# Montana HB 311: Require the refund of rental application fees Montana HB 311, Require the refund of rental application fees, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Kelly Kortum (Democrat); status signed, last action 2025-05-05 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB311-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 311 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Require the refund of rental application fees - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-24 - Last action: 2025-05-05, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Kelly Kortum (Democrat) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Landlord and Tenant, Courts, Housing - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (486 yes, 255 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Get back wrongfully kept fees: benefit, low. If a manager wrongfully keeps any part of your application fee, you can sue to recover that amount. A court may also award attorney fees to the winner. The manager must prove the services they charged for were actually done. - Renters get application fee refunds: benefit, low. Property managers who run 4 or more units must refund your rental application fee if you do not sign the lease. The refund must come within a reasonable time. If the fee covers specific services, they must give you a written breakdown when they collect it. If you do not sign, they may keep only the… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Kelly Kortum (Democrat), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-15 | House | Do Concur | pass | 68 | 29 | | | 2025-04-14 | House | Do Concur | pass | 78 | 22 | | | 2025-04-08 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 34 | 14 | | | 2025-04-05 | Senate | Do Pass As Amended | pass | 36 | 14 | | | 2025-04-05 | Senate | AMD-HB0311.002.001 Trebas D/PASS | pass | 28 | 21 | | | 2025-03-20 | Senate | Rerefer to Business and Labor-Flowers | pass | 29 | 21 | | | 2025-03-20 | Senate | Rerefer to Senate Local Government-Trebas | fail | 21 | 29 | | | 2025-03-07 | House | Do Pass | pass | 67 | 32 | | | 2025-03-05 | House | Do Pass | pass | 68 | 31 | | | 2025-03-04 | House | Take HB 311 from JUH - Kortum | pass | 57 | 42 | | ## Actions (31) - 2025-05-05: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-04-22: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-18: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-15: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: 3rd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-14: 2nd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-08: Returned to House with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-08: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-05: 2nd Reading House Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-05: 2nd Reading Motion to Amend (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-24: Hearing Canceled (Senate) - 2025-03-24: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-22: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Rereferred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-03-04: Take from Committee; Place on 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-02-17: Tabled in Committee (House) - 2025-02-03: Hearing (House) - 2025-01-27: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-01-27: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-01-24: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=448a03c0-3647-4ee8-a1d1-698772c9bfeb) - As Amended (Version 3), 2025-04-05: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=7317e36a-2db1-446a-8ad2-47d326bee81d) - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-04-03: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=90e545c0-f2a0-4d5f-ab76-237cdeb1782e) - Introduced, 2025-01-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=13b1bde1-28dc-4406-a7f4-fb1cd1530ae1) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=448a03c0-3647-4ee8-a1d1-698772c9bfeb) - [As Amended (Version 3) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=7317e36a-2db1-446a-8ad2-47d326bee81d) - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=90e545c0-f2a0-4d5f-ab76-237cdeb1782e) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=13b1bde1-28dc-4406-a7f4-fb1cd1530ae1) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB311-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).