No specific Montana state law prohibits sleeping on a refrigerator in your backyard; the notion appears to stem from debunked “dumb laws” lists without statutory basis. Local ordinances may address nuisances or abandoned appliances, but sleeping on one privately owned does not violate them unless it creates health/safety hazards or interferes with neighbors.​
Nuisance Regulations
Montana’s 2025 public nuisance law defines issues as property conditions endangering safety or interfering with public rights, requiring proximate causation for liability. Private nuisances involve harm to adjacent properties, like indecency or obstruction, but a backyard refrigerator setup alone typically does not qualify without complaints.​
Local Ordinance Examples
Municipal codes in places like Circle ban abandoning refrigerators to prevent child entrapment, not their use for sleeping. Billings restricts open storage of appliances if unlicensed or inoperable for over five days, potentially citing visual blight. Check city/county rules for zoning setbacks or health codes before unconventional setups.
SOURCES
[1](https://www.wlf.org/2025/06/02/publishing/montana-enacts-first-of-its-kind-law-to-stem-expansions-of-public-nuisance-liability/)
[2](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/circlemt/latest/circle_mt/0-0-0-1230)
[3](https://forestgrove.pgusd.org/documents/Computer-Lab/Strange-State-Laws.pdf)
[4](https://www.billingsmt.gov/DocumentView.asp?DID=3003)
[5](https://www.jackery.com/blogs/knowledge/is-it-illegal-to-sleep-in-your-car-what-states)
