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Landlord Retaliation Laws in Mississippi

Mississippi's landlord-tenant act lets a landlord raise rent or start holdover eviction after a lease ends only if the dominant purpose is not retaliation for tenant actions authorized by the act.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Mississippi at a glance

Retaliation banned by statute
Limited
The statute addresses retaliation only for post-lease rent increases and holdover eviction notices.
Presumption period
No presumption period
Protected tenant actions
Actions authorized by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
The landlord must have received written notice of each condition behind the tenant's actions.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Mississippi

Does Mississippi law prohibit landlord retaliation against tenants?

Limited. Retaliation banned by statute in Mississippi: limited. The statute addresses retaliation only for post-lease rent increases and holdover eviction notices.

How long after a tenant complaint is retaliation presumed in Mississippi?

Presumption period in Mississippi: No presumption period.

Which tenant actions are protected from retaliation in Mississippi?

Protected tenant actions in Mississippi: Actions authorized by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The landlord must have received written notice of each condition behind the tenant's actions.

Where do the Mississippi landlord retaliation laws come from?

The rules above come from Miss. Code 89-8-17(2). Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

What this means in practice

Keep a written record of every complaint, repair request and report to a government agency, with dates. A presumption period usually runs from the date of the protected action, so proof of that date can matter.

Retaliation protection does not usually excuse unpaid rent or lease violations. Statutes commonly allow a landlord to raise rent, end a tenancy or evict for a good-faith reason, such as nonpayment, damage to the unit or a rent increase applied to all tenants.

If a rent increase, service cut or eviction notice follows a complaint, read the statute for your state and any local ordinance. Cities and counties may add protections, and a local legal aid office or tenant union can explain how they apply.

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