HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD TENANT ACT

Definitions; agent of landlord
(1)Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent sections of this chapter which apply to specific sections or parts thereof, and unless the context otherwise requires, in this chapter:
(a)”Building and housing codes” includes any law, ordinance, or governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation, construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy or use of any premises or dwelling unit;
(b)”Dwelling unit” means a structure or the part of a structure that is used as a home, residence or sleeping place by one (1) person who maintains a household or by two (2) or more persons who maintain a common household;
(c)”Good faith” means honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction concerned and observation of reasonable community standards of fair dealing;
(d)”Landlord” means the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part, or the agent representing such owner, lessor or sublessor;
(e)”Organization” includes a corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest, and any other legal or commercial entity;
(f)”Owner” means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested (i) all or part of the legal title to property or (ii) all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises, and the term includes a mortgagee in possession;
(g)”Premises” means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is a part, facilities and appurtenances therein, and grounds, areas and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant;
(h)”Rent” means all payments to be made to the landlord under the rental agreement;
(i)”Rental agreement” means all agreements, written or oral, and valid rules and regulations adopted under Section 89-8-11 embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises;
(j)”Tenant” means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others;
(k)”Qualified tenant management organizations” means any organization incorporated under the Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act, a majority of the directors of which are tenants of the housing project to be managed under a contract authorized by this section and which is able to conform to standards set by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as capable of satisfactorily performing the operational and management functions delegated to it by the contract.
(2)For purposes of giving any notice required under this chapter, notice given to the agent of the landlord is equivalent to giving notice to the landlord. The landlord may contract with an agent to assume all the rights and duties of the landlord under this chapter; provided, however, that such a contract does not relieve the landlord of ultimate liability in regard to such rights and duties.

Obligation to act in good faith
Every duty under this chapter and every act which must be performed as a condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter, including the landlord’s termination of a tenancy or nonrenewal of a lease, imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement
§ 89-8-11. Rules and regulations of landlord concerning tenant’s use and occupancy of premises
(1)A landlord may, from time to time, adopt rules or regulations, however described, concerning the tenant’s use and occupancy of the premises. They are enforceable against the tenant only if:
(a)Their purpose is to promote the convenience, safety or welfare of the tenants in the premises, preserve the landlord’s property from abuse, or make a fair distribution of services and facilities provided for the tenants generally;
(b)They are reasonably related to the purpose for which they are adopted;
(c)They apply to all tenants in the premises in a fair manner;
(d)They are sufficiently explicit in their prohibition, direction or limitation of the tenant’s conduct to fairly inform him of what he must or must not do to comply;
(e)They are not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord.
(2)A rule or regulation adopted or amended after the tenant enters into the rental agreement is enforceable against the tenant if reasonable notice of its adoption or amendment is given to the tenant and it does not work a substantial modification of the rental agreement.
(3)If the dwelling unit is an apartment in a horizontal property regime, the tenant shall comply with the bylaws of the association of the apartment owners; and if the dwelling unit is an apartment in a cooperative housing corporation, the tenant shall comply with the bylaws of the corporation.
(4)Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant shall occupy his dwelling unit only as a dwelling unit.
§ 89-8-17. Rights of landlord after expiration of rental agreement
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 89-8-13, the landlord may, at any time after the expiration of a rental agreement, recover possession of the dwelling unit, cause the tenant to quit the dwelling unit involuntarily, demand an increase in rent or decrease the services to which the tenant has been entitled in accordance with any other provisions of this chapter, if such actions by the landlord did not have the dominant purpose of retaliation against the tenant for his actions authorized under this chapter and the landlord received written notice of each condition which was the subject of such actions of the tenant.
Duties of landlord
(1)A landlord shall at all times during the tenancy:
(a)Comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;
(b)Maintain the dwelling unit, its plumbing, heating and/or cooling system, in substantially the same condition as at the inception of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excluded, unless the dwelling unit, its plumbing, heating and/or cooling system is damaged or impaired as a result of the deliberate or negligent actions of the tenant.
(2)No duty on the part of the landlord shall arise under this section in connection with a defect which is caused by the deliberate or negligent act of the tenant or persons on the premises with the tenant’s permission.
(3)Subject to the provisions of Section 89-8-5, the landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant perform some or all of the landlord’s duties under this section, but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith.
(4)No duty on the part of the landlord shall arise under this section in connection with a defect which is caused by the tenant’s affirmative act or failure to comply with his obligations under Section 89-8-25.
Duties of tenant
A tenant shall:
(a)Keep that part of the premises that he occupies and uses as clean and as safe as the condition of the premises permits;
(b)Dispose from his dwelling unit all ashes, rubbish, garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner in compliance with community standards;
(c)Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;
(d)Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, in the premises;
(e)Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any other person to do so;
(f)Conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of their premises;
(g)Inform the landlord of any condition of which he has actual knowledge which may cause damage to the premises;
(h)To the extent of his legal obligation, maintain the dwelling unit in substantially the same condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted, and comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;
(i)Not engage in any illegal activity upon the leased premises as documented by a law enforcement agency.