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Mississippi Notice to Vacate: 2026 Landlord Rules & 3-Day Statute

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Mississippi · Last updated 2026-05-31

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Miss. Code Ann. Title 89, Chapter 8, governs landlord notice to vacate. Section 89-8-13(5)(a) sets a three-day notice for nonpayment of rent, and Section 89-8-13(3) gives a general material breach a cure period of not less than fourteen days before the rental agreement terminates. A periodic tenancy ends on thirty days written notice for a month-to-month tenancy or seven days for a week-to-week tenancy under Section 89-8-19. When the tenant does not leave, the landlord files a sworn affidavit or complaint to remove the tenant through the residential eviction procedure in Justice Court under Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43, with the older Chapter 7 removal procedure applying to nonresidential premises.

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How many days notice does Mississippi require for nonpayment of rent?

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(a) provides that for nonpayment of rent the landlord may deliver a notice specifying that the rental agreement will terminate if payment of the rent is not made within three (3) days. The statute states three days and does not specify whether the count excludes weekends or holidays. The notice must be in writing, or delivered by email or text message only if the tenant has agreed in writing to be notified by that means. Section 89-8-13(5)(b) also directs the judge to abide by the terms of the signed rental agreement when a landlord seeks to evict for nonpayment.

How do I serve a notice to vacate in Mississippi?

The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires the pre-suit notice to be in writing under Section 89-8-13. The landlord may instead deliver it by email or text message, but only if the tenant has agreed in writing to be notified by email or text message. Title 89 does not separately enumerate certified mail, hand delivery, or door posting as required or prohibited methods for the pre-suit notice, so a landlord should keep proof that the written notice was delivered. Service of the later eviction summons is handled differently: Section 89-8-35(3) provides that service of summons shall be pursuant to applicable Mississippi Rules of Court.

How much notice does Mississippi require to end a lease with no cause?

For a periodic tenancy, Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19 sets the no-cause termination notice. A month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by written notice given at least thirty (30) days prior to the termination date, and a week-to-week tenancy by written notice given at least seven (7) days prior to the termination date. Under Section 89-8-19(1), a tenancy is week to week for a tenant who pays weekly rent and month to month in all other cases unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term. For a tenant holding over after a definite-term lease has expired, Section 89-8-17(2) authorizes notice that the landlord will commence eviction proceedings no earlier than three (3) days after the notice.

What happens after the notice period if the tenant does not vacate?

The landlord commences the residential eviction by filing a sworn affidavit or complaint under Section 89-8-33, accompanied by a copy of the written notice delivered to the tenant. Under Section 89-8-35(1) a summons is then issued commanding the person in possession to vacate or to show cause why possession should not be delivered to the landlord. Section 89-8-41(3) provides that no adjournment shall extend the entire hearing beyond thirty (30) days from the date the eviction action was filed, and a single adjournment may not exceed ten days. If a judgment of possession is granted, Section 89-8-39(1) directs the judge to order the tenant to vacate within seven (7) days, unless the court finds a shorter or longer period is justified by an emergency or other compelling circumstances.

Mississippi notice-to-vacate framework at a glance

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Miss. Code Ann. Title 89, Chapter 8, controls landlord pre-eviction notice statewide. Section 89-8-13(5)(a) sets a three-day notice for nonpayment of rent, while Section 89-8-13(3) gives a remediable material breach a cure period of not less than fourteen days before the rental agreement terminates, and a repeat breach of substantially the same act within six months may be terminated on at least fourteen days notice without a further cure right. A periodic tenancy ends on thirty days written notice for month-to-month or seven days for week-to-week under Section 89-8-19, and a holdover after a definite-term lease follows the three-day notice in Section 89-8-17(2). Mississippi has no statewide just-cause eviction requirement and no statewide rent control. The 2022 overhaul (SB2461, effective July 1, 2022) created a dedicated residential eviction procedure in Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43, heard in Justice Court, while the older Chapter 7 removal-of-tenants procedure (Sections 89-7-27 through 89-7-49) now applies to nonresidential premises. Mississippi does not statutorily mandate a specific pre-suit notice form. The official statute publisher is the Mississippi Legislature, and the Mississippi judiciary publishes court information at courts.ms.gov.

Landlord Resources

Mississippi Judiciary

Official Mississippi judicial branch site for the Justice Courts that hear residential eviction (removal of tenant) actions under Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43, including court contacts and procedural information.

Mississippi Legislature (Miss. Code Ann. Title 89)

Official statute publisher. Hosts the bill texts and codified sections of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, including the Section 89-8-13 notice provisions and the Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43 eviction procedure.

Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts

State court administration resource. Justice court eviction filing forms and packets may be published through the Administrative Office of Courts or individual justice courts; confirm the current form before filing.

Relevant Laws

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13 (Notice of Breach; Nonpayment; Cure)

Sets the three-day nonpayment notice in subsection (5)(a), the fourteen-day cure notice for a general material breach in subsection (3), and the repeat-breach termination on fourteen days notice in subsection (3)(b).

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19 (Periodic Tenancy Termination)

Requires thirty days written notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy and seven days for a week-to-week tenancy, and provides that no notice is required for a substantial violation materially affecting health or safety.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17 (Holdover After Expiration)

Authorizes notice that the landlord will commence eviction proceedings no earlier than three days after notice when a tenant holds over after a definite-term rental agreement expires.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-33 through § 89-8-41 (Residential Eviction Procedure)

Governs the residential removal-of-tenant action: the sworn affidavit or complaint (89-8-33), the summons (89-8-35), the judgment (89-8-37), and the thirty-day adjournment cap and ten-day single-adjournment limit (89-8-41).

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-39 (Judgment of Possession; Warrant for Removal)

Orders the tenant to vacate within seven days of judgment (reducible for emergency or compelling circumstances), bars a warrant for removal in nonpayment cases where the tenant pays in full, and gives seventy-two hours of access to remove property after the warrant is executed.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27 (Removal of Tenants, Nonresidential)

The older Chapter 7 removal procedure, including the parallel three-day nonpayment notice, applying to nonresidential premises and cross-referenced by the residential chapter.

Federal SCRA, 50 U.S.C. § 3955 (Termination of Residential Leases)

Federal protection allowing active-duty servicemembers to terminate residential leases; controls in Mississippi because the state RLTA contains no separate servicemember early-termination right.

Regional Variances

Mississippi Justice Court eviction practice by county

Hinds County (Jackson)

Residential evictions are filed in the Justice Court of the county where the premises are located, here Hinds County, under the Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43 procedure. The statutory uniform justice court civil filing fee is $25.00 under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-25(1)(a), plus $5.00 for service of process on each defendant beyond the first. A separate fee for the warrant for removal under Section 89-8-39(2) and constable or sheriff service charges are set locally and vary, so the out-of-pocket total in a high-volume metro court is higher than the statutory filing fee alone.

DeSoto County

DeSoto County evictions follow the same statewide residential procedure in its Justice Court. The same $25.00 statutory civil filing fee applies, but the warrant-for-removal fee and constable service charges are set at the county level, so landlords should confirm the current DeSoto County Justice Court fee schedule before filing. The thirty-day adjournment cap in Section 89-8-41(3) applies uniformly statewide.

Harrison County

Harrison County, on the Gulf Coast, applies the same Title 89, Chapter 8 residential eviction procedure and the same $25.00 statutory filing fee. As in every Mississippi county, the post-judgment timeline runs through the seven-day vacate order in Section 89-8-39(1) and the seventy-two-hour property-access window in Section 89-8-39(3). Local warrant and service fees vary, so confirm the Harrison County Justice Court schedule before filing.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Identify the statutory ground and matching notice period

Pre-notice days after starting

Map the situation to the correct statute. Nonpayment: three-day notice under Section 89-8-13(5)(a). General material breach: fourteen-day cure notice under Section 89-8-13(3), or a repeat breach within six months under Section 89-8-13(3)(b). Periodic-tenancy termination: thirty days month-to-month or seven days week-to-week under Section 89-8-19. Holdover after a definite-term lease: three-day notice under Section 89-8-17(2).

Confirm whether the tenancy is residential and review the rental agreement

Pre-notice days after starting

The Sections 89-8-31 through 89-8-43 residential procedure applies to a dwelling unit; the Chapter 7 removal procedure (Sections 89-7-27 through 89-7-49) applies to nonresidential premises. Pull the signed rental agreement, because Section 89-8-13(5)(b) directs the judge in a nonpayment eviction to abide by the terms of the agreement signed by the landlord and tenant.

Draft a written notice that meets the Section 89-8-13 content requirements

Pre-notice days after starting

The notice must be in writing. For nonpayment, state that the rental agreement will terminate if the rent is not paid within three days. For a material breach, specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and a termination date not less than fourteen days after receipt with a chance to cure. For a periodic termination, state the termination date at least thirty days (month-to-month) or seven days (week-to-week) out.

Document: notice-to-vacate

Serve the written notice on the tenant

Service days after starting

Deliver the notice in writing. Email or text message delivery is allowed only if the tenant has agreed in writing to be notified by that means. Title 89 does not enumerate a separate certified-mail or door-posting requirement for the pre-suit notice, so keep proof that the written notice was delivered for the later filing.

Wait the full notice period before filing

Notice period days after starting

Do not commence the eviction before the notice period expires: three days for nonpayment under Section 89-8-13(5)(a), at least fourteen days for a material breach under Section 89-8-13(3), or thirty or seven days for a periodic termination under Section 89-8-19. If the breach is remediable and the tenant cures before the date specified, the rental agreement does not terminate.

File the sworn affidavit or complaint to remove the tenant in Justice Court

Post-notice days after starting

Under Section 89-8-33, file a sworn affidavit or complaint based on the terms of the rental agreement, stating the facts requiring removal and the rent or fees owed, with a copy of the written notice delivered to the tenant attached. The statutory uniform justice court civil filing fee is $25.00 under Section 25-7-25(1)(a), plus $5.00 per additional defendant; local warrant and service fees vary by county. A summons then issues under Section 89-8-35(1).

Appear at the show-cause hearing

Hearing days after starting

Appear on the show-cause day named in the summons. Section 89-8-41(3) caps the entire hearing at thirty days from the filing date, and a single adjournment may not exceed ten days except by consent. Bring the rental agreement, the written notice with proof of delivery, and a rent ledger if nonpayment is the ground.

Obtain the warrant for removal after judgment

Post-judgment days after starting

If a judgment of possession is granted, Section 89-8-39(1) orders the tenant to vacate within seven days, reducible for an emergency or other compelling circumstances. In a nonpayment-only judgment, Section 89-8-39(4) bars the warrant if the tenant pays in full by the move-out date. After the warrant is executed, Section 89-8-39(3) gives the tenant seventy-two hours of reasonable access to remove personal property; payment of applicable fees is required before the warrant issues under Section 89-8-39(2).

Frequently Asked Questions

They apply to different breaches. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(a), when the material noncompliance is nonpayment of rent, the landlord may deliver written notice specifying that the rental agreement will terminate if payment is not made within three (3) days. Under Section 89-8-13(3), a general material breach gets a longer runway: the notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than fourteen (14) days after receipt if the breach is not remedied within a reasonable time not in excess of fourteen days. If the breach is remedied before the date specified, the agreement does not terminate.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(4) provides that notice to terminate a tenancy is not required when the tenant has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the chapter that materially affects health or safety. In addition, Section 89-8-39(1) lets the court set a move-out date shorter than the default seven days after judgment where the tenant has committed such a substantial health-or-safety violation, or poses an immediate and significant risk of damage to the premises or of harm to persons on the premises. Mississippi's residential chapter does not contain a separate enumerated criminal-activity or drug-activity notice category beyond this health-or-safety and damage-or-harm provision.

Yes. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(3)(b) provides that, absent a showing of due care by the breaching party, if substantially the same act or omission that constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was given recurs within six (6) months, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement on at least fourteen (14) days notice in writing, specifying the breach and the date of termination. Unlike the first material-breach notice, the repeat-breach notice does not have to give a further opportunity to cure.

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3955, applies to Mississippi tenancies as federal law and governs early lease termination for active-duty servicemembers. Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 89, Chapter 8) does not contain a separate state servicemember early-termination right, so the federal SCRA controls. A landlord who receives an SCRA termination notice should verify the servicemember's orders before proceeding with notice to vacate or eviction on the same tenancy.

A defective or incomplete notice can undermine the eviction. To commence the court action under Section 89-8-33, the landlord must file a sworn affidavit or complaint based on the terms of the rental agreement, accompanied by a copy of the written notice of breach delivered under Section 89-8-13 or the written termination notice delivered under Sections 89-8-17 and 89-8-19. The notice must meet the content rules for the ground being used: a three-day nonpayment statement under Section 89-8-13(5)(a), a fourteen-day cure notice specifying the acts and omissions under Section 89-8-13(3), or a thirty-day or seven-day periodic-termination notice under Section 89-8-19. A notice that does not match the statute or that is delivered by an unagreed email or text method may not support the filing.

Mississippi does not have a dedicated standalone retaliation statute with an enumerated list of protected tenant actions. The retaliation-related constraints appear in two places. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-9 imposes an obligation of good faith on every duty and act under the chapter, including the landlord's termination of a tenancy, nonrenewal of a rental agreement, or removal of a tenant. Section 89-8-17(2) limits post-expiration landlord actions and rent increases that have the dominant purpose of retaliation against the tenant for actions authorized under the chapter. These are narrower than a broad anti-retaliation bar.

Yes. Where a possession judgment is based solely on nonpayment of rent, Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-39(4)(a) bars the judge from issuing a warrant for removal if, by the court-ordered move-out date, the tenant has paid in full all unpaid rent and other sums awarded in the judgment, or if the landlord has accepted such payment afterward. Section 89-8-39(4)(b) imposes on the landlord an obligation of good faith to accept full payment of all sums owed under the money judgment if tendered on or before the court-ordered move-out date.

After the landlord files the sworn affidavit or complaint under Section 89-8-33, a summons issues under Section 89-8-35(1) commanding the tenant to vacate or to show cause. Section 89-8-41(3) provides that no adjournment shall extend the entire hearing beyond thirty (30) days from the date the eviction action was filed, and Section 89-8-41(2) limits a single adjournment to ten days except by consent of both parties. This thirty-day figure is the statutory outer limit on adjournments, not a guaranteed first-hearing date. If a judgment of possession is granted, Section 89-8-39(1) directs the tenant to vacate within seven days, and after the warrant for removal is executed Section 89-8-39(3) gives the tenant seventy-two hours of reasonable access to remove personal property.

Other Mississippi guides

How to Break a Lease in Mississippi Legally (2026)

Tenant Rights in Mississippi: Renting a New Property (2026)

Landlord Rules in Mississippi: Renting Out Property (2026)

Selling a House with Renters in Mississippi (2026)

How to File a Small Claims Lawsuit in Mississippi (2026)

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