Eviction Process in Mississippi: Notices, Hearing, and Removal

The eviction process in Mississippi runs through the county Justice Court under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in Chapter 8 of Title 89 of the Mississippi Code.¹ A landlord has to give the tenant proper written notice, file a sworn complaint, win a hearing, wait out a court-ordered move-out period, and then ask the court for a warrant so the sheriff can remove anyone still there. Trying to shortcut any of it — changing locks, cutting utilities, hauling belongings to the curb — creates liability for the landlord, not a faster exit for the tenant.

Written Notice Comes First

Nothing gets filed until the tenant has been given the right notice for the right reason. The type of notice and the number of days depend entirely on why the landlord wants possession back.

Nonpayment of Rent

The landlord delivers a written notice stating that the lease will terminate if the unpaid rent is not paid within three days.² If the tenant pays everything owed inside that window, the landlord cannot proceed. Notice can go out in writing, by email, or by text message if the tenant agreed in writing beforehand to accept electronic notices.

Lease Violations Other Than Nonpayment

For other material breaches, the notice must identify the specific violation and give the tenant fourteen days to fix it.² Cure the problem in time and the lease continues. If the same type of violation happens again within six months of a prior notice, though, the landlord can terminate with fourteen days’ notice and no second chance to cure.

Holdover After a Fixed-Term Lease

When a lease with an end date runs out and the tenant stays, the landlord can give three days’ written notice that eviction proceedings will start.³ Increased holdover rent can also be demanded. Neither move is allowed if the dominant purpose is retaliation for the tenant exercising rights under the Act.

Month-to-Month and Week-to-Week Tenancies

Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with at least thirty days’ written notice before the termination date. A week-to-week tenancy needs at least seven days’ written notice.⁴ No separate reason is required beyond the notice period itself. Where no agreement fixes a term, a tenant paying weekly rent is presumed to be week-to-week; everyone else defaults to month-to-month.

Substantial Health or Safety Violations

When a landlord or tenant has committed a substantial violation that materially affects health or safety, the other party can terminate without waiting through the standard notice periods.⁴ This exception is for genuine emergencies.

Filing the Case in Justice Court

Once the notice period runs out with no payment, cure, or move-out, the landlord files a sworn affidavit or complaint with the Justice Court in the county where the property is located. The filing identifies the parties, describes the property, states the grounds, and requests possession. A money judgment for unpaid rent can be requested at the same time. Filing fees vary by county and by how many defendants are named.

Local court clerks provide standardized complaint forms, typically with separate versions for nonpayment cases and lease-breach cases.⁵ The forms require the landlord to attest that written notice was delivered and to attach a copy. The court checks compliance with notice requirements before the case goes any further, so accuracy on the form is not optional.

Summons and Service

After filing, the court issues a summons telling the tenant to either vacate or appear on a specific date to explain why possession should not be returned to the landlord. A residential summons must contain statutory language informing the tenant of their rights, including how long they will have to move out if the landlord wins and what happens to any belongings left behind.⁶ Service follows the Mississippi Rules of Court, and proof of service goes back into the file so the record shows the tenant received notice of the hearing.

The Hearing and Judgment

At the hearing, the judge reviews the landlord’s evidence — the lease, the notice, and any documentation of unpaid rent or violations. The tenant can raise defenses and put on evidence. If the tenant does not show up and the landlord’s paperwork is in order, the court can enter a default judgment.⁷

A judgment for possession must be signed and executed the same business day it is granted.⁷ The court may also enter a money judgment for unpaid rent and court costs. In a nonpayment case, the tenant can still stop the removal by paying everything owed before the hearing or by the court-ordered move-out date.⁶

The Seven-Day Move-Out Period

After a landlord wins, the judge orders the tenant to vacate within seven days.⁸ The court can shorten that window when the tenant has committed a substantial violation that materially affects health or safety, or poses an immediate risk of damage to the property or harm to people on the premises. A longer window is also possible in the right circumstances. During the move-out period, the tenant keeps the same access to the property they had under the lease.

Warrant for Removal

If the tenant stays past the move-out date, the landlord goes back to court, pays the applicable fees, and requests a warrant for removal. The judge issues a warrant directing the sheriff or a constable to physically remove all occupants and place the landlord in full possession.⁸ Law enforcement handles this step. The landlord cannot do it personally, no matter how far the case has gone.

Belongings Left Behind

Timing determines what happens to a tenant’s property. If the tenant moves out by the court-ordered date but leaves things behind, the landlord can dispose of that property immediately without further notice.⁸

If the tenant stays past the deadline and a warrant is executed, the rule flips. The landlord must give the tenant reasonable access to the premises for seventy-two hours after the warrant is carried out to retrieve personal property.⁸ After that seventy-two-hour window, remaining property can be moved to the curb, a designated garbage area, or another location the landlord and tenant agree on, and the landlord has no obligation to preserve it once it is off the premises.

Tenant Defenses

The cleanest defense in a nonpayment case is paying everything owed before the hearing or by the move-out date, which stops the eviction.⁶ Beyond that, tenants can attack the notice itself. A notice that was never delivered, used the wrong number of days, or failed to identify the specific violation can sink the case.

Repair and Deduct

A tenant who has given the landlord written notice of a specific, material defect can arrange the repair after thirty days of inaction and either seek reimbursement or offset the cost against rent. The conditions are strict: the repair cost cannot exceed one month’s rent, the tenant must be current on rent, the tenant cannot have used the remedy in the preceding six months, and the tenant must be meeting all of their own lease obligations.⁹ The landlord has forty-five days after receiving receipted bills to reimburse. When every condition is met, a landlord who files for nonpayment over the offset amount runs into a real defense.

Retaliation

The holdover provision in the statute prohibits ending a tenancy or raising rent after lease expiration if the dominant purpose is retaliation for the tenant exercising rights under the Act.³ Eviction filings that follow closely on the heels of a habitability complaint or a repair request are where this comes up.

Double Rent for Staying Past a Termination Notice

A tenant who has been lawfully notified to vacate and does not leave owes the landlord double the normal rent for every day they remain in possession. The same rule applies when a tenant gives their own notice to move out by a set date and then stays. Double rent accrues automatically and can be collected through the same channels as regular rent.

Appeals

A tenant who loses can appeal under the Mississippi Rules of Court, but the seven-day move-out clock starts on the date of the judgment and the appeal does not automatically pause it. A tenant who stays on the property past the move-out date while an appeal is pending still risks having the warrant executed. Anyone thinking about appealing should talk to an attorney immediately; the window is short and the procedural requirements are unforgiving.

Commercial and Other Nonresidential Properties

Everything above covers dwelling units under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.¹⁰ Commercial spaces, agricultural land, and other non-dwelling properties are handled under a separate set of statutes in Chapter 7 of Title 89, which uses different notice requirements and does not include the seven-day default move-out period or the detailed summons language required for residential cases.¹¹ If your lease is commercial, the protections described above do not carry over.

1
Justia. Mississippi Code Title 89 Chapter 8 – Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
2
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-13 – Right to Terminate Tenancy for Noncompliance
3
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-17 – Rights of Landlord After Expiration of Rental Agreement
4
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-19 – Length of Term of Tenancy
5
Hinds County Mississippi. Complaint for Residential Eviction
6
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-35 – Residential Evictions, Issuance of Summons
7
Mississippi Legislature. Senate Bill 2461 – Section 89-8-37
8
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-39 – Residential Evictions, Order to Vacate
9
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-15 – Repair of Defects by Tenant
10
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-8-7 – Definitions, Agent of Landlord
11
Justia. Mississippi Code 89-7-27 – Nonresidential Evictions, Authorized in Certain Circumstances