Renter rights by state

Mississippi renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

Mississippi renters are covered by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1 and following), which the Legislature overhauled in 2022 with new eviction procedures. Mississippi's code isn't published on a free state-run site, so this guide relies on the Attorney General's consumer guide to the Act and the 2022 law (Senate Bill 2461) as sent to the Governor.

Quick facts

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

• Cap: Mississippi law doesn't limit the amount.
• Allowed deductions: only amounts reasonably needed for unpaid rent, damage you caused beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning when you move out, or other reasonable costs caused by your default, and only if the deposit was taken for those purposes. The landlord must claim them in a written, itemized notice.
• Return: whatever is left must be returned no later than 45 days after the tenancy ends, you give back possession, and you demand it. Ask for it in writing and include a forwarding address.
• Penalty: a landlord who keeps a deposit in violation of the law and in bad faith can owe up to $200 on top of actual damages.

Rent increases and late fees

Mississippi law doesn't cap rent or late fees. Under the Act, “rent” includes late fees your lease requires, so late fees in your lease can be part of what a landlord sues for. Read the late-fee clause before you sign. After a fixed-term lease expires, a landlord may raise the rent, but not mainly to retaliate against you for using your rights under the Act.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Unless your lease sets a fixed term, a tenancy is month-to-month (or week-to-week if you pay weekly). Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the end date, or 7 days for week-to-week. No notice is required if either side has committed a substantial violation that materially affects health or safety. After a fixed-term lease expires and you stay, the landlord can give written notice that eviction proceedings will start in no less than 3 days.

When the landlord can come in

The Act doesn't set a statewide rule for when or how a landlord may enter. Your lease controls, so read that section and ask for advance notice in writing.

Repairs and living conditions

During the tenancy, the landlord must follow building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, and keep the unit and its plumbing, heating, and cooling in substantially the same condition as when the lease began (normal wear and tear excepted). That doesn't cover damage you or your guests caused.

• Repair and reimburse: give the landlord written notice of a specific, material defect. If it isn't repaired within 30 days, you can fix it and get reimbursed within 45 days of giving the landlord paid receipts, or offset the cost against future rent. You must be current on rent and meeting your own duties, the cost can't exceed one month's rent or the usual and customary charge, and you can only use this once every 6 months.
• End the lease: for a material breach, you can give written notice that the lease ends in at least 14 days unless the landlord fixes the problem within that time.
• Contact your city's code enforcement office about unsafe conditions.

Eviction basics

For unpaid rent, the landlord can give written notice that the lease will end unless rent is paid within 3 days (by email or text only if you agreed to that in writing). For other material lease violations, the notice is at least 14 days with a chance to fix the problem. The landlord must then file in court with a sworn complaint and a copy of the notice.

If the judge rules for the landlord, you'll generally have 7 days to move out unless the court finds an emergency or compelling reason for a different date. In a case only about unpaid rent, paying everything the judgment says you owe by the move-out date stops the removal. Only law enforcement, acting on a court warrant, can remove you. Afterward, you get 72 hours of reasonable access to collect your belongings. If you get court papers, go to the hearing and get legal help right away.

Retaliation and discrimination

Every duty under the Act, including ending or not renewing a tenancy and evicting a tenant, must be carried out in good faith. After a lease expires, a landlord can't raise rent or evict mainly to retaliate against you for actions the Act authorizes. Housing discrimination is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. You can file with HUD (link below).

City and county rules

Some Mississippi cities have their own housing and property maintenance codes. Check with your city's code enforcement office.

Move-in checklist for Mississippi renters

• ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
• ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
• ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
• ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
• ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
• ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
• ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
• ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in Mississippi

• Mississippi Attorney General — Consumer Guide: The Landlord-Tenant Relationship (PDF) — the state's guide to the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
• Mississippi Legislature — Senate Bill 2461 (2022), eviction procedures — the official text of the 2022 changes.
• HUD — File a fair housing complaint — report housing discrimination.
• Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
• File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

• Mississippi Center for Legal Services — Landlord-tenant law — free legal information for renters.

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

• Mississippi Attorney General, Consumer Guide: The Landlord-Tenant Relationship (text of Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-29, incl. § 89-8-21 security deposits and § 89-8-23 landlord duties)
• Mississippi Legislature, Senate Bill 2461 (2022 Regular Session, as sent to Governor), amending §§ 89-8-13, 89-8-15, 89-8-17, 89-8-19 and creating §§ 89-8-31 to 89-8-45

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

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