Montana · Construction-defect rights
Here is what you have, and here is how to keep it.
In Montana you have at most 6 years after the improvement is completed to sue over a construction defect, no matter when it is discovered (shortened from 10 by a 2025 amendment). If the injury first occurs in that 6th year, a suit may still be filed within 1 year of the injury. Before filing a residential defect suit you must give the contractor written notice and a chance to inspect and repair.
What you have
Past the deadline for a defect? A contract claim may still be alive.
The construction deadline here bars tort claims — but the repose excludes an action on a contract/obligation founded on a written instrument (§ 27-2-208(1))Someone told “you’re past the deadline” may still have a live contract or warranty claim, and typically no one volunteers that.
If the builder or developer still controls the property, the deadline isn’t theirs to raise.
The exception most homeowners would never think to ask about: does not affect the responsibility of an owner/tenant/person in control of the improvement when a right of action arises (§ 27-2-208(3)) It matters most where a builder still controls part of a project — a phased subdivision, an unfinished condo association.
You have six years from completion to sue over a construction defect in Montana — recently shortened from ten (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-208), so a build finished years ago may already be out of time. Before you sue, Montana requires written notice of the claim to the construction professional, who has 21 days to respond (Mont. Code Ann. § 70-19-427). A written contract claim survives separately, an injury in the sixth year buys one more year, and a party still controlling the property is not shielded. Montana courts treat the repose as absolute — it is not tolled even for fraudulent concealment — so acting early is essential.
The deadline
6 years to bring a construction-defect claim
Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-208(1)
6 years from completion (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-208(1)) — SHORTENED FROM 10 BY A 2025 AMENDMENT (Ch. 174, L. 2025, SB 143); older summaries say 10 and are stale. Excludes actions on a written instrument (contract), which survive separately. An injury during the 6th year may be sued on within 1 year of the injury (§ 27-2-208(2)). The repose does not affect the responsibility of an owner/tenant/possessor in control when a right of action arises (§ 27-2-208(3)). NO fraud carve-out: the Montana Supreme Court (Hill County High School Dist. v. Dick Anderson Constr., construing the prior version) held the repose an absolute bar that cannot be tolled for fraudulent concealment. Residential right-to-repair: 21-day contractor response (§ 70-19-427).
“Except as provided in 70-19-427(1) and subsections (2) and (3) of this section, an action to recover damages (other than an action on any contract, obligation, or liability founded on an instrument in writing) ... arising out of the design, planning, supervision, inspection, construction, or observation of construction of any improvement to real property ... may not be commenced more than 6 years after completion of the improvement or land surveying.”
Before you sue: Montana requires written notice of the claim to the construction professional before you sue over a residential defect. The law sets no lead time; the professional has 21 days after the notice to respond. Serving the notice pauses the limitation period. (Mont. Code Ann. § 70-19-427)
What to do now
Write it down the day you notice it. Photograph it with something for scale. Note the date, the room, and what you saw. If it gets worse, photograph it again - a sequence is far stronger than one picture. Keep every message with the builder. You are not starting a fight; you are keeping the option open. Montana requires written notice to the builder before you sue: see "Before you sue" on this page for the exact rule. Describe each defect in reasonable detail; a record made at the time is what most people are missing later.
The same defect, a different answer next door
The construction-defect deadline is a state-by-state accident of geography. The identical crack in the identical house can be dead in one state and live in another.