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Committee hears study resolution on landlord-tenant and mobile-home laws
Summary
HJ 41 would commission an interim study of the Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act and the Landlord-Tenant Act, citing changing housing markets and mobile-home park ownership; landlords urged caution and said current law largely functions, while sponsor stressed stakeholder engagement.
Representative Jonathan Karlen presented House Joint Resolution 41 to create an interim study of Montana's Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act and the Landlord-Tenant Act, both approaching 50 years in age. Karlen said recent changes in ownership structures and rising corporate involvement warrant a stakeholder-driven review.
"What this is is a study of the Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act and the Landlord Tenant Act," Karlen told the committee, describing stakeholder outreach that would include landlords and residents, with the goal of identifying narrow areas for reform and learning from other states.
The Montana Landlord Association (John Synrude) opposed adopting broad changes and urged caution, saying the 1977 code remains largely functional and warned against one-sided reforms that place undue burdens on landlords. Synrude also stressed the need for better training for property managers and for involving landlord associations in interim work.
Committee members discussed coordinating studies and possibly combining related study resolutions to avoid duplication. Representative Karlen said he intentionally included landlords as stakeholders and said a formal interim process would provide a structured, transparent forum for conversations about mobile-home parks, private-equity ownership, and tenant protections.
The committee closed the hearing on HJ 41 with members urging stakeholder engagement and further work in interim committees; no legislative changes were adopted during the session hearing.
