Mississippi Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Jeanne Sanford | May 15, 2025 | 6 min read

Watermarked TurboTenant Mississippi Lease Agreement

Last updated May 15th, 2025

Mississippi Month-to-Month Rental Agreement

A Mississippi month-to-month lease agreement sets the stage for at-will tenancies where landlords or tenants can terminate the contract with proper notice. Compared to long-term leases with fixed end dates, month-to-month leases offer both parties increased flexibility.

In this guide, we’ll review the laws regulating month-to-month lease agreements in Mississippi and dive into relevant landlord-tenant laws in the state. We’ll cover details about security deposits, rent increases, and more.

Mississippi Lease Agreements

Learn More

TurboTenant's Mississippi lease agreement forms the backbone of a solid landlord-tenant relationship.

Mississippi Landlord-Tenant Law: Overview of Rights 2025

Learn More

Understanding Mississippi landlord-tenant law gives landlords and tenants the knowledge they need to ensure smooth rental experiences. Find the info you need here.

Mississippi Month-to-Month Lease Laws

As a matter of housing policy, each state passes and enforces its own landlord-tenant laws. Landlords must understand how these laws affect their rental property businesses to comply with local laws and steer clear of violations.

We’ll review:

Mandatory lease disclosures
Termination notices
The frequency and maximum amount of rent increases, if any
Eviction notices
Security deposit laws, including the maximum amount and how to return them
Pet deposits and pet rent limitations
Rent payments, late fees, and grace periods

Required Landlord Disclosures (1)

1. Lead paint: Federal law requires all landlords with units built before 1978 to disclose the presence of or information regarding the existence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards on the property.

Note: The Mississippi legislature requires no further disclosures.

Required Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Agreement

Since a Mississippi month-to-month lease agreement for residential property has no fixed end date, the state requires both parties to provide ample notice to the other party regarding their intent to terminate the agreement.

For Mississippi:

Required notice for landlord: 30 days.

Required notice for tenant: 30 days (Miss. Code § 89-8-19(3)).

Rent Increase Laws

Landlords with month-to-month agreements enjoy more flexibility in raising rent than those with fixed-term contracts. While Mississippi doesn’t have statewide rent control, landlords must provide notice of the increase.

For month-to-month agreements, landlords must provide 30 days’ notice to increase rent.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Mississippi landlord-tenant law doesn’t provide tenants a grace period to pay rent.

Late rent fees: Mississippi does not set a minimum or maximum on late rent fees. However, landlords who wish to charge late fees should list the amount and timeline in their agreements to enforce them.

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: For a tenant to withhold rent for repairs, they must provide the landlord with written notice specifying the defect. If the landlord doesn’t make the necessary repairs after 30 days, the tenant may pay for them and deduct the amount from a future rent payment. They can also demand reimbursement within 45 days. The amount cannot exceed 1 month’s rent, and the tenant must be current on all rent payments (Miss. Code § 89-8-15).

Pet rent laws: Mississippi landlords are allowed to charge rent for pets. Per federal Fair Housing Act laws, they cannot charge pet rent or fees for service or emotional support animals (ESAs).

Security Deposit Rules

Maximum security deposit: The state has no statutory maximum for security deposits.

Security deposit receipt: Upon accepting a security deposit, Mississippi law doesn’t require landlords to provide a receipt.

Deduction tracking: Mississippi landlords can withhold funds from the security deposit for unpaid rent, excessive cleaning, damage beyond normal wear-and-tear, or other reasonable expenses due to tenant negligence. They must provide an itemized receipt of the deductions when returning the remainder to the tenant (Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3)).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: Landlords must return the security deposit (or the remainder of the funds) to the tenant within 45 days of the tenant leaving the property (Miss. Code § 89-8-21(3)).

Pet deposit rules: Mississippi landlords are allowed to charge a pet deposit, as long as it’s not for a service animal or ESA.

Property Access Regulations

Advance notice: There is no law in Mississippi regulating access to the rental unit, but 24 hours is considered a reasonable notice timeframe.

Immediate access: Landlords can enter the property as they see fit. No laws regulate landlord ent.

Landlord harassment: While there are no specific laws regarding entry to the rental unit, if a landlord repeatedly enters the rental unit without giving notice, that could be considered landlord harassment. If a tenant experiences continual harassment, they may file a court order to prevent access or deliver a 14-day notice to cease the behavior. Tenants may also be able to cancel the lease agreement in these situations.

Rental Agreement Violations

Missed rent payment: Landlords in Mississippi may issue a 3-day Notice to Pay or Quit once rent is late (Miss. Code § 89-8-13(5)).

Lease violation: If a tenant commits a lease violation, the landlord may issue a 14-day Notice to Cure or Quit, giving the tenant a chance to cure the violation. After a second violation, the landlord may issue a 14-day Notice to Quit without allowing the tenant to fix the issue (Miss. Code § 89-8-13(3)).

Self-help evictions: Self-help evictions are illegal in Mississippi unless the lease outlines self-help eviction procedures. Always follow the legal eviction process when removing a tenant.

Lease abandonment: If a tenant breaks the lease early and without providing notice, they may be responsible for the remaining rent on the lease term or additional fees.