Short answer: A Mississippi month to month lease ends when either you or your landlord gives written notice at least 30 days before the termination date, under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(3). Weekly tenancies need 7 days’ written notice. Mississippi’s statute also lets either side skip notice entirely when the other has committed a substantial violation that materially affects health or safety.
Mississippi’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 89, chapter 8) is brief compared with many states, and § 89-8-19 does a lot of work in four short subsections: it creates the month-to-month default, sets both notice periods, and carves out the health-and-safety exception. We read these sections as reprinted (“brought forward”) in the text of 2024 House Bill 1580, which reproduced §§ 89-8-1 through 89-8-45; the bill itself died in 2024 and changed nothing, so check the current code for any later amendment before relying on a detail.
Mississippi Month to Month Lease Rules at a Glance
| Rule | Mississippi | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| No definite term in the rental agreement | Week to week if rent is weekly; otherwise month to month | § 89-8-19(1) |
| Notice to end month-to-month (either party) | Written, at least 30 days before the termination date | § 89-8-19(3) |
| Notice to end week-to-week (either party) | Written, at least 7 days before the termination date | § 89-8-19(2) |
| Substantial violation affecting health or safety | No termination notice required | § 89-8-19(4) |
| Fixed-term lease expires, tenant stays | Landlord may give a holdover notice; eviction no earlier than 3 days later | § 89-8-17(2) |
| Unpaid rent | 3-day notice to pay or the agreement terminates | § 89-8-13(5)(a) |
When Your Tenancy Is Month-to-Month by Law
Under § 89-8-19(1), unless your rental agreement fixes a definite term, your tenancy is week to week if you pay rent weekly, and month to month in all other cases. The rule does not depend on whether the agreement is written or oral. If nobody agreed on an end date, the law supplies the period based on how you pay.
That default covers a lot of real arrangements: a handshake deal with a relative who owns a rental, a one-page agreement that lists rent but no term, or a room rented by the week. Paying every two weeks or every month falls into the “all other cases” bucket, which means month to month.
What happens when a fixed lease ends
The statute’s text does not say an expired lease automatically becomes month to month. Section 89-8-17(1) says a rental agreement that fixes a definite term expires on the date stated in it. Under § 89-8-17(2), at any time after expiration the landlord may give you notice that you are holding over and that eviction proceedings will start no earlier than three days after the notice. That notice may be in writing, or by email or text message if you have agreed to be notified that way.
If your lease is about to end, ask for a written renewal or a written month-to-month agreement. Otherwise you may have far less than 30 days if the landlord decides to treat you as a holdover.
Notice to End a Mississippi Month to Month Lease
Section 89-8-19(3) is symmetrical: “the landlord or the tenant” may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by written notice given to the other at least thirty days before the termination date. Section 89-8-19(2) does the same for week-to-week tenancies with a seven-day period. The statute does not require the landlord to give a reason, and it does not lengthen the notice after a year or more of renting.
Three details are worth noticing:
- The count runs to the termination date. The statute measures 30 days back from the termination date stated in the notice. It does not say the date must fall on the last day of a rental month.
- It must be written. Section 89-8-19 calls for “written notice.” Unlike the holdover and nonpayment provisions, it does not mention email or text, so a signed paper letter is the safest choice.
- Delivery is your proof. The section does not prescribe a delivery method. Hand-deliver with a signed receipt, or use a mailing method that gives you a dated record.
The health-and-safety exception
Under § 89-8-19(4), notice to terminate is not required at all when the landlord or tenant has committed a substantial violation of the rental agreement or the chapter that materially affects health or safety. This cuts both ways. A landlord may rely on it if a tenant creates a serious hazard, and a tenant may rely on it if the landlord’s breach makes the unit dangerous. Because “substantial” and “materially” are judgment calls, document the problem with photos and written complaints before acting on it.
Rent Increases and Changed Terms
None of the sections in chapter 89-8 that we read sets a rent-increase notice period or caps the amount of an increase. On a month-to-month tenancy, the practical route for a landlord who wants a higher rent is to end the tenancy with the 30-day notice in § 89-8-19(3) and offer a new agreement at the new rate.
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For an expired fixed-term lease, § 89-8-17(2) expressly allows the landlord to demand an increase in rent after expiration, but only if the action does not have the dominant purpose of retaliating against you for actions the chapter authorizes, and only where the landlord received written notice of each condition that was the subject of your actions. See how Mississippi compares on our rent increase laws by state page.
Unpaid Rent Is a Different Clock
If rent is not paid, the 30-day rule is not your only concern. Under § 89-8-13(5)(a), the landlord may deliver a notice, in writing or by email or text if you agreed in writing to that method, stating that the rental agreement will terminate if the rent is not paid within three days. That is far shorter than the month-to-month termination notice, so keep rent current while any notice period is running.
Worked Example: Moving Out in Hattiesburg
Tasha rents a two-bedroom house in Hattiesburg for $950 a month. She and the owner never agreed on a term, and she pays monthly, so under § 89-8-19(1) her tenancy is month to month. She takes a job in Gulfport and wants her tenancy to end on April 30, 2027.
Section 89-8-19(3) requires written notice at least 30 days before the termination date. Counting back 30 days from April 30 lands on March 31, so she hand-delivers a signed letter on March 29 naming April 30 as the termination date and asks the owner to sign a copy. She pays April’s $950 on time, which keeps the three-day nonpayment notice in § 89-8-13(5)(a) off the table. Our notice deadline calculator can count the days for your own date.
Frequently Asked Questions
I pay rent every two weeks. Am I week-to-week or month-to-month in Mississippi?
Section 89-8-19(1) makes a tenancy week to week only when the tenant pays weekly rent; every other case is month to month. Biweekly rent therefore falls under the month-to-month rule, with 30 days’ written notice.
Can my Mississippi landlord text me a 30-day notice?
Section 89-8-19 requires “written notice” and, unlike §§ 89-8-13(5)(a) and 89-8-17(2), does not mention email or text. If you receive one by text, keep it, but do not assume it is invalid or valid without advice.
My lease ended and my landlord gave me three days to leave. Is that legal?
Under § 89-8-17(2), after a fixed-term agreement expires the landlord may notify you that you are holding over and start eviction proceedings no earlier than three days later. The statute frames that notice as the start of eviction proceedings, which are brought in court, not as permission to remove you on day four.
Can I leave without notice if the house is unsafe?
Section 89-8-19(4) says no termination notice is required when the landlord has committed a substantial violation that materially affects health or safety. Keep records of the condition and your complaints, because the landlord may dispute whether the violation was substantial.
Before you return the keys, read the Mississippi security deposit law so you know what can be deducted, and compare other states on our month-to-month lease laws by state hub or in month-to-month vs. fixed-term lease. This is general information, not legal advice; for help with an eviction notice, contact Mississippi Legal Services or use LSC’s get legal help finder.