Eviction Process In Mississippi

Evicting a tenant in Mississippi means following unlawful entry and detainer (proceedings against a holdover tenant) in Justice Court (county judge, justice of the peace, or municipal/police judge) exactly, start to finish. Skipping a step, whether it's the notice period, how the tenant is served, or the lockout procedure, can restart the clock or expose a management company to liability. This guide walks through each step with the statute or court rule behind it.

Everything below is sourced to Mississippi's own statutes and court self-help pages. Specific deadlines and dollar figures do change, so confirm the current text before you rely on a date in a live case.

Overview Of The Eviction Process

Mississippi's eviction procedure for holdover/nonpayment cases sits in Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-7-23 through 89-7-49, heard by a county judge, justice court judge, or municipal judge; the separate Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (§§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-29) governs lease termination and notice for material noncompliance.

• Eviction proceedings for a holdover tenant are covered by Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-7-23 through 89-7-49, heard by "the judge of the county court, any justice of the peace of the county, or by the mayor or police justice of any city, town, or village" where the premises are located. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27)
• The Mississippi Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-8-1 through 89-8-29, governs residential leases entered after July 1, 1991, and works alongside the eviction procedure in chapter 7 of Title 89. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-1 et seq.)

Lawful Grounds For Eviction

Grounds include holding over after the lease term without permission, nonpayment of rent, default under a written agreement's own terms, and material noncompliance with a residential rental agreement.

• A tenant may be removed for holding over and continuing in possession after expiration of the lease term, without the landlord's permission. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27 (First))
• A tenant may be removed after defaulting on rent, if complete satisfaction cannot be obtained by distress of goods and 3 days' written notice requiring payment or possession has been served. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27 (Second))
• If a written agreement exists between landlord and tenant, any event calling for eviction under that agreement's own terms may trigger the eviction process. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27 (Third))
• Under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord may terminate for material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or with the tenant's statutory duties. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(1))

Notice Requirements

Nonpayment requires 3 days' written notice; other material noncompliance under the Residential Act requires 14 days' notice with a right to cure; a general notice-to-quit statute sets longer periods for tenancies without a fixed term (but not for Residential Act leases).

• For nonpayment of rent, the landlord must serve 3 days' written notice requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27 (Second))
• For material noncompliance other than nonpayment, the nonbreaching party must deliver written notice (or email/text if agreed) specifying the breach, and the agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied within that time. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(3))
• For nonpayment of rent under the Residential Act, the landlord is not required to give the 14-day notice; instead removal proceeds under the notice and procedure prescribed by Chapter 7, Title 89 (the 3-day notice described above). (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(a))
• A separate notice-to-quit statute (inapplicable to Residential Act leases) requires 2 months' notice for a year-to-year holding, 1 month for a half-year or quarter-year holding, and 1 week for a month-to-month or week-to-week holding, only where the term is not fixed. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-23)

Filing The Case

The landlord presents a sworn affidavit to the court, which then issues a summons setting a show-cause hearing 3 to 5 days out.

• To begin the proceeding, the landlord (or agent) must present a sworn affidavit stating the facts requiring removal, describing the premises, the rent/late fees due, and confirming the required notice was given. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-29)
• On receiving the affidavit, the judge issues a summons directing the sheriff, a constable, or a municipal marshal to require the occupant to remove or show cause, on a date not less than 3 nor more than 5 days from the date of the summons, why possession should not be delivered to the applicant. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-31)

Serving The Tenant

The summons is served like any other civil summons; if the tenant cannot be found, it may be posted on the premises.

• The summons is served the same way a summons is served in other civil cases; if the tenant cannot be found, it is served by posting a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises where the tenant last or usually resided. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-33)

The Tenant's Response

The occupant may file a sworn affidavit denying the facts in the landlord's affidavit, which puts the disputed facts to trial before the magistrate.

• The person in possession, or anyone claiming possession, may file an affidavit with the magistrate at or before the show-cause date, denying the facts on which the summons was issued, and those controverted matters may then be tried. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-37)

Hearing And Judgment

Adjournments are capped so the whole case cannot run past 45 days from filing; judgment for the landlord directs a removal warrant, and a nonpayment judgment can be stayed if the tenant pays in full within 10 days.

• The court may adjourn the hearing (a single adjournment not to exceed 10 days, absent consent), but no adjournment may extend an eviction hearing beyond 45 days from the date the eviction action was filed. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-39)
• If the decision favors the landlord, the magistrate issues a warrant commanding the sheriff, constable, or other officer to immediately put the landlord into possession and to levy the costs of the proceeding. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-41)
• If the proceeding is based on nonpayment of rent, issuance of the removal warrant is stayed if the tenant pays the full rent, late fees, and costs due before the warrant actually issues, within 10 days. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-45)

The Writ And Lockout

The removal order is a "warrant" executed by the sheriff, constable, or a municipal marshal; unremoved personal property can be deemed abandoned if the tenant was properly warned in the summons.

• The removal warrant commands the sheriff, constable, or marshal to remove all persons from the premises and put the applicant into full possession. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-35)
• The summons must warn the occupant that if the judge grants possession to the landlord and the occupant does not remove personal property, including a manufactured home, by the ordered date, the landlord may dispose of it without further legal action. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-31(2))
• If the summons contained that warning and the tenant fails to remove personal property, and the judge makes no other finding on its disposition, the property is deemed abandoned and the landlord may dispose of it without further notice or obligation to the tenant. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-35(2))

Eviction is the last step in a relationship that's already gone wrong. See our guide to Mississippi property management laws and regulations for the licensing, disclosure, and trust-account rules that apply before it gets to this point.

Doing It By The Book

Self-help evictions, changing locks, removing doors, shutting off utilities, are illegal in every state and expose a management company to real liability regardless of how clear the nonpayment is. The court process exists because it's the only lawful way to remove a tenant, and skipping a step (a defective notice, bad service) is the single most common reason a case gets dismissed and restarted from day one.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific case, a contested filing, or anything unusual, work with a Mississippi attorney, and confirm the current text of any rule cited above with Justice Court (county judge, justice of the peace, or municipal/police judge) or the Mississippi legislature.

Sources

Every fact above is drawn from one of the official sources below.

• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-7-27, Office of the Mississippi Attorney General, Consumer Guide: The Landlord-Tenant Relationship