Off-Campus Student Life hosts Renters Rights Workshop

MSU’s Off-Campus Student Life (OCSL) was joined by Kallie Dale, — a Helena-based attorney who is the legal council for the Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU) Legal Services — for a virtual Renters Rights Workshop hosted by OCSL program coordinator Devon Sanders on Oct. 21.

The first Renters Rights Workshop was hosted in October 2025 by Rebecca Eberlin, who is now the OCSL program manager, in collaboration with ASMSU Legal Services. 

Eberlin said she was inspired to host the first Renters Rights Workshop because of the amount of students she has encountered coming into the OCSL office that did not have a strong understanding of their rights as renters in Montana. 

“This workshop really came from wanting to make sure students have the information they needed to jump into renter relationships with landlords with a bit more knowledge, so they could be a bit more comfortable navigating any situation that comes up in the future,” she said.

Eberlin said she believes that it is  important for everyone to know their rights as renters, but oftentimes college students are renting for the first time so they may not understand the intricacies of reading a lease. 

“With this [workshop], the goal is to make sure that students — who might not have the same understanding of the rental process as someone who has been doing it for 10 or 15 years does — making sure they know their rights, that they know how to read leases, they know how to have conversations with landlords [and] they know how to advocate for themselves,” Eberlin said. 

This year, Sanders coordinated with Dale to organize a Renters Rights Workshop available to not only MSU students but to everyone in the MSU community. “We sent it out in the family and parent newsletter to encourage parents of MSU students to attend. And if staff and faculty want to attend as well, that's great — since a lot of folks in Bozeman are renters,” Sanders said.

Because tenancy law can be intense and varies between states, the workshop will allow students to know more about Montana’s specific laws and regulations. “Knowing and understanding your rights and your responsibilities as a tenant before signing a lease can be really a helpful way to prevent issues from arising throughout your lease term,” she said.

The workshop will cover topics ranging from leases, resources from the City of Bozeman, laws in the state of Montana and more. “The main goal for the workshop is to demystify the tenant-landlord relationship, and demystify being a tenant the first time for students. So they feel confident when signing their first lease or feel confident addressing issues as they arise,” she said.

According to Sanders, students often struggle with subletting and lease terminations. “Navigating that can be the most challenging,” she said.

Sanders said she hoped the workshop would address common misconceptions, such as the idea that tenants have no or limited rights. Her goal was that the workshop would open resources to students struggling with tenant issues.

Additionally, Dale stated that some of the most common legal issues she sees students facing when renting in Bozeman are different types of repair requests ranging from mold and infestations, to heater and hot water issues. She also sees students have issues with breaking leases due to roommate issues and making sure students get their security deposit back. “If the student [had] issues with their landlord, they can always make an appointment with ASMSU Legal Services and we can provide resources and provide them with timelines. We will also send them to montanalawhelp.org,” she said. 

ASMSU Legal Services is a free service that gives legal advice which can include reaching out to a landlord; however, they are unable to help represent a student in court, according to its website.  

Dale recommended going to montanalawhelp.org rather than using AI resources because of the specificity of Montana tenant law. “Montana has a very specific unusual housing statute in our code so the generic answer from ChatGPT isn’t the correct answer for Montana,” she said.

Dale emphasized that students may not know that landlords have a duty to maintain a habitable and safe environment. "A lot of landlords take advantage of students' ignorance on that and they'll often reduce their responsibility,” she said.

Additionally, she emphasized that students are entitled to their security deposit, even if landlords make it difficult to receive. 

Dale mentioned that the biggest piece of general legal advice she would give students before signing a lease is to read it. “If you’re not being allowed to read it, don’t sign that lease,” she said.