Property Management Laws And Regulations In Mississippi

Mississippi regulates third-party property management through several authorities at once, and the rules that matter most to a management company are the ones covering your license, your client trust accounts, and the money you hold on behalf of owners and tenants. This guide covers those rules for professional managers, with the statute or agency regulation behind each one.

Everything below is sourced to Mississippi's own statutes, agency rules, and court materials rather than to secondhand summaries. Specific dollar amounts and deadlines do change; the citations do not, so you can always open the authority and confirm the current text before you act on it.

Licensing Requirements For Property Managers

Mississippi treats managing real estate for others for compensation as a licensed brokerage activity. A single compensated act, such as managing, renting, leasing, or negotiating for another, is enough to require a broker's license from the Mississippi Real Estate Commission. The main exemption is for bona fide property owners and their own regular salaried employees performing management functions in the regular course of business.

• The term "real estate broker" includes any person, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation who, for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents, leases, manages, or auctions real estate, or negotiates any of those activities, on behalf of another. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-3(1))
• A single act performed in consideration of, or with the expectation of, compensation is enough to make a person or company a "real estate broker" subject to Mississippi's licensing law. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-3(3))
• Exempt from licensure is any bona fide owner who performs these acts with reference to property the owner holds, and the owner's regular employees who are on a stated salary performing such acts in the regular course of business; the law provides no exemption for an independent third-party company managing property it does not own. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-3(8))

Client Trust Account Rules

Mississippi law requires a broker who takes possession of client or tenant funds to deposit them into a trust or escrow account promptly, now within two banking days as of a 2026 statutory amendment, and prohibits commingling those funds with the broker's own. Commission rules add that client funds are not broker assets, require itemized escrow records, and require records to be kept for three years and made available for Commission inspection.

• A broker who takes possession of cash or checks belonging to others must deposit those funds into a trust or escrow account at a bank or trust company pending consummation or termination of the transaction; failing to remit such funds promptly, or commingling them with the broker's own funds, is grounds for suspension or revocation of the broker's license. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-21(1)(f))
• Under a statutory amendment effective July 1, 2026, a "reasonable time" for making this deposit means by the close of business of two banking days immediately following the date the licensee comes into possession of the funds, up from the prior one-banking-day standard. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-21(1)(f) (Rev. 7-01-2026))
• Monies held in a trust or rental account on behalf of clients or customers are not assets of the broker; a broker may keep a limited sum of personal funds in the account solely to cover bank service charges related to that account. (MREC Rules and Regulations, Rule 3.4)
• Brokers must keep accurate, individually identified escrow records for every transaction in accordance with standard accounting practices, and those records are subject to inspection by the Commission at any time. (MREC Rules and Regulations, Rule 3.4)
• Complete transaction records, including escrow records, must be kept on file for three years following consummation of the transaction. (MREC Rules and Regulations, Rule 3.2; Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-35)

Trust account rules are where Mississippi management companies get into trouble fastest, because a shortage is a licensing problem and not just a bookkeeping problem. The habits that keep you clean are the boring ones: deposit on time, never let operating money and client money mix, reconcile every account every month, and keep a per, property record you could hand to an auditor without preparing it first. Our guide to preparing for a trust account audit walks through what examiners actually ask for.

Security Deposit Rules

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no maximum deposit amount and no interest requirement, but requires written itemization of any amount withheld, a 45-day deadline to return any remaining balance, and allows a tenant to recover damages for a landlord's bad-faith retention.

• A tenant's claim to a security deposit held by the landlord has priority over the claims of any creditor of the landlord, but Mississippi law sets no maximum dollar amount or percentage cap on the deposit itself. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(1)-(2))
• A landlord may claim from the deposit only amounts reasonably necessary to remedy unpaid rent, repair damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, clean the premises, or cover other reasonable expenses from the tenant's default, and must deliver written, itemized notice of any amount claimed. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(3))
• Any remaining portion of the deposit must be returned to the tenant no later than 45 days after termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and the tenant's demand. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(3))
• A landlord who retains a deposit in violation of this section and without good faith may be liable for damages of up to $200, in addition to any actual damages. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(4))

Lease Agreements And Required Disclosures

Mississippi's landlord-tenant act allows oral or written rental agreements, voids certain waiver clauses regardless of what a tenant agrees to, and permits notice to a property manager acting as the landlord's agent to stand in for notice to the landlord.

• A rental agreement under Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act may be written or oral; the Act does not generally require a written lease. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(1))
• A rental agreement may not require a party to confess judgment, nor exculpate or limit a landlord's liability for the landlord's own willful misconduct, and such provisions are void even if the tenant agrees to them. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-5)
• Landlord notices under the Act, such as breach or termination notices, may be delivered by email or text message if the tenant has agreed in writing to receive notices that way. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(3))

Entry Notice And Tenant Privacy

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not contain any provision governing a landlord's right to enter an occupied rental unit or any advance-notice requirement for entry, which appears to be a genuine gap in the state's statutory law; property managers must rely on lease terms and general legal principles instead.

• The complete current text of Mississippi Code Title 89, Chapter 8 (the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Sections 89-8-1 through 89-8-45) contains no provision addressing landlord entry into an occupied rental unit or any advance-notice requirement for such entry. (Miss. Code Ann. tit. 89, ch. 8)

Rent, Late Fees, And Other Charges

Mississippi's landlord-tenant act does not cap rent or late fees; it simply folds any late fee specified in the lease into the statutory definition of "rent" and requires courts to enforce those lease terms in a nonpayment eviction.

• "Rent" is statutorily defined to include all payments due to the landlord under the rental agreement, including any late fees required to be paid under the agreement by a defaulting tenant, so the Act itself sets no separate cap or formula for late fees. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-7(1))
• In a hearing where a landlord seeks to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent, the presiding judge must abide by the payment and late-fee provisions of the signed rental agreement. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(b))

Fee income is also taxable income, and how you record management fees, late fees, and pass, through charges affects both your compliance position and your books. See our guide to Mississippi property management tax deductions for the reporting side.

Fair Housing Obligations

Mississippi relies primarily on the federal Fair Housing Act rather than a dedicated state fair-housing statute or agency. Mississippi's real estate licensing law requires fair housing and federal real estate law to be covered in pre-license education, indicating that the state largely relies on federal enforcement rather than a separate state framework.

• Mississippi's real estate pre-license education requirements list "fair housing" and "federal laws affecting real estate" among the mandatory subject areas that state-approved pre-license courses must cover. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-14.3(1))

Habitability And Safety Duties

Mississippi law requires landlords to comply with health and safety codes and keep core systems in the condition they were in at the start of the lease, gives tenants a limited repair-and-deduct remedy, and includes a retaliation provision tied to the landlord's actions after a lease expires.

• A landlord must, at all times during the tenancy, comply with applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, and maintain the dwelling unit and its plumbing, heating, and cooling systems in substantially the same condition as at the start of the lease, ordinary wear and tear excepted, unless the tenant caused the damage. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-23(1)-(2))
• If a landlord fails to repair a covered defect after notice, the tenant may repair it and seek reimbursement of receipted costs, subject to conditions including that the repair cost does not exceed one month's rent, the tenant has not used this remedy in the preceding six months, and the tenant is current on rent. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-15)
• After a rental agreement expires, a landlord's decision to seek possession, raise rent, or reduce services is lawful only if it did not have the dominant purpose of retaliating against the tenant for actions protected under the Act, where the landlord had received written notice of the underlying condition. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-17(2))

Eviction Basics

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act layers its own notice rules on top of the general unlawful entry and detainer process: a 14-day cure notice for breaches generally, but only a 3-day notice for nonpayment of rent, with proceedings brought in justice, county, or circuit court.

• For a material breach generally, the nonbreaching party must give written notice specifying the breach, and the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after the notice if the breach is not cured within that period. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(3))
• For nonpayment of rent specifically, a landlord may give notice that the rental agreement will terminate if payment is not made within 3 days, rather than the standard 14-day cure period. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-13(5)(a))

Recent Changes Worth Tracking

These are the Mississippi changes most likely to affect a management company's procedures. Confirm the effective date against the source below before you update a lease template or a policy.

• Effective July 1, 2026: The deadline for a Mississippi real estate broker to deposit client trust or escrow funds, including earnest money and other funds belonging to others, was extended from one banking day to two banking days after receipt. (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-21(1)(f))

Staying Compliant Without Guessing

Most Mississippi compliance failures are not decisions, they are drift: a deposit that sat too long, a reconciliation that got skipped in a busy month, a lease template that never got updated after a statute changed. Build the calendar first. Monthly trust reconciliations, an annual review of your lease and disclosure packet against current statutes, and a documented process for deposits and refunds cover the large majority of what an examiner will ask about.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, a novel fact pattern, or anything with real money at stake, work with a Mississippi attorney, and confirm the current text of any statute cited above with the Mississippi Real Estate Commission or the Mississippi legislature.

Sources

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

• Miss. Code Ann. § 73-35-3(1), Mississippi Real Estate Commission
• MREC Rules and Regulations, Rule 3.4, Mississippi Real Estate Commission
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21(1)-(2), Mississippi Legislature