Eviction Notice Requirements in Mississippi

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Mississippi's eviction-notice rules are in its Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, chapter 8 of title 89 of the Mississippi Code (§§ 89-8-1 to -45). The Legislature modernized the act in 2022 (Laws 2022, ch. 501, effective on passage), which is why many older guides describe different rules. Section 89-8-13 sets the notices for nonpayment and lease breaches, § 89-8-15 gives a repair remedy, § 89-8-17 covers a lease that has expired, § 89-8-19 covers ending a periodic tenancy, and §§ 89-8-31 to -43 lay out the Justice Court eviction procedure. Mississippi has no statewide just-cause requirement.

Notice for unpaid rent

If the tenant's breach is nonpayment, the landlord may deliver a notice stating that "the rental agreement will terminate if payment of such rent is not made within three (3) days" (§ 89-8-13(5)(a)). The statute states a flat three days and does not say weekends or holidays are excluded, so treat it as three calendar days. Paying the rent within those three days stops the termination. Mississippi adds an unusual instruction: at a nonpayment eviction hearing, the judge "shall abide by the provisions of the rental agreement that was signed by the landlord and the defaulting tenant" (§ 89-8-13(5)(b)), so the lease's own terms carry real weight.

Notice for a lease violation

For a material noncompliance other than rent, the landlord serves a notice specifying the breach and stating the agreement "will terminate upon a date not less than fourteen (14) days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied within a reasonable time not in excess of fourteen (14) days" (§ 89-8-13(3)). Fix the problem before the date stated and "the rental agreement shall not terminate" (§ 89-8-13(3)(a)).

Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)

Mississippi handles serious conduct two ways. If substantially the same breach recurs within six months of a prior notice — and the tenant can't show due care — the landlord may terminate on "at least fourteen (14) days' notice" with no cure (§ 89-8-13(3)(b)). And for the most serious cases, "notice to terminate a tenancy shall not be required to be given when the landlord or tenant has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or this chapter that materially affects health or safety" (§ 89-8-19(4)) — meaning no notice period at all.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

To end a periodic tenancy for no fault, the landlord (or tenant) gives written notice: "at least thirty (30) days prior to the termination date" for a month-to-month tenancy, and "at least seven (7) days" for a week-to-week tenancy (§ 89-8-19(2)-(3)). A tenant who pays weekly rent is week-to-week; everyone else is month-to-month unless the lease fixes a definite term (§ 89-8-19(1)). A fixed-term lease simply expires on its stated date (§ 89-8-17(1)); if the tenant stays, the landlord gives notice that eviction will begin "no earlier than three (3) days after" it (§ 89-8-17(2)).

How the notice must be served

Every pre-suit notice must be "in writing, or by email or text message if the breaching party has agreed in writing to be notified by email or text message" (§ 89-8-13(3), (5)(a)) — the email/text option is a 2022 addition and only works if you agreed to it in writing. No statute names a single required delivery method (certified mail, hand delivery, posting) for the pre-suit notice, so a landlord should keep proof the written notice was delivered. Once the notice period runs, the landlord files a sworn affidavit or complaint with a copy of the notice, and the tenant is summoned through the Justice Court eviction procedure (§§ 89-8-31 to -35).

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

Paying within three days (nonpayment, § 89-8-13(5)) or remedying within fourteen days (other breach, § 89-8-13(3)(a)) stops the termination. Mississippi also gives tenants a repair-and-deduct remedy: if the landlord fails to fix a material defect within thirty days of written notice, a tenant who is current on rent and has not used the remedy in the prior six months may repair the defect and offset up to one month's rent against future rent (§ 89-8-15(1), (4)). Retaliation protection is narrow: after a lease expires, the landlord may raise the rent or evict a holdover only if the action "did not have the dominant purpose of retaliation against the tenant" for actions authorized under the chapter, and the landlord had written notice of the conditions (§ 89-8-17(2)). Possession is recovered through the Justice Court process, not by a self-help lockout or utility shutoff.

What trips people up

The rules changed in 2022 — old guides are out of date. The 2022 overhaul added the explicit 3-day nonpayment notice, the email/text delivery option, and a new Justice Court eviction procedure. Guidance written before then (including some still-circulating consumer guides) can describe a different structure.

Three days is short and paying is the fix. For unpaid rent you get three days after the written notice to pay; the statute doesn't exclude weekends, so count carefully. Pay the full amount within the window and keep proof.

A health-or-safety violation can skip notice entirely. Section 89-8-19(4) lets a tenancy end with no termination notice when someone has committed "a substantial violation ... that materially affects health or safety." That is Mississippi's version of an unconditional quit, and it has no built-in day count.

Email or text only counts if you agreed to it in writing. A landlord can send the notice by email or text, but only if you agreed in writing to be notified that way (§ 89-8-13(3)). Otherwise the notice has to be in writing the ordinary way.

Self-help is not the remedy. Whatever the ground, the landlord takes possession through the Justice Court eviction procedure, not by changing the locks or cutting off utilities.

Common questions

Does the signed lease matter at a nonpayment hearing? Yes. Section 89-8-13(5)(b) directs the judge to follow the provisions of the rental agreement signed by the landlord and the defaulting tenant.

Can a landlord retaliate after a fixed-term lease expires? Section 89-8-17(2) allows post-expiration eviction or a rent increase only when retaliation was not the dominant purpose and the landlord had written notice of the conditions at issue.

Statutes and sources

• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(3), (5) — 14-day cure notice for a lease breach, 14-day no-cure for a repeat within 6 months, and 3-day notice for nonpayment; email/text option. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1580IN.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19 — periodic-tenancy termination: 30-day month-to-month, 7-day week-to-week; no notice for a substantial health-or-safety violation. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1580IN.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17 — fixed-term lease expires on its date; 3-day holdover notice; limited retaliation bar on post-expiration rent increases/eviction. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1580IN.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-15(1), (4) — repair-and-deduct: repair after 30 days' unheeded written notice and offset up to one month's rent, if current and not used in prior 6 months. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1580IN.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-1 — short title of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1580IN.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-31 — grounds for commencing a residential eviction proceeding. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/pdf/SB/2300-2399/SB2328SG.pdf (accessed 2026-08-15)