Calls grow in Bozeman MT for tenant RTC

NBC Montana previously reported that Bozeman Tenants United was pushing for tenant RTC and that “Bozeman city commissioners said they were open to exploring the establishment of a tenant right to counsel program.”  Then, NBC Montana reported that tenants of an income-restricted housing development called Bridger Heights pushed back against unsafe conditions in their homes, and after forming Bridger Heights Tenants Union, collaborated with Bozema Tenants United on a public protest of the conditions and called on the City of Bozeman to pass a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.

On May 4, 2025, Bozeman Tenants United held a town hall that was covered by KBZK.  Our Coordinator spoke at the town hall about the tenant RTC policies in other jurisdictions and how tenant RTC has become a mainstream idea in the minds of communities and policymakers around the country.  Attendees also heard from Connie Howell, a tenant who went through a harrowing eviction, as well as Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison, Montana Legal Services attorney Amy Hall, Brian Guyer from HRDC (a homeless services provider), and MSU Student Legal Services attorney Charlie Cromwell.  Connie Howell subsequently penned a piece in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle expanding on her story and urging the City to enact a tenant RTC policy.