Mississippi landlord-tenant law at a glance
Mississippi landlord-tenant law for homes and apartments is mainly in the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 8 of Title 89 of the Mississippi Code. Sections 89-8-1 through 89-8-29 cover the tenancy, notices and deposits, and Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43, added in 2022, set out the residential eviction process. Older rules on landlords and tenants, including the rights of a buyer of leased property, are in Chapter 7.
| Rule | Mississippi requirement | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | Written notice at least 30 days before the termination date, by either side | Miss. Code 89-8-19 |
| Ending a week-to-week tenancy | Written notice at least 7 days before the termination date | Miss. Code 89-8-19 |
| Unpaid rent | Written notice that the lease ends if rent is not paid within 3 days | Miss. Code 89-8-13(5) |
| Other material breach | Written notice; lease ends at least 14 days after receipt unless cured within 14 days | Miss. Code 89-8-13(3) |
| Deposit cap | None in the statute | Miss. Code 89-8-21 |
| Deposit return | 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered and the tenant asks, with an itemized list | Miss. Code 89-8-21 |
| Bad-faith deposit retention | Up to $200 in damages plus actual damages | Miss. Code 89-8-21 |
| Move-out after judgment | 7 days from judgment unless the court orders otherwise | Miss. Code 89-8-39 |
| Late fees and entry notice | No rule in Chapter 8; set them in the lease | Lease |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Mississippi?
A Mississippi landlord must give written notice at least 30 days before the termination date to end a month-to-month tenancy, under Miss. Code 89-8-19. The tenant owes the same 30 days. A week-to-week tenancy needs 7 days’ notice.
If the lease has no definite term, the law treats it as week to week for a tenant who pays rent weekly and month to month for everyone else. A fixed-term lease ends on its end date unless it renews. Nothing in Mississippi’s landlord-tenant chapters limits the amount of a rent increase at renewal, so the lease and the market set it.
The 3-day notice for unpaid rent
If a tenant does not pay rent when due, the landlord can give written notice that the rental agreement will terminate unless the rent is paid within three days, under Miss. Code 89-8-13(5)(a). The notice can go by email or text message if the tenant agreed in writing to receive notices that way.
The clock runs from the notice, so keep proof of when and how it was delivered. A copy of this notice must be filed with the eviction complaint, so a sloppy notice becomes a problem in court.
Other material breaches get a longer path. The landlord gives written notice naming the breach, and the lease ends no sooner than 14 days after the tenant receives it unless the tenant fixes the problem within a reasonable time of no more than 14 days. If substantially the same breach happens again within six months, the landlord can terminate on 14 days’ written notice without another chance to cure.
Security deposit rules in Mississippi
Mississippi sets no limit on the amount of a security deposit. Miss. Code 89-8-21 covers what happens to the deposit, not how large it can be, so the deposit is whatever the lease says.
The landlord must return the deposit, less lawful deductions, no later than 45 days after three things have all happened: the tenancy has ended, the tenant has delivered possession and the tenant has asked for it. If you keep any part, your written notice must itemize the amounts claimed.
Keeping a deposit in violation of the statute, and without good faith, can expose the landlord or a transferee, such as a buyer, to damages of up to $200 on top of actual damages. The dollar penalty is small, but a deposit dispute still means time in court, so track the 45 days on every move-out.
The eviction process in Mississippi
Mississippi’s residential eviction process was written into Sections 89-8-31 to 89-8-43 by a 2022 law and amended in 2025. A landlord can start an eviction for a breach under 89-8-13, including unpaid rent, or when a tenant fails to leave after the tenancy ends or expires.
- Serve the written notice: 3 days for unpaid rent, 14 days for other breaches, or the termination notice for a holdover.
- File a sworn affidavit or complaint based on the lease, stating the facts, the unit address and any rent and fees owed, with a copy of the notice.
- The court issues a summons naming the hearing day, served under the Mississippi Rules of Court. The summons tells the tenant they are being sued for eviction and that a nonpayment case ends if they pay in full before the hearing or by the move-out date.
- At the hearing, the court must grant judgment for the landlord if the tenant does not appear, or presents no valid defense, and the landlord has followed the filing rules. Judgments are signed and executed the same business day.
- The judge orders the tenant to vacate within 7 days of judgment, unless a shorter or longer period is set for compelling reasons.
- After the move-out date, the landlord can ask for a warrant for removal, which the judge must issue on request and payment of fees.
- Law enforcement executes the warrant by removing the occupants; posting it on the door does not count. The tenant then has 72 hours to retrieve belongings, after which the landlord can move them to the curb or another agreed spot.
How long does an eviction take in Mississippi?
An uncontested Mississippi nonpayment case can move from notice to possession in a few weeks. The statutory pieces are the 3-day notice, the hearing date set in the summons, a 7-day move-out period after judgment and the time needed for the warrant to be executed. Service and the court’s calendar decide the rest.
Continuances are limited. A single adjournment cannot exceed 10 days without both sides’ consent, and adjournments cannot push the hearing more than 30 days past the date the eviction was filed. Appeals follow the Mississippi Rules of Court. In a nonpayment case, a tenant who pays everything owed by the court-ordered move-out date keeps the unit, and a landlord who accepts payment after that date cannot get a warrant.
Does Mississippi have rent control?
Mississippi has no state rent control law. Neither the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act nor the older landlord-tenant chapter limits how much rent a landlord can charge or how much it can rise, and none of them restricts rent increases at renewal.
Rent limits can still bind a specific building. Properties financed with low-income housing tax credits or under other regulatory agreements carry the rent limits written into those agreements, and a buyer takes them over. Check the recorded documents before you set rents or price a sale.
Selling a Mississippi apartment building with tenants in place
Leases survive a sale in Mississippi. Under Miss. Code 89-7-21, tenants have the same rights against a buyer of the property, for the covenants and agreements in their leases, that they had against the original landlord. The buyer steps into your place for the rest of each term.
Deposits travel with the building too. Section 89-8-21 makes a landlord’s transferee liable for wrongful retention, so a buyer who owns the building when a tenant moves out answers for the return. Credit deposits to the buyer on the closing statement and send tenants written notice of the new owner and where to pay rent.
- Deliver a rent roll with each lease, deposit, pet fee and move-in date.
- Credit all deposits to the buyer at closing and document the transfer.
- Disclose pending eviction cases, notices already served and any payment plans.
- Hand over move-in condition records so the buyer can support deductions later.
Mississippi landlord-tenant law changes in 2025 and 2026
The latest change is Laws 2025, chapter 460, approved April 10, 2025, and took effect on passage. It amended residential eviction sections including 89-8-31 on when an eviction may be filed, 89-8-35 on the summons and its required notice, and 89-8-39 on orders to vacate and warrants for removal. Review your eviction notice and filing forms against the current text, especially the summons language about the 7-day move-out period and paying in full before the hearing.
Those amendments build on Laws 2022, chapter 501, approved April 21, 2022, which created the separate residential eviction procedure and revised the notice rules in 89-8-13 and 89-8-19. A 2026 House bill, HB 499, proposed tighter deadlines for serving eviction papers and holding hearings, but we found no record that it passed, and we found no 2026 change to these sections.
Selling a Mississippi apartment building to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Mississippi, with tenants in place. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We take over leases and deposits at closing and send the tenant notices.
For the tax side of a sale, see Mississippi capital gains tax on real estate and the 1031 exchange in Mississippi.
