convictions.
- The Human Rights Act. It is unlawful to refuse to rent, or to discriminate in the terms of a rental, because of sex, marital status, race, creed, religion, color, age, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin (MCA § 49-2-305(1)). Criminal history is not listed.
- The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. We searched all of Title 70, chapter 24, on October 9, 2026, for provisions on criminal history, convictions, background checks, or screening. There are none. The act governs the tenancy once it exists.
The absence of a rule cuts both ways. Nothing requires a landlord to reject an applicant with a DUI, and many do not ask about misdemeanors at all. Each landlord sets its own criteria. Asking for the written screening criteria before you pay an application fee is reasonable.
What a Screening Report Can Show
Most property managers use a tenant screening company. Montana law allows a consumer reporting agency to furnish a report to a person with "a legitimate business need for the information in connection with a business transaction involving the consumer" (MCA § 31-3-111(3)(e)), which covers a rental application. The report draws on public records, and in Montana court records, convictions, and initial arrest records are public (MCA § 44-5-103(13)).
The limit is time. No consumer reporting agency may report "records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime which, from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than 7 years" (MCA § 31-3-112(5)). Federal law by itself puts no time limit on convictions (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)), so Montana's rule is the stricter one. Our page on background checks explains the same reports in the job setting.
Screening reports contain errors: a dismissed DUI shown as a conviction, one case listed twice, someone else's record under a similar name. If you are denied, get the report and compare it to the court's final order.
Your Right to Know a Report Was Used
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, a person who takes an adverse action based in whole or in part on a consumer report must give the consumer notice of the action and the name, address, and telephone number of the agency that furnished the report (15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a)). That notice is how you find out which company to contact.
The HUD Guidance You May Read About
Many articles say that a landlord who rejects every applicant with a criminal record risks violating the federal Fair Housing Act, and they cite guidance that HUD's Office of General Counsel issued on April 4, 2016. That guidance is no longer HUD's position. In a memorandum dated September 25, 2025, HUD's General Counsel listed the 2016 document among guidance that "no longer express[es] the official legal opinion and/or official policies and procedures of the Office of General Counsel."
That memorandum changed HUD's stated position. It did not amend the Fair Housing Act, and what courts would do with a claim based on criminal-record screening is a question for a fair housing lawyer. For a tenant, the practical point is not to rely on the 2016 guidance as if it were a current rule.
Public Housing and Vouchers
Federally assisted housing runs on HUD regulations, and those still apply.
- Alcohol. A public housing authority must establish standards that prohibit admission if it "has reasonable cause to believe that a household member's abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol may threaten the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents" (24 CFR § 960.204(b)). The voucher program has the same admission standard and allows termination of assistance on a similar finding (24 CFR § 982.553).
- Mandatory bars. The convictions that require denial are narrow: methamphetamine production on the premises of federally assisted housing, and lifetime sex offender registration (24 CFR § 960.204(a)). DUI is not one of them.
- Your right to see the record. Before denying admission to public housing on the basis of a criminal record, the housing authority must notify the household and provide a copy of the record and an opportunity to dispute its accuracy and relevance (24 CFR § 960.204(c)).
If you already live in assisted housing and are charged with a DUI, completing the court-ordered assessment and any treatment is the most direct evidence against a claim of an ongoing pattern.
Practical Steps
- Answer the application as asked. A question about felonies does not cover a misdemeanor DUI. A question about any conviction does. A false answer on an application can be a bigger problem than the DUI.
- Bring paperwork. Proof that the sentence is complete, including classes and fines, answers the question a landlord actually has.
- Plan for jail and for driving. A sentence served on weekends or on home arrest, and a suspended license, can affect where you can live and how you get to work. Raise housing with your attorney before sentencing.
- Know the clocks. The seven-year reporting limit, expungement, and the other timelines are laid out in how long a DUI stays on your record.
This page explains Montana and federal law in general as of October 9, 2026. It is not legal advice about your specific situation, and it is not landlord-tenant or fair housing advice.