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SB 501MONTANASession 2025State Billdead

Did Not Advance

Montana bill gives residential tenants first right to purchase rental properties before sale

Original title: Establishing the Keep Montanans Housed Act

Last action · May 23, 2025: (S) Died in ProcessSponsor: Laura Smith

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Proposed

Montana Senate Bill 501 requires landlords to offer tenants a to purchase their rental property at a bona fide or appraised market price before selling or issuing a notice to vacate for demolition or sale. Tenants are given 45 days to accept the offer or challenge its price using a licensed appraiser. The measure was introduced for the 2025 legislative session with a planned effective date of July 1, 2025, but ultimately died in committee.

Why it matters

Residential tenants gain a legally mandated purchase window before landlords can sell rental properties to third-party buyers, altering the traditional timeline and negotiation process for property sales.

Background

Laura Smith is a Democratic member of the Montana Senate, representing District 40. context
Senate Bill 501 was introduced during the 69th Montana Legislative Session in 2025. context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

residential tenants

Residential tenants receive a right of first refusal to purchase their rental units and a 45-day window to evaluate or challenge purchase offers before landlords can sell to third parties.

Directly affected

landlords

Landlords are required to provide formal offers of sale to tenants and wait for the expiration of a 45-day response period before selling rental units to third-party purchasers.

Key Facts

Landlords must offer tenants an opportunity to purchase a rented dwelling unit or premises before selling it or issuing a notice to vacate for demolition, repurposing, or selling.
Landlords must deliver the offer of sale via hand delivery, electronic transmission, or certified mail without retaining any percentage of ownership.
The sales price cannot exceed a comparable price between a willing seller and buyer or the appraised value of the property.
Tenants have 45 days upon receiving the offer of sale to accept it.

Show all 7 facts

Tenants may challenge an offer as not being bona fide and request an appraisal by a licensed real estate appraiser at the tenant's expense.
If a tenant rejects the offer or fails to respond within 45 days, the landlord may proceed with selling to a third-party purchaser under the same terms.
The act was scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a landlord do before selling a rental property under this bill?

The landlord must provide the tenant with a copy of an offer of sale at a price comparable to a willing buyer-seller transaction or appraised value, delivered via hand delivery, electronic transmission, or certified mail.

How long does a tenant have to respond to an offer of sale?

The tenant has 45 days from receipt of the offer of sale to accept it or challenge its validity.

Who pays for a real estate appraisal if the tenant challenges the offer price?

The tenant pays for the determination of the appraised value by a licensed real estate appraiser.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died in committee.

Procedural history

15 actions

May 23, 2025Senate
(S) Died in Process
Mar 12, 2025Senate
(S) Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal
Feb 28, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Tabled in Committee
Feb 27, 2025Senate
(S) Hearing
Feb 26, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Referred to Committee
Feb 26, 2025Senate
(S) 1st Reading

Show 9 earlier actions

Feb 25, 2025SenateIntroduced
(S) Introduced
Feb 24, 2025House
(LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
Feb 23, 2025House
(LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
Feb 23, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Assembly
Feb 23, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
Feb 22, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
Feb 20, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Edit
Feb 20, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Legal Review
Nov 11, 2024House
(LC) Drafter Assigned

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Connected Entities

D. Fern, Laura Smith, J. Ellis and 5 more

PersonD. Fern“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

PersonLaura Smith“Primary sponsor of Senate Bill 501, Democrat representing District 40.”Map →

PersonJ. Ellis“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

PersonJ. Morigeau“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

PersonM. Dunwell“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

PersonS. Novak“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

locationMontana“State where the legislation was introduced.”Map →

PersonE. Boldman“Co-sponsor of Senate Bill 501.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

bills.legmt.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz25
Current news / social attention level

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