Mississippi: Eviction Notice Requirements

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 ...
specifying 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). 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

How many days do I get if I'm late on rent in Mississippi? Three days after
the written nonpayment notice (§ 89-8-13(5)(a)). Pay the full amount within those
three days and the lease does not terminate.

My landlord says I broke the lease — how long do I have to fix it? Fourteen
days (§ 89-8-13(3)). The notice must set a termination date at least fourteen days
out, and remedying the breach before that date keeps the tenancy.

I'm month-to-month and my landlord wants me out — how much notice is required?
Thirty days' written notice before the termination date (§ 89-8-19(3)).
Mississippi has no just-cause law, so no reason is required, but the full thirty
days must be given.

Can my landlord send the eviction notice by text message? Only if you agreed
in writing to be notified by text or email (§ 89-8-13(3)). Without that written
agreement, the notice must be delivered in writing the usual way.

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.
  https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-8/section-89-8-13/ (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 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.
  https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-8/section-89-8-19/ (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 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.
  https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-8/section-89-8-17/ (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 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.
  https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-8/section-89-8-15/ (accessed 2026-07-10)