Mississippi eviction notice periods
For unpaid rent, Miss. Code 89-8-13(5)(a) lets a landlord deliver a written notice that the rental agreement will end if rent isn’t paid within three days. Email or text works only if the tenant agreed in writing to be notified that way.
Other material breaches follow 89-8-13(3). The notice must describe the breach and say the agreement ends on a date at least 14 days after the tenant receives it unless the breach is fixed within a reasonable time of no more than 14 days. If substantially the same breach happens again within six months, you can terminate on 14 days’ notice with no chance to cure.
Ending a periodic tenancy takes 30 days’ written notice for month-to-month and 7 days for week-to-week, under 89-8-19. When a fixed-term lease has expired and the tenant stays, 89-8-17(2) allows a written notice that you will file no earlier than three days later.
When Mississippi requires no notice at all
Mississippi is unusual in one respect. Under 89-8-19(4), no notice to terminate is required when the tenant has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the act that materially affects health or safety. That doesn’t remove the need for a court case and a warrant, but it lets you file without waiting out a notice period.
The same health-and-safety standard can shorten the move-out after judgment. Under 89-8-39(1), the judge can set a move-out date sooner than seven days if the tenant committed such a violation or poses an immediate and significant risk of harm to people or the property. Document the danger with photos, police reports and witness statements, since the judge will need findings to support either step.
How Mississippi counts notice and what it must say
The 3-day and 14-day periods run from the tenant’s receipt of the notice, so proof of delivery is what starts the clock. Hand delivery with a signed acknowledgment, or a text or email to a tenant who agreed in writing to that method, gives you a clean receipt date.
Keep the notice simple and specific: the unit address, the amount of rent due or the breach, the deadline, and the statement that the rental agreement will terminate if the tenant doesn’t pay or cure. You will attach a copy to your sworn complaint under 89-8-33, and the court will compare it against the lease. Under 89-8-13(5)(b), the judge in a nonpayment hearing must follow the terms of the rental agreement the parties signed.
Statewide limits on Mississippi evictions
Mississippi has no just-cause eviction law. A landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy for any lawful reason with 30 days’ notice. The main statewide limit on motive is in 89-8-17(2), which allows a rent increase after a lease expires only if retaliation for the tenant’s actions under the act was not the dominant purpose.
Federal and subsidized housing programs add their own grounds and notice rules, so check your regulatory agreement or HAP contract before serving a notice at a subsidized unit.
The Mississippi eviction case, step by step
File a sworn complaint or affidavit with the court in the county where the unit sits, most often the justice court, which is where the Administrative Office of Courts’ sample eviction forms are captioned. Under 89-8-33, it must state the facts requiring removal, the unit address and any rent and fees owed, and attach a copy of the notice you delivered.
The clerk issues a summons that commands the tenant to vacate or appear on a named day and show cause why possession shouldn’t go to you. Section 89-8-35 requires the summons to tell the tenant they will have at least seven days to move after a judgment, that paying everything owed before the hearing or by the move-out date ends a nonpayment case, and what happens to belongings left behind. Service follows the Mississippi Rules of Court.
At the hearing, 89-8-37 requires the judge to grant judgment to the landlord if you complied with the filing rules, service was proper and either the tenant didn’t appear or had no valid defense or counterclaim. The judgment must be signed and executed the same business day.
Either side can ask for adjournments, but each one is capped at 10 days unless both sides consent. No adjournment can push the whole hearing more than 30 days past the date you filed, under 89-8-41.
Judgment, the move-out date and the warrant for removal
After judgment, 89-8-39(1) has the judge order the tenant out in seven days unless an emergency or other compelling circumstance justifies a shorter or longer period. Until then, the tenant keeps the same access the lease allowed.
Once the move-out date passes, you can request a warrant for removal and pay the fees. The judge must issue it immediately to the sheriff or a constable of the county, unless a nonpayment tenant has paid in full. Posting the warrant on the door doesn’t count as executing it: the officer must remove the occupants and put you in physical possession.
For 72 hours after removal, you must give the tenant reasonable access to take their belongings. After that, you can move what remains to the curb, a garbage area or another agreed spot. Belongings left behind by a tenant who moves out by the court date can be disposed of without further notice. Appeals from final judgments follow the Mississippi Rules of Court under 89-8-43.
The tenant’s right to pay and keep the unit
In a case based only on unpaid rent, the tenant can stay by paying in full. Under 89-8-39(4), no warrant can issue if the tenant pays all unpaid rent and other sums awarded by the court-ordered move-out date. You must act in good faith and accept full payment if it’s tendered by then.
Watch what you accept afterward. If you take payment of those amounts after the move-out date, the same subsection bars the warrant. Decide before the date passes whether you want the money or the unit, and don’t accept partial payments you don’t intend to treat as a settlement.
Self-help and federal rules
Mississippi’s procedure puts removal in the hands of the sheriff or a constable under a warrant, and 89-8-39(2) says the tenant loses the right to reside only after the court-ordered move-out date. Changing locks, cutting utilities or removing belongings before the officer acts sits outside that process, so leave possession to the warrant.
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA loan, or a covered federal program, the CARES Act may apply. Section 4024(c), at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars a landlord of a covered property from requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains and courts have split on whether it still applies, so a 30-day notice at a covered building is the safer course. Before a default judgment, file an affidavit of military status under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3931.
Mississippi eviction timeline at a glance
This table covers a nonpayment case in justice court with no appeal.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Notice for unpaid rent | 3 days after receipt | Miss. Code 89-8-13(5) |
| Notice for other breaches | At least 14 days; cure within 14 days | 89-8-13(3) |
| Holdover after lease expires | File no earlier than 3 days after notice | 89-8-17(2) |
| Month-to-month termination | 30 days’ written notice | 89-8-19(3) |
| Each adjournment | No more than 10 days without consent | 89-8-41(2) |
| Hearing completed | Within 30 days of filing | 89-8-41(3) |
| Move-out after judgment | 7 days, unless the court sets another period | 89-8-39(1) |
| Warrant for removal | Issued immediately on request after move-out date | 89-8-39(2) |
| Tenant access to belongings | 72 hours after removal | 89-8-39(3) |
Worked example: what a Mississippi eviction can cost
Mississippi doesn’t set a minimum hearing date, so this example uses the statute’s outer limit. Assume a $950-a-month unit in a 24-unit building in Jackson, a tenant who stops paying, a notice handed to the tenant, and a case adjourned as far as the law allows without consent.
Deliver the notice on day 0 and file on day 4, after the three days run. With adjournments, the hearing must finish by day 34, 30 days after filing. The seven-day move-out runs to day 41, and you request the warrant that day.
At $950 a month, rent runs about $31.23 a day, so 41 days is about $1,281 of lost rent. Add an assumed $750 for an attorney and the total is about $2,031, before warrant and officer fees and turnover. If the first hearing goes forward without an adjournment, the timeline is shorter.
Alternatives to a Mississippi eviction
Because full payment by the move-out date ends a nonpayment case, the real question is often whether the tenant can catch up. A written payment agreement made before the hearing, with a clear date and amount, avoids a hearing you might win only to be paid anyway.
Cash for keys works when you need the unit back rather than the arrears. Pay a set amount for a move-out by a fixed date, paid when the keys come back, and agree on what happens to anything left behind.
Selling a Mississippi building with a pending eviction
You can sell with a case open. The buyer becomes the landlord, and the purchase agreement should say whether the buyer continues the case or files a new one, who keeps any money judgment and who pays counsel.
Buyers will ask for tenant estoppel certificates, the rent ledger, the notice and the court file. Our Mississippi landlord-tenant law guide explains how deposits and leases carry over in a sale.
Selling your Mississippi apartment building to Skyline
Skyline buys occupied Mississippi apartment buildings with five or more units, including ones with problem tenants or a case already filed. We underwrite the rent roll as it stands.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
