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Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Mississippi

In Mississippi, after a tenant is removed by law enforcement following an eviction, the tenant has 72 hours to remove belongings; after that the landlord may move them to the curb or a garbage area with no duty to preserve them.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Mississippi at a glance

Written notice required
No further notice after eviction
Property left by a tenant who moves out by the court-ordered date may be disposed of without further notice.
Holding period
72 hours (3 days) after removal
After the holding period
Move to curb or garbage area, no duty to keep
The tenant may still retrieve the items, but the landlord has no obligation to preserve them.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Mississippi

Does a landlord in Mississippi have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

No further notice after eviction. Written notice required in Mississippi: no further notice after eviction. Property left by a tenant who moves out by the court-ordered date may be disposed of without further notice.

How long must a landlord in Mississippi keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Mississippi: 72 hours (3 days) after removal.

What can a landlord in Mississippi do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Mississippi: Move to curb or garbage area, no duty to keep. The tenant may still retrieve the items, but the landlord has no obligation to preserve them.

Where do the Mississippi tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from Miss. Code 89-8-35. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

The eviction summons itself must tell the tenant these rules.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.