Mississippi landlord-tenant law

The Act does not regulate application or screening fees. A payment made to secure the execution of a rental agreement, such as a holding payment or an advance payment of rent, falls outside the Act's deposit rules.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(1) (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

For housing covered by the federal Fair Housing Act, do not deny housing, change rental terms or publish discriminatory advertising because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability. Only the selected federal sections cited here were read; Mississippi-specific and local protections remain unchecked.

42 U.S.C. 3604

The Act requires no particular disclosure in a lease. Other Mississippi statutes and federal rules, such as the lead-based paint disclosure for older housing, were not read for this page.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-9 to 89-8-19, 89-8-33, 89-8-37, 89-8-41 to 89-8-45 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-31, 89-8-35, 89-8-39 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-7 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1, 89-8-5, 89-8-21 to 89-8-27 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The Act requires no flood disclosure to a tenant.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-9 to 89-8-19, 89-8-33, 89-8-37, 89-8-41 to 89-8-45 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-31, 89-8-35, 89-8-39 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-7 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1, 89-8-5, 89-8-21 to 89-8-27 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The Act does not require you to disclose the owner's or manager's name and address. Notice given to your agent counts as notice to you, and you may contract with an agent to take on your rights and duties under the Act, though you remain ultimately liable for them.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(2)

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no maximum security deposit. Its deposit section covers any payment whose main purpose is to secure the tenant's performance of the rental agreement, and it controls how that money is held, charged and returned, not how much it may be. Only the Act was read for this point.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

You may keep only amounts reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent, damage the tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning when the tenancy ends, or other reasonable and necessary expenses caused by the tenant's default, and only if the deposit was made for those purposes. Claim them by written notice delivered to the tenant that itemizes the amounts, and return the rest no later than 45 days after the tenancy ends, the tenant delivers possession and the tenant demands the deposit.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(3) (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The landlord holds the deposit for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it comes ahead of the claim of any of the landlord's creditors. The Act does not require a separate or interest-bearing account and does not require interest to be paid.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(2) (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The Act requires no move-in inspection, checklist or condition report. Its repair duty is measured against the start of the lease: you keep the unit and its plumbing, heating and cooling in substantially the same condition as at the inception of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excluded, so a dated record of the move-in condition is useful evidence.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-23(1)(b) (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The Act sets no cap on late fees and no grace period. It defines rent as every payment due to the landlord under the rental agreement, including any late fees the agreement requires a defaulting tenant to pay, so a late fee your lease requires is treated as rent.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(1)(k)

The Act does not mention returned-payment fees. Mississippi's bad check law presumes intent to defraud when a check or electronic payment is refused and the maker does not pay the amount plus a $40 service charge within 15 days after receiving notice that it was not paid. Whether that $40 also limits a returned-payment fee written into a lease depends on a civil section, Miss. Code 11-7-12, that could not be read, so this page states no cap.

Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-57(1)

The Act sets no notice period for a rent increase and no limit on its size. After a rental agreement expires, the Act lets you demand a rent increase if that action did not have the dominant purpose of retaliating against the tenant for actions the Act authorizes and you received written notice of each condition that was the subject of the tenant's actions.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17(2)

The Act sets no notice period or other rule for a landlord's entry, so the lease decides. A clear written entry term with an emergency exception avoids disputes.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-9 to 89-8-19, 89-8-33, 89-8-37, 89-8-41 to 89-8-45 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-31, 89-8-35, 89-8-39 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-7 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1, 89-8-5, 89-8-21 to 89-8-27 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

At all times during the tenancy you must comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, and keep the unit and its plumbing, heating and cooling systems in substantially the same condition as at the start of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excluded. No duty arises for a defect the tenant, or someone on the premises with the tenant's permission, caused deliberately or negligently, or one caused by the tenant's failure to meet the tenant's own duties.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-23 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

Tenant repair remedies

If you fail to repair a specific and material defect within 30 days after the tenant's written notice, the tenant may repair it and is entitled to reimbursement within 45 days after giving you receipted bills, but only if the tenant has met the tenant's own duties, the repair costs no more than one month's rent, the tenant has not used this remedy in the previous six months and the tenant is current on rent. Reimbursement is limited to the usual and customary charge, and the tenant may offset the cost against future rent.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-15

The Act sets no lock, rekey or security device requirement.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-9 to 89-8-19, 89-8-33, 89-8-37, 89-8-41 to 89-8-45 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-31, 89-8-35, 89-8-39 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-7 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1, 89-8-5, 89-8-21 to 89-8-27 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted)

The Act has no smoke alarm section. It does require you to comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, and it defines those codes to include any law, ordinance or governmental regulation on fitness for habitation; state and local fire and building codes were not read for this page.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-23(1)(a) (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(1)(a)

The Act has no general ban on retaliation. Its only retaliation rule concerns rent: after a rental agreement expires, you may demand a rent increase if that action did not have the dominant purpose of retaliating against the tenant for actions the Act authorizes and you received written notice of each condition that was the subject of the tenant's actions. Mississippi court decisions on retaliatory eviction were not read for this page.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17(2)

The Act's eviction path ends with a warrant for removal that the sheriff or a constable carries out by removing the occupants and putting the landlord in physical possession. The Act has no separate section on lockouts or utility shutoffs, and Mississippi's older eviction chapter and court decisions were not read for this page, so check them before using any self-help.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-39(2)

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)

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

If rent is not paid, you may deliver a notice saying the rental agreement will terminate if the rent is not paid within three days. The notice must be in writing, or by email or text message if the tenant agreed in writing to be notified that way. The Act does not say whether the three days are calendar or business days.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(a)

For a material breach other than unpaid rent, you may deliver a notice specifying the acts and omissions that make up the breach and saying the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than 14 days after the tenant receives it if the breach is not remedied within a reasonable time of no more than 14 days. If the tenant adequately remedies a remediable breach before that date, the agreement does not terminate.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(1), (3)

You may start an eviction for a breach of the rental agreement or the Act after the breach or nonpayment notice, or for failing to vacate after the agreement ends or expires. You file a sworn affidavit or complaint stating the facts, the unit's address and any rent and fees owed, with a copy of the written notice you delivered. The summons orders the tenant to vacate or to show cause on a named day, and a judgment must be signed on the same business day it is granted. Service of the summons and appeals follow the Mississippi Rules of Court, which were not read for this page.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-31 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-33 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-35 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-37

The Act's property rules apply after a judgment of possession. If the tenant moves out by the court-ordered move-out date and leaves property behind, you may dispose of it without further notice. After a warrant for removal is executed, you must give the tenant reasonable access for 72 hours to remove personal property, including a manufactured home; property left by a tenant who moves out within those hours may be disposed of without further notice, and after them you may move what remains to the curb, an area for garbage or another place you and the tenant agree on.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-39(1), (3) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(6)

Mississippi's small claims limits and justice court jurisdiction were not read for this page. For evictions under the Act, a justice court, a county court or a circuit court may hear the case.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(1)(b)

When a fixed-term rental agreement expires and the tenancy does not continue month to month, you may give the tenant notice that the tenant is holding over and that you will start eviction proceedings no earlier than three days after the notice. The notice must be in writing, or by email or text message if the tenant agreed to be notified that way. If the tenant fails or refuses to vacate after you notify the tenant to do so, you may charge double rent for the time the tenant stays past the date to vacate in your notice, unless the rental agreement says otherwise.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17(2) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(1) Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-45

A cosigner of a residential lease may end it before it expires when the tenant dies or, if there is more than one tenant, when all of them die, and is presumed to have done so. A cosigner who chooses not to end the lease must notify the landlord within 30 days of the death. The estate and the cosigner still owe rent and other sums owed before the death, rent and other sums for the rest of the month or other 30-day period in which the death occurred, and the cost of restoring the premises to their condition at the start of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29

Unauthorized occupancy and adverse possession

Partly read

Adverse possession is a claim to ownership, separate from a dispute about who may occupy a rental. A Mississippi court opinion describes a ten-year test involving an ownership claim, actual or hostile possession, use visible to the owner, exclusivity, and peaceful use without interruption. Time spent at a property alone does not establish every requirement. A disputed claim needs a factual and legal assessment.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi: selected adverse-possession discussion (2018)

The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act contains no rent control. Separately, the municipal and county home-rule grants do not authorize regulation of rent for private residential property in which the local government has no property interest without prior legislative approval or authority from another state statute or law.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-9 to 89-8-19, 89-8-33, 89-8-37, 89-8-41 to 89-8-45 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-31, 89-8-35, 89-8-39 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-3, 89-8-7 Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-29 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1, 89-8-5, 89-8-21 to 89-8-27 (reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, not enacted) Miss. Code 21-17-5(2)(h), 19-3-40(3)(g): Legislature Code access