Mississippi Eviction Notice Laws: The Landlord and Tenant Guide
3-Day Pay-or-Quit · 14-Day Cure · 30-Day Month-to-Month · 7-Day Week-to-Week · Justice-Court Process · Warrant of Removal
In Mississippi, the eviction notice is step one, and a defective notice sinks the whole case. Before a landlord can set foot in justice court, the law requires the right written notice, delivered the right way, for the right number of days. Choose the wrong notice, demand the wrong amount, miscount the days, or skip the notice entirely, and a tenant can have the whole eviction thrown out and force the landlord to start over. This guide walks the framework end to end — every notice type, how many days each needs, how to serve it, the residential justice-court process under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, and what happens after — in plain English, with every rule tied to a concrete action.
The stakes are practical. Mississippi rewrote its residential eviction procedure in recent sessions, moving the summary process into the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and adding tenant protections such as a mandatory seven-day move-out window and a right to stop a nonpayment removal by paying in full. Because the process is court-driven from start to finish, a landlord who tries to shortcut it — a lockout, a utility shutoff, an early filing — usually trades a routine, winnable eviction for a lawsuit he loses. Treat every figure in this guide as a starting point and verify the current statute before you serve or file anything.
Below, an overview video summarizes the Mississippi framework; the sections that follow break down each piece — the notice types and their day-counts, no-cause termination, service, what makes a notice valid, the justice-court eviction and warrant of removal, retaliation and tenant defenses, local rules, a landlord playbook, and defensible-versus-fatal scenarios — plus a Mississippi-specific FAQ.
Mississippi Eviction Notices at a Glance
Nonpayment
3-day notice to pay or quit
Lease Breach
Written notice, cure within 14 days
No-Cause (Monthly)
30-day termination notice
No-Cause (Weekly)
7-day termination notice
The Notice Is Step One — and It Can Sink the Case
Every Mississippi eviction begins with a written notice, and that notice is the single most common point of failure. Mississippi’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act ties the landlord’s right to file in court to first giving the tenant the correct notice for the ground: a three-day demand for unpaid rent, a written cure notice for a fixable breach, or a thirty or seven-day termination for a no-cause end to a periodic tenancy. A notice that names the wrong amount, gives the wrong number of days, or is skipped entirely gives the tenant a clean defense — the judge can dismiss the case, and the landlord has to start over from a fresh notice, losing weeks.
This is why the notice deserves more care than any other step. The rest of the process — filing in justice court, the show-cause hearing, the warrant — is largely mechanical once the notice is right. Get the notice wrong and none of it matters. Throughout this guide, the theme repeats: the exactness of the notice decides the case long before a judge ever reads the complaint.
Demand only the rent actually due
The most common avoidable mistake in a nonpayment case is demanding more than the rent actually owed — tacking on late fees the lease does not authorize, adding charges that are not rent, or a simple arithmetic error. A notice that overstates what the tenant must pay to stay invites a dispute over the number and can undermine the whole case, because the tenant is entitled to know the exact sum needed to keep the home. Demand only past-due rent, and get the figure right to the dollar.
Takeaway
In Mississippi the notice is step one and the whole case rides on it. The landlord’s right to file in court depends on first giving the correct written notice for the ground, so the right notice, the right amount, and the right days matter more than anything that happens in court. A defective or skipped notice is a defense that forces the landlord to start over.
The Mississippi Eviction Notice Types
Mississippi recognizes a handful of distinct notices, and using the wrong one is itself a defect. Which notice applies depends entirely on why the landlord wants the tenant out. The nonpayment and material-breach notices come from Mississippi Code section 89-8-13; the no-cause termination notices come from section 89-8-19.
3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (Nonpayment)
When a tenant is behind on rent, the landlord serves a three-day notice to pay rent or quit under Mississippi Code section 89-8-13. It gives the tenant a choice: pay the exact past-due rent within three days and stay, or leave. The notice must be in writing and must state the amount due. If the tenant pays in full within the period, the nonpayment ground evaporates and the landlord cannot proceed. The statute also lets the landlord give this notice by email or text message, but only when the tenant has agreed in writing to be notified that way; absent that agreement, use a written notice delivered in a provable way.
Notice to Cure or Quit (Curable Lease Violation)
When a tenant breaches a lease term that can be fixed — an unauthorized pet, an unapproved occupant, a parking or noise violation the tenant can stop — the landlord serves a written notice describing the breach and giving a reasonable time to cure under Mississippi Code section 89-8-13. The statute caps that cure window: the time to fix the problem cannot exceed fourteen days after the tenant receives the notice. The notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach with enough detail that the tenant knows exactly what to correct. If the tenant cures within the period, the tenancy continues.
Repeat Breach Within Six Months (No Second Cure)
Mississippi does not give a tenant an unlimited string of cure chances for the same problem. Under section 89-8-13, if substantially the same act or omission recurs within six months of the first cure notice, the landlord may terminate the tenancy on at least fourteen days written notice without offering a further chance to cure. In practice, a tenant gets one opportunity to fix a given kind of breach; repeating it within half a year forfeits the second chance and lets the landlord move directly to ending the tenancy.
No-Cause Termination: 30-Day and 7-Day Notices
When the landlord simply wants to end a periodic tenancy and the tenant has done nothing wrong, the vehicle is a termination notice under Mississippi Code section 89-8-19. The length depends on the rent period: a thirty-day notice to end a month-to-month tenancy, and a seven-day notice to end a week-to-week tenancy. Either the landlord or the tenant may use it. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a tenant who pays weekly rent is treated as week-to-week, and in all other cases the tenancy is month-to-month. Mississippi has no just-cause statute, so no reason need be stated — only the correct notice period.
No notice for a substantial health-or-safety violation
Section 89-8-19 carves out one exception to the thirty and seven-day rules: notice to terminate is not required when a party has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the Act that materially affects health or safety. Even then, a landlord cannot self-remove a tenant — the court process still applies — but the up-front termination notice is excused in that narrow situation. Where the facts are borderline, a cautious landlord still gives notice.
Takeaway
The notice type follows the reason: 3-day pay-or-quit for nonpayment, a written cure notice with up to 14 days to fix a curable breach, and a 30-day (monthly) or 7-day (weekly) termination to end a periodic tenancy with no cause. A repeat of the same breach within six months forfeits the second cure. Using the wrong notice for the situation is itself a defect.
How Many Days Each Notice Requires
The day-count is where landlords most often trip. Mississippi’s counts are shorter than many states, but the periods still run in full before the landlord may file. Use this table as the quick reference, then read the notes below it.
| Notice | Days required | Statute and grounds |
|---|---|---|
| Pay rent or quit | 3 days to pay or leave | Mississippi Code section 89-8-13 — nonpayment of rent |
| Cure or quit | Reasonable time to cure, not to exceed 14 days | Mississippi Code section 89-8-13 — curable material breach |
| Repeat breach (within 6 months) | At least 14 days, no further cure | Mississippi Code section 89-8-13 — same breach recurs |
| No-cause, month-to-month | 30 days | Mississippi Code section 89-8-19 — periodic termination |
| No-cause, week-to-week | 7 days | Mississippi Code section 89-8-19 — periodic termination |
| Health-or-safety violation | No termination notice required | Mississippi Code section 89-8-19 exception |
Count the full period before you file
Whatever the ground, the notice period must run out completely before the landlord files the eviction. Count the three days after a pay-or-quit notice, the full cure window on a breach notice, or the thirty or seven days on a no-cause termination — and only then file in justice court. A landlord who files even one day early hands the tenant a reason to have the case dismissed and forces a restart. When in doubt, wait an extra day.
Keep the fourteen-day cure window generous
For a curable breach, section 89-8-13 says the cure time is a reasonable time, capped at fourteen days — it is a ceiling, not a mandatory fourteen. But giving the tenant the full window, in writing, is the safer choice: it removes any argument that the cure period was too short, and it keeps the notice clean if the case ends up in front of a judge. Describe the breach specifically so the tenant knows exactly what to fix.
Takeaway
Nonpayment is a 3-day notice, a curable breach gives a reasonable cure time not to exceed 14 days, and a no-cause end to a periodic tenancy is 30 days monthly or 7 days weekly under section 89-8-19. A repeat breach within six months needs only 14 days with no cure. Never file the eviction before the last day of the notice period has actually passed.
No Just Cause — but Retaliation Is Off Limits
Unlike states with tenant-protection acts, Mississippi imposes no just-cause requirement. A landlord may end a month-to-month tenancy for any lawful reason, or no stated reason at all, by giving thirty days written notice under Mississippi Code section 89-8-19 — and a week-to-week tenancy on seven days. There is no relocation-assistance obligation and no defined list of allowable reasons. This makes Mississippi a comparatively landlord-friendly state on the front end of a no-cause termination.
The One Broad Limit: Retaliation
The main statutory brake on a no-cause eviction is retaliation. Under section 89-8-17, a landlord may not recover possession of the unit, cause the tenant to quit involuntarily, demand a rent increase, or decrease the services the tenant is entitled to when the dominant purpose is to retaliate against the tenant for exercising a right protected by the Act — provided the landlord received written notice of the condition the tenant complained about. The protection is real, but it is narrower than in many states.
Mississippi’s retaliation protection is limited — frame it honestly
Some states create a fixed presumption — for example, treating any eviction within a set number of days of a tenant complaint as presumptively retaliatory and shifting the burden to the landlord. Mississippi’s section 89-8-17 does not work that way. There is no automatic presumption window; instead, the tenant must show that retaliation was the landlord’s dominant purpose, which is a higher bar. A tenant relying on retaliation should document the protected activity, the written notice to the landlord, and the timing carefully, because the burden of proving motive largely rests on the tenant.
Takeaway
Mississippi has no just-cause rule: a landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy with a plain thirty-day notice and no stated reason. The main limit is retaliation under section 89-8-17 — a landlord may not evict, raise rent, or cut services when the dominant purpose is to punish a protected tenant complaint — but that protection is narrower than in many states and puts the burden of proving motive largely on the tenant.
How to Serve a Notice in Mississippi
A notice that is written perfectly still fails if the landlord cannot show it reached the tenant. Mississippi’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not force one rigid ritual for pre-suit notices the way some states do, so the guiding principle is simple: put the notice in writing and deliver it in a way you can prove.
| Method | How it works | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Personal delivery | Hand the written notice directly to the tenant | Always preferred; the cleanest proof |
| Mail or trackable delivery | Send the written notice by a method that produces a delivery record | When the tenant cannot be handed the notice in person |
| Email or text | Send the notice electronically — allowed only if the tenant agreed in writing to be notified this way | Only with a prior written agreement to electronic notice |
Section 89-8-13 expressly permits notice by email or text message, but it conditions that on the tenant having agreed in writing to be notified electronically. Without that written agreement, a text or email is not a safe substitute for a written notice delivered in person or by a trackable method. Whatever method you use, keep a record of how and when the notice went out — if the tenant later disputes that the notice period ever started, that record is what proves your case.
The court summons is served separately by the court
Do not confuse the pre-suit notice with court service. The three-day or thirty-day notice is something the landlord delivers before filing. Once the landlord files the eviction, the court issues a summons under section 89-8-35, and that summons is served on the tenant under the court’s rules to formally start the lawsuit. Two different documents, two different service steps — keep proof of both.
Takeaway
Put every notice in writing and deliver it in a provable way — in person or by a trackable method. Email or text is valid only if the tenant agreed in writing to electronic notice under section 89-8-13. Keep a record of how and when you served it, and remember the court issues and serves the eviction summons separately once you file.
What Makes a Notice Valid
Beyond picking the right notice and delivering it provably, the notice’s content has to be right. A valid Mississippi eviction notice is a written document — never merely oral — and, depending on type, generally includes the following.
| Required element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Tenant name(s) and property address | Identifies who is being noticed and which unit; a wrong name or address can undermine the notice |
| The exact reason | Nonpayment, the specific curable breach, or a no-cause termination — stated clearly enough for the tenant to respond |
| Amount due (pay-or-quit) | The precise past-due rent and nothing more — do not pad it with unauthorized fees |
| The deadline | The correct number of days for the notice type — three, up to fourteen, seven, or thirty — counted correctly |
| Date and signature | The date of the notice and the signature of the landlord or authorized agent |
For a cure-or-quit notice, section 89-8-13 requires the notice to specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach — a vague “you violated the lease” is not enough. The tenant must be able to read the notice and know precisely what to fix within the cure window. For a nonpayment notice, the amount must be the rent actually due; padding it is the classic error. An oral notice, or a notice that omits the deadline or the ground, is defective and gives the tenant a defense.
Takeaway
A valid notice is written, names the tenant and address, states the exact reason, gives the correct deadline, and is dated and signed. For a curable breach it must specify the acts constituting the breach; for nonpayment it must demand only the precise rent due. Vague grounds, an overstated amount, or a missing deadline each weaken or void the notice.
After the Notice: The Justice-Court Eviction
If the notice period expires and the tenant has not paid, cured, or moved out, the landlord’s next — and only — lawful step is to file a residential eviction in court. Mississippi’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets out this summary process in Mississippi Code section 89-8-31 and following; most residential evictions are filed in justice court in the county where the property sits, though county and circuit courts also have authority.
File the eviction and required documents
After the notice period runs, the landlord files a residential eviction under section 89-8-31, submitting the documents required by section 89-8-33 — the rental agreement or proof of the tenancy, the notice, and proof it was delivered.
Court issues and serves the summons
Under section 89-8-35 the court issues a summons commanding the tenant to vacate or to appear and show cause why possession should not be delivered to the landlord. The summons is served on the tenant and on other occupants claiming possession.
The show-cause hearing
At the hearing the landlord must prove the ground for eviction and that the correct notice was properly given. The tenant may appear and raise defenses — a defective notice, payment or cure in time, or retaliation.
Judgment and seven-day move-out
If the landlord prevails, the judge orders the tenant to vacate within seven days of the judgment under section 89-8-39, unless an emergency or other compelling circumstance justifies a shorter or longer period.
Warrant of removal by the sheriff or constable
If the tenant does not leave by the move-out date, the court issues a warrant of removal, and the sheriff or a constable — not the landlord — removes the tenant and restores possession to the landlord.
Only the sheriff or constable can remove a tenant
A judgment for possession does not let the landlord change the locks personally. Under section 89-8-39, the court issues a warrant of removal to the sheriff or