Jackson, Mississippi Landlord-Tenant & Eviction Lawyer

A residential eviction begins with the lease and the notice required for the asserted ground. Nonpayment can involve a three-day notice under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5), while other material breaches generally use the statute’s fourteen-day notice-and-cure structure; termination or expiration of a tenancy can require a different analysis. If a court awards possession, Section 89-8-39 generally sets the move-out date seven days after judgment, although the court may order a shorter or longer period for an emergency or other compelling circumstances. After that date, the landlord may request a warrant for removal. Once the warrant is executed, the tenant must receive reasonable access for seventy-two (72) hours to retrieve personal property. In a judgment based only on nonpayment, the statute also limits issuance of the warrant when the tenant pays the full judgment amounts by the court-ordered move-out date.

Under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21, a landlord claiming part of a residential security deposit must provide written notice itemizing the amounts claimed. Any remaining portion generally must be returned no later than forty-five (45) days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, and the tenant demands the deposit. The statute permits reasonable claims for specified items such as unpaid rent, tenant-caused damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning, and other necessary default expenses.

A residential landlord generally should recover possession through Mississippi’s statutory eviction process rather than changing locks, terminating utilities, or removing belongings outside that process. Section 89-8-39 preserves the tenant’s access through the court-ordered move-out date and requires law enforcement to execute a warrant for removal. The facts, lease, and conduct involved determine what claims or remedies may be available when access is cut off.

Mississippi law imposes maintenance duties and provides more than one possible remedy, so written notice and the specific defect matter. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-15, a qualifying tenant may repair a specific material defect after the landlord fails to repair it within thirty (30) days of written notice, subject to limits that include one month’s rent, current rent payments, customary charges, and prior use of the remedy. Lease termination under Section 89-8-13 follows a separate notice-and-cure procedure. A tenant should not simply withhold rent or arrange repairs without checking which remedy and conditions apply.

Yes, subject to a conflict check for each new matter. We represent landlords pursuing possession or enforcing a lease and tenants responding to eviction, deposit, repair, or lease claims. Call 601-688-4110 to discuss the documents, dates, and next procedural step.

Keep the signed lease and addenda, rent ledger, payment receipts, notices and proof of delivery, photographs or video, repair requests, inspection records, estimates, invoices, and relevant texts or emails. Preserve the original files and dates instead of relying only on screenshots. For an eviction hearing, also keep the filed papers and any court notice together so deadlines and requested relief are clear.