Breaking a lease in Mississippi

A fixed-term rental agreement expires on the date it states, and the Act gives the tenant no general right to leave early. It does let a cosigner end a lease when the tenant dies. The Act has no early-termination rule for victims of domestic violence or for servicemembers; other Mississippi law and the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act were not read for this page.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17(1) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29

• A cosigner may end the lease before it expires when the tenant, or every tenant, dies, and is presumed to have done so unless the cosigner tells the landlord within 30 days of the death that the cosigner chooses not to terminate. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29(2) See Death of a tenant on the Mississippi page
• A court issuing a domestic abuse protection order may grant the petitioner possession of the residence or household to the exclusion of the respondent, by evicting the respondent or restoring possession to the petitioner, or both. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-21-15

Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a tenancy is week to week when the tenant pays weekly rent and month to month in all other cases. Either side may end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date, or a week-to-week tenancy by written notice given at least 7 days before it.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(1) to (3)

• No notice to terminate is required when the landlord or tenant has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the Act that materially affects health or safety. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(4)
• If the tenant does not leave after the tenancy ends, you may start an eviction for failing to vacate, filing a copy of your written termination notice. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-31(b) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-33(b)(ii) See Eviction process on the Mississippi page