Housing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the 69th Legislature 

Jun 26, 2025

By Aubrey Godbey

The 69th Legislature has officially adjourned. Throughout the session, there were many bills focused on housing, ranging from aspiring funding bills to bills for the protection of tenants. There were ‘good’ historic investments in housing, there was also the ‘bad’ of bills not passing that would've created and preserved affordable housing, and even the ‘ugly’ of bills harming houseless individuals in Montana. 

The Good

• HB 924: Generally revise state finance laws. This bill invested $31.2 million in the ‘Housing Trust’ program, which will provide loans for the development of affordable housing. The trust itself also creates an ongoing revenue stream, as the program functions as a revolving loan account. Loan repayments will remain in the trust, with an estimated $3.4 million contributed in fiscal year 2026. Existing loans from the Multifamily Coal Trust Home Loan Program, $115 million, were transferred into this new program. While these funds were already allocated, they will now refuel the Housing Trust with their loan repayments. The structure of this program creates a long-term, sustainable funding source for the development of affordable housing, with an estimated $12.6 million annually once the trust fully capitalizes. 
• HB 311: Require the refund of rental application fees. This bill protects unsuccessful rental applicants from being charged for services that were not rendered through rental application fees. There were alterations to this bill in the Senate that allowed an exception to landlords and property managers with fewer than four units to minimize effects on small businesses, but overall, this legislation helps tenants in Montana by getting money back on rentals that were not acquired. 
• HB 492: Revise municipal zoning laws related to parking requirements. This bill restricts municipalities from requiring more than one parking space per residential unit. More than half of renter households in Montana have one or zero vehicles available. Parking spaces add a large cost to the development of housing, up to $30,000 per space for structured parking. This bill will help eliminate these requirements so more money can be used to develop units and not parking spots that will go unused. 

 

The Bad

• HB 21: Establish a workforce housing tax credit. This program would have created a state-based tax credit program for the development and preservation of affordable housing. The funds from this program could also have piggybacked on the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit by helping match funds. This bill has been run for multiple sessions, and passed the Senate and the House in 2021, but was vetoed by the Governor. If this bill had been passed in its attempt in 2019, there would have been a cumulative 1,350 units in Montana by the end of 2024 and another 2,250 units by the end of 2026. 
• HB 878: Authorize additional funding for Coal Trust Loan Program for housing. This bill would have reauthorized the Coal Trust Loan Program while also investing another $50 million for the development and preservation of affordable housing. 
• HB 310: Establish a grant program to increase community shelter capacity for the homeless population. According to the Homelessness Management Information System, as of May 2025, , 633 clients are active on the State’s ‘By Name List’, which tracks the number of homeless individuals every day in Montana. There is an estimated $100 increase in median rent associated with a 9 percent increase in the estimated homelessness rate. This bill would have provided essential resources to shelters in Montana by helping retain and grow staff, offering increased support and services, and expanding facilities, therefore effectively lowering rates of homelessness and minimizing rental increases. 

 

The Ugly 

• SB 101: Revise laws related to squatting. This bill clarified what is defined as ‘unlawful squatting’ and created a process for the removal of that person from the property. The largest concern shown around this bill is that it will endanger tenants who are in verbal lease agreements, which are legal in Montana. Without documentation, this bill puts those tenants at risk for unlawful and unjustified removal from their homes. 
• HB 940: Prohibit overnight camping on state highway right-of-way. This bill criminalizes houseless individuals sleeping outdoors and requires them to leave and remove their property within 72 hours. Failure to do so will result in a fine. There was another similar harmful bill that passed the session, HB 642, to define and revise public nuisance laws. In short, this bill criminalizes houseless individuals from sleeping outdoors in areas that have an ordinance against it, and they shall be fined. The bill further criminalizes these individuals by making each day of the conduct a separate offense. 

 

The ‘ugly’ of the 69th Legislature was the attack on houseless individuals sleeping outside within a state going through a housing crisis, in both affordability and availability. 

Looking Forward 

With Montana’s rental vacancy rate at an all-time low of 4.3 percent, there will be an eye on how the bills above affect the state of housing and rates of houselessness in the state. MBPC will continue to meet with stakeholders and political representatives, while creating research and reports, to help address the inequities experienced by renters and low-income individuals in Montana.