A Mississippi Tenant Notice to Vacate is the written notice a tenant gives a landlord to end a periodic tenancy under Mississippi Code § 89-8-19 — 30 days for month-to-month, 7 days for week-to-week. It identifies the rental unit, sets the last day of tenancy, provides a forwarding address for the security deposit, and creates the documentary record that protects you if the move-out is later disputed. The form on this page handles the statutory content automatically — you fill in the blanks, the PDF generates a clean, signature-ready notice, and you deliver it to your landlord.

In Mississippi, a month-to-month tenant ends the tenancy with written notice given to the landlord at least 30 days before the termination date, and a week-to-week tenant with written notice at least 7 days before it (Miss. Code § 89-8-19(2)–(3)). Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a tenancy is week-to-week if rent is paid weekly and month-to-month in all other cases (§ 89-8-19(1)). No notice is required where the landlord has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the chapter that materially affects health or safety (§ 89-8-19(4)).

What this form does and when to use it

The Mississippi Tenant Notice to Vacate is a written notice from the tenant to the landlord ending a periodic (typically month-to-month) tenancy under Mississippi Code § 89-8-19. It serves three purposes at once: it gives the landlord the statutorily required 30 days’ notice that the tenancy will end, it specifies the last day of tenancy so rent obligations stop on a defined date, and it can carry the written demand for the deposit that, with the end of the tenancy and delivery of possession, starts the landlord’s 45-day return obligation under Miss. Code § 89-8-21. Without a properly written and delivered notice, a tenant who simply moves out remains exposed to claims for additional rent and may have a harder time recovering the security deposit.

Use this notice when you have a periodic tenancy — month-to-month is the most common form, but the same rule applies to week-to-week or other periodic arrangements (with a corresponding shorter notice period for terms shorter than a month). The 30 days notice applies regardless of how long you have lived in the unit. Many states impose longer notice obligations on landlords than on tenants — those longer landlord rules do not flow back to tenants. As a tenant in Mississippi, you give 30 days on a month-to-month tenancy (Miss. Code § 89-8-19(3)) and 7 days on a week-to-week tenancy (§ 89-8-19(2)).

This is not the right form for a fixed-term lease. If you have a lease with a defined end date and you intend to leave at the natural end of the term, the lease itself sets the end date — although it is good practice to send a written notice anyway to confirm your intent and trigger the security deposit clock. If you want to leave a fixed-term lease early, the 30 days notice does not apply: you need either a lease provision authorizing early termination, the landlord’s written agreement to release you, or a statutory ground (uninhabitable conditions, domestic violence early termination, or military deployment under federal SCRA at 50 U.S.C. § 3955). Sending a § 89-8-19 notice on a fixed-term lease without one of those grounds typically does not end your rent liability under Mississippi law.

Related Resources

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Mississippi statute and legal authority

The tenant’s right to terminate a periodic tenancy in Mississippi is set out in Mississippi Code § 89-8-19. The statute provides that, unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a tenancy is week-to-week if rent is paid weekly and month-to-month otherwise, and either party may end it by written notice. The minimum notice period is 30 days for a month-to-month tenancy. The notice may typically be given on any day of the rental period — there is no requirement that it line up with the start of a calendar month, although some leases impose an end-of-period requirement that should be checked.

Miss. Code § 89-8-19 requires the notice to be in writing and to be given at least 30 days (7 days for week-to-week) before the termination date. Beyond those minimums, courts generally hold that the writing must be clear enough that a reasonable landlord understands the tenant intends to end the tenancy on a definite date. Ambiguous statements (“I’m thinking about moving”) or conditional statements (“I’ll move if I find a place”) do not satisfy the statute. The form on this page produces unambiguous statutory language.

Miss. Code § 89-8-21 governs what happens to the security deposit after the tenancy ends. The landlord must return any remaining portion of the deposit no later than 45 days after the termination of the tenancy, the delivery of possession and the tenant’s demand, with an itemized written notice of any amounts claimed. The landlord may claim only amounts reasonably necessary to remedy rent defaults, repair damage caused by the tenant (exclusive of ordinary wear and tear), clean the premises upon termination, or cover other reasonable and necessary expenses resulting from the tenant’s default. The forwarding address tells the landlord where to send it; the tenant’s demand, not the address, is part of the 45-day trigger.

Mississippi’s statutory retaliation rule is narrow: Miss. Code § 89-8-17(2) lets a landlord demand a rent increase after the rental agreement expires only if the increase does not have the dominant purpose of retaliation against the tenant for actions authorized under the landlord-tenant chapter; the statute does not address giving notice to terminate. If the deposit return is unreasonably delayed or the deductions appear retaliatory or made in bad faith, document the timeline and consider small claims action — Miss. Code § 89-8-21(4) allows damages of up to two hundred dollars, plus actual damages, for bad-faith retention of the security deposit.

Step-by-step: writing your notice to vacate

Follow these steps in order. Each one corresponds to a required field on the form below.

Step 1: Confirm your tenancy is periodic, not fixed-term

Pull out your lease. If it has no end date, or it expired and you simply continued paying month-to-month, you have a periodic tenancy and Miss. Code § 89-8-19 applies — give 30 days’ notice using this form. If your lease has a defined end date and is still within the term, this notice is not the right tool unless you have a separate ground for early termination.

Step 2: Choose your last day of tenancy

For a month-to-month tenancy, choose a termination date at least 30 calendar days after the date you will deliver the notice (at least 7 days for week-to-week). The last day does not have to be the end of a calendar month — Miss. Code § 89-8-19 measures the notice against the termination date, and it does not address pro-rating rent for a partial month. Use the calculator below to compute the exact date. (Always check your lease — some leases impose end-of-period requirements.)

Step 3: List every named tenant

Include every adult tenant who signed the lease. Each tenant has an independent obligation under the lease, and a notice on behalf of one cotenant does not necessarily end the tenancy for others. If only one of two cotenants intends to leave and the other plans to stay, that is a partial-tenancy issue that this form is not designed for — discuss it with the landlord and consider a written modification of the lease.

Step 4: State the rental address with full precision

Use the address as it appears on the lease, including unit or apartment number, building number, city, and ZIP. Imprecise addresses cause more disputes than people expect, especially in multi-unit buildings.

Step 5: Identify the landlord or property manager

The notice should be addressed to whoever holds the landlord role for purposes of the tenancy — typically the entity named in the lease or the property manager identified on rent-payment instructions. If the lease names a different person from the property manager, address the notice to both to avoid any argument that the wrong party received it.

Step 6: Provide a forwarding address

This is the address where the landlord will mail your security deposit and any itemization. Miss. Code § 89-8-21 does not say where the deposit must be sent, so without a forwarding address the refund may go to the rental unit you are vacating and you may never receive it. A clean forwarding address protects the refund. Note that under § 89-8-21(3) the 45-day clock is triggered by the tenant’s demand for the deposit together with the end of the tenancy and delivery of possession — so put the demand in the notice itself, in writing, alongside the forwarding address.

Step 7: Ask for a pre-move-out walkthrough

Even where state law does not require it, ask the landlord for a pre-move-out walkthrough. The landlord walks through the unit, identifies any deficiencies that would otherwise be deducted from the deposit, and gives you a chance to fix them before move-out. This optional step often pays for itself many times over in deposit recovery. The form below includes a checkbox to put the request in writing.

Step 8: Sign and date

The notice must be signed and dated by the tenant. If there are cotenants, every cotenant who is ending the tenancy should sign. The notice period runs from delivery, not from the date you sign.

Required information that makes the notice valid

Miss. Code § 89-8-19 sets a low statutory bar: written notice, given the required number of days in advance, stating the tenant’s intent to terminate. The form on this page goes well beyond the minimum because the bigger risk to a tenant is not technical invalidity — it is the move-out dispute (deductions, deposit return delays, claims for additional rent). Each element below addresses a real-world dispute pattern.

Element	Why it matters
Tenant name(s)	Establishes which tenants are giving notice. If there are cotenants and only some are leaving, the notice should be clear about who is and is not part of the termination.
Rental property address with unit	Identifies the specific tenancy being ended. Imprecise addresses cause more disputes than people expect, especially in multi-unit buildings.
Date of notice	Establishes when the 30-day clock started running. Aligns with the proof of delivery.
Last day of tenancy	The defined date the tenancy ends. This is the rent-stop date. Under Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3) the 45-day deposit clock runs from the latest of the end of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and the tenant’s demand for the deposit.
Forwarding address	Tells the landlord where to mail the security deposit and itemization. Without it, the refund may go to the unit you vacated — meaning you might never see it.
Pre-move-out walkthrough request (optional)	Asks the landlord to do a pre-move-out walkthrough and tell you what would be deducted from the deposit. One of the highest-leverage moves for deposit recovery, even where not required by statute.
Tenant signature(s) and date	Authenticates the notice as actually given by the tenant on the date stated.
Landlord/property manager name and address	Clarifies who is being noticed. If the lease names a different person from the property manager, address both to avoid argument.

How to deliver the notice to your landlord

Miss. Code § 89-8-19 requires the notice to be in writing but does not always specify a delivery method. That makes proof of delivery the practical requirement: if the landlord later denies receiving notice, the tenant who has documentary proof prevails. The methods below are listed in order of evidentiary strength.

Move-out timeline and key dates

The full move-out arc — from notice through deposit return — is structured by two clocks: the 30 days notice clock under Miss. Code § 89-8-19 and the 45-day deposit clock under Miss. Code § 89-8-21. Here is the typical sequence.

The clean version of this timeline plays out in roughly 75 days from notice to deposit return. The version that goes wrong adds weeks — disputes over whether the notice was timely, missing forwarding address mail-backs, deductions the tenant disputes. The mitigations are all on the tenant side: deliver with proof, request a pre-move-out walkthrough, document the unit on the way out, and provide a real forwarding address.

Pay rent through the entire notice period even if you move out earlier. Returning keys early does not, by itself, end your rent obligation under Miss. Code § 89-8-19. The tenancy ends on the date stated in the notice — earlier physical departure is fine, but the rent runs through the stated end date unless the landlord agrees in writing to release you sooner. (Some landlords will agree to release the tenant once a replacement is found; ask, but get it in writing.)

What happens after the notice period ends

On the last day of tenancy stated in your notice, the tenancy formally terminates. You should surrender possession on or before that date — return all keys, garage remotes, mail keys, and any access cards or fobs. Document the condition of the unit with timestamped photos and video, ideally at the same time you do the move-out walkthrough. Confirm in writing (text is fine for this part) that the keys have been returned and the unit surrendered.

The 45-day security deposit clock under Miss. Code § 89-8-21 runs from the termination of the tenancy, the delivery of possession and your demand for the deposit — surrender alone does not start it. Any remaining portion must be returned within those 45 days, and the landlord’s written notice claiming any part must itemize the amounts. The landlord may claim only amounts reasonably necessary to remedy rent defaults, repair tenant-caused damage exclusive of ordinary wear and tear, clean the premises on termination, or cover other reasonable and necessary expenses resulting from the tenant’s default.

If the deposit and itemization are returned within 45 days and the deductions are reasonable, the move-out is complete. If the landlord misses the deadline or makes deductions that look retaliatory or unfounded, your remedy is a written demand letter followed by suit. Mississippi’s penalty is specific and modest: Miss. Code § 89-8-21(4) provides that retaining the deposit in violation of the section and in the absence of good faith may subject the landlord to damages not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars in addition to any actual damages. Mississippi does not authorise double or treble the deposit — the leverage here is the actual damages plus up to two hundred dollars, not a multiplier.

Security deposit return under § 89-8-21

The security deposit is where most tenant move-outs go sideways. The legal framework is straightforward, but enforcement depends on the tenant’s documentation. Build the file from day one of the notice period.

What the landlord must do within 45 days

Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3) requires the landlord to return any remaining portion of the deposit no later than forty-five (45) days after the latest of three events — the termination of the tenancy, the delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant . Read that carefully: in Mississippi the clock does not start on surrender alone — the tenant must demand the deposit. Where the landlord keeps any part of it, the written notice claiming the deduction must itemize the amounts claimed. The 45 days run as calendar days, not business days.

Lawful deductions

Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3) lets the landlord claim only the amounts reasonably necessary to: (1) remedy the tenant’s defaults in the payment of rent; (2) repair damage to the premises caused by the tenant, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear; (3) clean the premises on termination of the tenancy; or (4) cover other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred as the result of the tenant’s default — and only if the deposit was made for those purposes. That fourth head is broader than the closed four-category lists some states use, so the Mississippi fight is usually about whether a charge was reasonable and necessary rather than whether the category exists. Painting after a long tenancy is generally ordinary wear; deep stains, holes beyond reasonable hanging, and damage from neglect are not.

Pre-move-out walkthrough — your highest-leverage move

Whether or not your state requires the landlord to perform a pre-move-out walkthrough, you can ask. Walking through the unit with the landlord before move-out lets the landlord flag anything that would otherwise be deducted from your deposit, and gives you a chance to clean, repair, or replace before you surrender possession. Tenants who do this walkthrough typically recover more of their deposit than tenants who wait until move-out to learn what was charged. A friendly, written request is usually all it takes.

If the landlord does not comply

If the 45 days pass without a deposit, an itemization, or both, send a written demand letter referencing Miss. Code § 89-8-21 and the dates of termination, delivery of possession and your demand. If that does not produce a response, file in small claims court (jurisdiction up to a substantial dollar limit; consult the current Mississippi small claims jurisdictional limit before filing). Bad-faith retention exposes a Mississippi landlord to damages of up to Two Hundred Dollars in addition to actual damages under Miss. Code § 89-8-21(4). There is no double- or treble-deposit remedy in Mississippi.

Common mistakes that cost tenants money

Most disputes over tenant move-outs trace back to a small number of recurring mistakes. The pattern is consistent: the tenant has the right under Miss. Code § 89-8-19 and Miss. Code § 89-8-21, but does not have the documentation to enforce it.

Verbal notice or text-only notice

Miss. Code § 89-8-19 requires writing. A verbal conversation, even one the landlord acknowledges in the moment, can be denied later. A text or email may satisfy the writing requirement if the lease expressly allows electronic notice, but the safer course is a paper notice with delivery proof.

Less than the statutory period

Tenants sometimes give shorter notice because they want to coordinate with a new lease. Anything less than 30 days from delivery to the stated end of tenancy leaves the tenant on the hook for additional rent through the full statutory period — even if you’ve already moved out.

No forwarding address

Without a written forwarding address, the refund may go to the unit you just vacated, where you’ll never see the mail. Always include a real forwarding address in the notice itself, and update the post office.

Moving out early without paying through the notice period

You can vacate before the last day of tenancy, but rent runs through that date regardless unless the landlord agrees in writing to release you. Returning keys early does not end the rent obligation. If the landlord does agree to early release, get it in writing and confirm the rent stop date.

Not asking for a pre-move-out walkthrough

A pre-move-out walkthrough is one of the most underused tools tenants have. Whether or not your state requires the landlord to provide one, you can request it. Tenants who walk through with the landlord before move-out often see deductions they could have cured for a few dollars in cleaning supplies. Always request the walkthrough unless you are absolutely certain the unit is in pristine, return-ready condition.

Cleaning too lightly

The statute lets the landlord claim amounts reasonably necessary to clean the premises upon termination of the tenancy (Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3)). If you took photos at move-in showing a sparkling unit, they help show what cleaning was reasonably necessary. If you didn’t, you’ll have a harder time disputing cleaning deductions. Photograph everything at move-out, including inside cabinets, the oven, the refrigerator, and behind appliances.

Failing to document the move-out

Without timestamped photos and video of every room at move-out, you have no evidence to dispute charges that arrive in the itemization. Photo every wall, floor, ceiling, and appliance. Video walk through narrating what you see. Keep this archive — you may need it after the 45-day deposit deadline in small claims court.

Tenant rights during the notice period

Giving notice does not change your status as a tenant. Until the last day of tenancy, you have every right you had before — habitability, quiet enjoyment, freedom from retaliation, freedom from harassment, and the right to be free from self-help eviction. If the landlord changes the locks, shuts off utilities, harasses you to leave early, or attempts to remove your belongings before the last day of tenancy, those acts are illegal in every state and may expose the landlord to statutory damages.

Mississippi’s statutory retaliation rule is narrow: M