Mississippi tenant screening and landlord-tenant law

Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 89, Chapter 8) and its trade/consumer-protection title (Title 75) contain no screening or application fee cap, disclosure mandate, or refund rule comparable to those in some other states. Mississippi has no statewide statute regulating tenant screening or application fees; landlords should look to their lease terms and ordinary contract principles rather than a dedicated fee statute.

Mississippi has no dedicated "Fair Housing Act" chapter or title in state law. The state's "Housing Authorities Law" (Miss. Code Ann. §§43-33-1 et seq.) governs public housing authorities, not private rental discrimination generally. Mississippi housing discrimination protections — including as applied to criminal history — are governed by the federal Fair Housing Act rather than a parallel or more protective state statute.

Mississippi has no statute making source of income, receipt of public assistance, or housing-voucher status a protected characteristic in private rental housing. Because the federal Fair Housing Act also does not cover source of income, there is no state-level source-of-income protection in Mississippi — a materially thinner protection than states like Minnesota, which layer their own human-rights statute on top of federal law here.

Mississippi tenant screening is governed by the federal FCRA baseline (15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.): a permissible purpose and generally the applicant's written authorization before ordering a consumer report, a pre-adverse-action notice with a copy of the report and summary of rights, and a formal adverse action notice under FCRA §615 identifying the reporting agency and the applicant's dispute rights. Mississippi has no Mississippi-specific statute adding to this federal framework.

Mississippi does not cap the dollar amount landlords may charge for a security deposit. A landlord may claim, by written itemized notice, only amounts reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning, or other reasonable and necessary expenses tied to the tenant's default (Miss. Code Ann. §89-8-21(3)). Any remaining balance must generally be returned no later than 45 days after the tenancy ends, the tenant delivers possession, and the tenant demands the deposit. Mississippi does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits. Bad-faith retention can expose a landlord to damages of up to $200 in addition to the tenant's actual damages (§89-8-21(4)) — a materially lower statutory penalty than states like Minnesota or California impose for the same conduct.

Mississippi has no statute imposing rent-increase caps or a general "just cause" eviction requirement, and no specific Mississippi statute either authorizes or preempts local rent control. Landlords should confirm directly with their city or county to determine if any local rent-control ordinances are in effect. Under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, absent a fixed lease term, a tenancy is generally week-to-week for a tenant who pays rent weekly, and month-to-month otherwise; either party may generally terminate a week-to-week tenancy on at least 7 days' written notice and a month-to-month tenancy on at least 30 days' written notice, except that notice is not required where a party has committed a substantial violation materially affecting health or safety (Miss. Code Ann. §89-8-19).

Landlords in Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Hattiesburg should confirm current municipal code for any local tenant-screening, fair-chance-housing, or rent-control measures before finalizing a screening policy. Landlords in any specific Mississippi city should also confirm whether local requirements supplement the statewide Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

Mississippi's local government structure consists of counties and municipalities; it does not use a separate "township" layer the way some Midwestern states do. Unincorporated areas of a county are generally governed directly by county government and remain subject to the same statewide Residential Landlord and Tenant Act described above.

Does Mississippi cap tenant screening or application fees? Mississippi has no statewide statute capping or otherwise regulating these fees.

Does Mississippi require landlords to pay interest on security deposits? No. Unlike some states, Mississippi's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not include an interest requirement.

How long does a Mississippi landlord have to return a security deposit? Generally, any remaining deposit balance must be returned within 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, and the tenant makes a demand (Miss. Code Ann. §89-8-21).

Is source of income a protected class for renters in Mississippi? Not based on the statutes reviewed — Mississippi does not appear to protect source of income or voucher status at the state level, and the federal Fair Housing Act does not cover it either.

Checkr helps landlords and property managers in Mississippi run FCRA-compliant tenant screening while keeping the state's security-deposit and notice requirements in view. Get started at tenant.checkr.com/signup to build a screening workflow suited to your properties.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.