A Mississippi rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. Mississippi landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Mississippi Rental Agreement Types
A Mississippi roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
Mississippi Required Residential Lease Disclosures
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
To learn more about required disclosures in Mississippi, click here.
Mississippi Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Mississippi landlords can only rent out habitable property. This means providing certain basic health and safety features like heat, plumbing, and electricity. Landlords must repair any issues within 14 days after proper notice. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, repair and deduct from the rent, or terminate the lease. Tenants can’t withhold rent.
- Evictions – Mississippi landlords may evict for rent nonpayment, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay, comply or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Mississippi take between a few days to a few weeks.
- Security Deposits – Mississippi does not limit the maximum amount of a security deposit. When a lease ends, a landlord has 45 days to return any unused portion of a tenant’s deposit.
- Lease Termination – Mississippi lets tenants end a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice. Terminating a fixed-term lease usually requires active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Mississippi does not limit the amount or timing of a rent increase. There is likewise no cap on late fees. Returned check fees have a $40 cap.
- Landlord Entry – Mississippi landlords can enter rental property for reasonable business purposes like maintenance and inspections, as agreed in the lease and/or required by law. Mississippi’s landlord entry laws are minimal and nonspecific, leaving most details of entry policy up to individual leases or “reasonable” landlord-tenant expectations.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Mississippi lets small claims courts hear landlord-tenant disputes, as long as the amount in controversy is under $3,500. The statute of limitations for contract issues is four years.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Mississippi, click here.
Sources
- 1 Miss. Code § 97-19-57(1)
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As against the maker, drawer or payor thereof, the making, drawing, issuing, uttering, delivering, or initiation of a check, draft, order, electronically converted check, or electronic commercial debit payment of which is refused by the drawee, shall be prima facie evidence and create a presumption of intent to defraud and of knowledge of insufficient funds in, or on deposit with, such bank, corporation, firm or person, provided such maker, drawer or payor shall not have paid the holder or payee thereof the amount due thereon, together with a service charge of Forty Dollars ($40.00), within fifteen (15) days after receiving notice that such check, draft, order, electronically converted check, or electronic commercial debit has not been paid by the drawee or payor’s bank.
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