The Mississippi rental agreements are documents that establish the relationship between a landlord and a tenant. These contracts determine the amount of the rent, frequency of payments, and duration of the tenancy, among other terms. All terms are governed by the Mississippi landlord-tenant law and cannot supersede state laws.
Mississippi Rental Agreement Types
Mississippi Required Lease Disclosures
- Lead Based Paint Disclosure (required for some) – Each Mississippi lease is required to include a lead based paint disclosure form, EPA-approved pamphlet regarding the dangers of lead paint, and any known hazards that exist in the dwelling unit or the building it is located in if it was built before 1978 and at-risk for lead paint toxicity.
To learn more about required disclosures in Mississippi, click here.
Mississippi Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Mississippi requires its landlords to provide and maintain proper plumbing, electric outlets, lighting, heating, and cooling in all rented units. If a tenant requests a repair to these, a landlord has 30 days to respond to and act upon the request. Otherwise, the tenant may opt to perform a repair and deduct action.
- Evictions – Non-payment of rent (3-day notice), violating a lease term (30-day notice), and committing an illegal act (landlord’s discretion) may also be used to justify eviction in Mississippi. As such, an eviction here could occur in under a week or take more than a month.
- Security Deposits – Mississippi state law does not cap security deposit values. However, any deposits collected for this purpose must be returned within 45 days of a lease’s successful completion.
- Lease Termination – Mississippi tenants can terminate a month-to-month lease early if they submit notice 30 days in advance of their departure. These tenants can also break a fixed-term lease early by invoking an allowance for active military duty, landlord harassment, or unit uninhabitability.
- Rent Increases & Fees – Mississippi does not require its landlords to issue notice or justification for an impending rent increase. The value of these increases is also not caped. Operational fees of all kinds are also allowed under Mississippi law, and are only caped in the case of returned check fees ($30).
- Landlord Entry – Mississippi does not maintain any limitations on a landlord’s right to entry. As such, they can enter an occupied unit for any reason without notice unless prohibited by a lease agreement. This freedom to enter also extends to emergency situations.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Landlord-tenant disputes in Mississippi can be heard and decided in the state’s small claims courts. These venues will accept cases valued at under $3,500 and that have occurred within the previous 4 years.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Mississippi, click here.