Short answer: Mississippi late fee laws set no cap and no grace period; the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Miss. Code §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-45) leaves the amount and timing to your rental agreement. What sets Mississippi apart is a definition: under § 89-8-7(1)(k), “rent” includes “any late fees that are required to be paid under the rental agreement by a defaulting tenant,” so late fees can count toward what you owe to stop an eviction.
Mississippi’s official code is published through a commercial vendor that does not allow automated access, so this guide relies on the Legislature’s own copy of the full Act, reprinted (“brought forward”) in 2024 House Bill 1580. We searched that text for every reference to late fees, penalties and liquidated damages. The results are short, but they shape almost every step of a nonpayment case.
Mississippi late fee laws in brief
| Rule | Mississippi | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory cap on late fees | None in the Act | §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-45 |
| Mandatory grace period | None in the Act | §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-45 |
| Are late fees “rent”? | Yes, if the rental agreement requires them of a defaulting tenant | § 89-8-7(1)(k) |
| Notice for nonpayment | 3 days to pay, in writing (or email/text if agreed in writing) | § 89-8-13(5)(a) |
| Judge must follow the signed lease in a rent hearing | Yes | § 89-8-13(5)(b) |
| Stopping removal after judgment | Pay all unpaid rent and other sums awarded by the move-out date | § 89-8-39(4) |
No cap and no grace period
A full-text search of the Act, as reprinted in HB 1580, finds no section limiting the size of a late fee and none requiring a landlord to wait before charging one. The only mention of late fees anywhere in the Act is in the definition of rent. In practice, the fee and the day it starts are whatever your rental agreement says. The Act covers “all written or oral agreements” for a dwelling unit, so an oral arrangement is still a rental agreement; a late fee has to be part of the agreement for § 89-8-7(1)(k) to make it rent.
The Act also does not wipe out other law. Under § 89-8-3(1), “any rights, obligations, or remedies at law or in equity not prohibited by this chapter remain available.” That leaves room to argue that an extreme fee is unenforceable, but no Mississippi statute sets the test.
One caution about currency: HB 1580 reprinted the Act as it stood in 2024. A 2025 bill, HB 1352, would have changed the 3-day notice to 5 days but died in the House Judiciary A committee on February 4, 2025, according to the Legislature’s bill history. We have not ruled out every later amendment, so check with legal aid if your case turns on a precise number.
Why “late fees are rent” matters
Mississippi’s definition merges late fees into rent. Under § 89-8-7(1)(k), “rent” means “all payments to be made to the landlord under the rental agreement, including any late fees that are required to be paid under the rental agreement by a defaulting tenant.”
Two consequences follow. First, when the Act refers to “nonpayment of rent,” late fees your agreement requires are part of that rent, unless the context requires otherwise. Second, the definition only reaches fees “required to be paid under the rental agreement.” A fee that is not in your agreement is not rent under the Act, and you can say so when a landlord’s demand includes it.
Worked example: a Meridian tenant on a 3-day notice
Carla rents a house in Meridian for $900 a month, due on the 1st. Her written lease charges $50 if rent is not paid by the 5th and $10 for each day after that. On the 12th she still has not paid, and the landlord delivers a written 3-day notice.
By then the lease fees total $50 plus $10 for each of the 6th through the 12th, or $120. Because § 89-8-7(1)(k) treats lease-required late fees as rent, the landlord can demand $1,020 in the notice, and § 89-8-13(5)(b) tells the judge to follow the signed lease. If Carla’s lease said nothing about daily fees and the landlord added them anyway, those extra charges would not be rent under the definition, and she could pay the $900 plus the $50 the lease actually requires and dispute the rest in writing.
Late fees through a Mississippi eviction
The 3-day notice
If the tenant’s material noncompliance is nonpayment of rent, the landlord may deliver a written notice, or an email or text if you agreed in writing to that method, “specifying the rental agreement will terminate if payment of such rent is not made within three (3) days,” under § 89-8-13(5)(a). Ask for an itemized amount so you can see which part is base rent and which part is fees.
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The hearing
Under § 89-8-13(5)(b), a judge hearing a nonpayment eviction “shall abide by the provisions of the rental agreement that was signed by the landlord and the defaulting tenant.” That cuts both ways: a lease fee you signed is likely to be enforced, but the landlord is also held to the agreement’s actual terms, not to charges it added later.
After judgment
If the landlord wins possession, § 89-8-39(1) has the judge order you to vacate in 7 days from the judgment, unless an emergency or other compelling circumstance justifies a different period. When the judgment rests solely on nonpayment of rent, § 89-8-39(4) bars a warrant for removal if, by the court-ordered move-out date, you have paid in full “all unpaid rent and other sums awarded to landlord in the judgment,” or if the landlord accepts payment after that date. The landlord has a good-faith obligation to accept full payment tendered by the move-out date. Since late fees can be part of rent, expect them in the judgment amount unless you successfully challenge them at the hearing.
Subsidized and public housing
Federal rules can override the lease in public housing. Under 24 CFR 966.4(b)(3)-(4), a housing authority may include late-payment penalties in its lease, but they are not due until two weeks after written notice, and that notice is an adverse action you can grieve. In Mississippi, where state law sets no cap, the federal timing rule can be the most important protection a public housing tenant has.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a legal limit on late fees in Mississippi?
Not in the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. A full-text review of §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-45, as reprinted in 2024 HB 1580, shows no cap and no grace period. The amount comes from your rental agreement.
Can my landlord evict me for not paying a late fee?
Possibly. Section 89-8-7(1)(k) defines rent to include late fees required by the rental agreement, and the 3-day notice in § 89-8-13(5)(a) is for nonpayment of rent. A fee that is not in your agreement does not fit that definition.
Do I have to pay late fees to stop the warrant after I lose in court?
Under § 89-8-39(4), you avoid removal by paying all unpaid rent and other sums awarded in the judgment by the move-out date. If late fees were included in the judgment, they are part of that amount.
Can a Mississippi landlord send my late notice by text?
Only if you agreed in writing to be notified by email or text. Otherwise § 89-8-13(5)(a) calls for a written notice.
Dispute a fee before it reaches court
Pull your rental agreement and check each charge with our late fee checker. Write to your landlord identifying any fee the agreement does not require, since only agreed fees count as rent under § 89-8-7(1)(k), and keep proof of every payment. If fees come out of your deposit later, see Mississippi security deposit law, and compare other states on the late fee laws by state hub. Our explainer on how the eviction process works covers the general court steps.
This article is general information, not legal advice. To find free help in Mississippi, use LSC’s get legal help finder.