Published 2026-09-27 · 8 min read

Mississippi Security Deposit Law 2026: Limits, Deadlines & Deductions

Mississippi's entire security deposit law fits in one short section: Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21. It sets no deposit cap, requires no interest, and imposes no separate-account rule — but it gives the tenant's claim to the deposit priority over any creditor of the landlord, limits what you may claim to four specific purposes, and requires the balance back no later than 45 days after the termination of the tenancy, the delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant. Retention in violation of the section and with an absence of good faith can add damages of up to $200 on top of actual damages.

The short version: Charge what the market will bear — there is no cap. When the tenancy ends, the tenant delivers possession, and the tenant demands the deposit, your 45-day clock is running. Before it expires, deliver a written notice that itemizes every amount you claim — only amounts reasonably necessary for unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning on termination, or other reasonable and necessary expenses from the tenant's default — and return whatever remains. Skip the itemized notice, or keep money without good faith, and you risk the deposit back plus actual damages and up to $200 more.

Corrections to the earlier version of this page: The old page mis-numbered the statute — it cited subsection (1) for the right to demand a deposit and subsection (2) for the claim grounds. In the actual text, subsection (1) defines which payments the section governs, subsection (2) is the holding and creditor-priority rule, subsection (3) contains the claim grounds, the itemization duty, and the 45-day return duty in one paragraph, and subsection (4) is the penalty. The old page also stated the 45-day clock as running simply "after the tenancy ends" — the statute runs it from three events together: termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant. And it omitted subsection (2)'s rule that the tenant's claim to the deposit is prior to the claim of any creditor of the landlord, and subsection (3)'s condition that the listed claim purposes apply where the deposit was made for those specific purposes.

Mississippi's 45-day window is one of the longest in the country — generous enough to forget — and it does not even start until the tenant has delivered possession and demanded the deposit. The Security Deposit Disposition & Deadline Tracker ($14.95) keeps your return deadlines, itemized deductions, and mailing dates in one spreadsheet so the clock never sneaks up on you.

The statute table

Limits: how much can you charge?

There is no statutory maximum — one month, two months, whatever the lease says. Market pressure is your only legal constraint, and in Mississippi's rental market a deposit above one month's rent will cost you applicants. Don't confuse "no cap" with "no risk": the larger the deposit, the larger the amount exposed if your itemization is late or your withholding is found to lack good faith, because actual damages under subsection (4) are measured against what you wrongfully kept.

The 45-day deadline, precisely

Under § 89-8-21(3), any portion of the deposit you do not claim must be returned to the tenant no later than 45 days after the termination of his tenancy, the delivery of possession and demand by the tenant. That is generous — more than most states — which means courts expect you to actually use the time well: get real estimates, document real damage, and send a proper accounting. Find your exact cutoff with the Security Deposit Deadline Finder.

When the clock actually starts

The statute names three starting events, and the deadline is framed from all of them:

• Termination of the tenancy — the lease ends or is terminated; a tenant who holds over has not yet triggered this event.
• Delivery of possession — the tenant actually surrenders the unit. A lease that ended on paper while the tenant (or their belongings) still occupies the unit has not completed this step.
• Demand by the tenant — the tenant asks for the deposit back. Log the date and form of any demand (letter, email, text) in the file; it is the third date your deadline arithmetic depends on, and the one landlords most often fail to record.

Calendar from the date on which all three have occurred. If no demand has been made, do not treat that as permission to sit on the money indefinitely — process the return on the normal schedule anyway, because a later demand will start a clock you may already be badly positioned on, and the itemized-notice duty does not wait for a lawsuit.

A worked example

Rent is $1,200 a month and the deposit is $1,200 (one month — a market choice, not a cap). The tenancy terminates, the tenant delivers possession, and the tenant demands the deposit, all on Monday, March 2, 2026.

• The return deadline is Thursday, April 16, 2026 (45 days after March 2).
• Your claims are $450: $300 of unpaid rent and $150 to repair damage beyond ordinary wear and tear and clean the unit. The balance is $750.
• You deliver the written itemized notice listing the $300 and the $150 separately, with the $750 balance, on or before April 16: you have complied.
• If instead you kept the $450 without good faith — no real damage, no rent actually owed — the tenant's actual damages start with the $450 wrongfully retained, and subsection (4) can add up to $200 more, for up to $650 on a $450 wrongful retention, before any other claim the tenant may have.

Deductions and the itemized notice

Under § 89-8-21(3), by written notice delivered to the tenant, you may claim only such amounts as are reasonably necessary:

1. To remedy the tenant's defaults in the payment of rent — unpaid rent and rent defaults.

2. To repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear.

3. To clean the premises upon termination of the tenancy.

4. For other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred as the result of the tenant's default — where the payment or deposit was made for any or all of those specific purposes.

Two discipline rules follow from the text. First, the notice must itemize the amounts claimed — a one-line "repairs: $400" does not itemize; break out each claim and its amount. Second, each amount must be reasonably necessary for one of the four purposes — an inflated estimate or a charge for pre-existing wear fails that test even if the category is right. Generate a compliant letter with the Security Deposit Deduction Letter Generator.

Move-out compliance checklist

1. Log all three clock dates at move-out: termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and the tenant's demand — the 45-day deadline under § 89-8-21(3) is framed from all three.

2. Inspect and photograph the unit at delivery of possession, separating damage caused by the tenant from ordinary wear and tear before you price anything.

3. Price each charge against the four lawful purposes only (rent defaults, tenant-caused damage, cleaning on termination, other reasonable and necessary expenses from the default) and keep invoices or real estimates for each.

4. Draft the written itemized notice listing every amount claimed, item by item — never a single lump sum.

5. Deliver the notice with the remaining balance no later than day 45, and keep proof of delivery; the statute requires the notice to be delivered to the tenant.

6. Mail to the tenant's forwarding or last known address if you have no new address, and keep the mailing record with the three logged dates.

7. Do not spend the deposit as if it were yours before the accounting is done — under § 89-8-21(2) it is held for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it outranks your creditors.

Interest and where the money sits

No interest is required on Mississippi deposits, and § 89-8-21 imposes no separate-account or escrow requirement. You may hold the deposit in your operating account. Two cautions survive that silence: subsection (2) says the deposit is held by the landlord for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it is prior to the claim of any creditor of the landlord — so in a dispute with a landlord's creditor, the tenant stands ahead. Segregating the deposit is still cheap protection against commingling arguments in your own accounting.

The penalty, spelled out

Under § 89-8-21(4), the retention of a deposit or any portion of it, in violation of this section and with absence of good faith, may subject the landlord or his transferee to damages not to exceed $200, in addition to any actual damages. Keep the elements separate:

• Both elements are required: a violation of the section (for example, no itemized notice, a claim outside the four purposes, or a late return) and an absence of good faith. An honest arithmetic mistake corrected on notice is a different case from a landlord who invents charges.
• The $200 is a cap on the added damages, not on the recovery. Actual damages — starting with the amount wrongfully retained — are recoverable on top of it. On the worked example, a bad-faith retention of $450 can cost $450 plus up to $200.
• A transferee is expressly covered. Buying a property with deposits in place does not insulate the new owner: subsection (4) names the landlord's transferee, and subsection (2) makes the tenant's claim senior to creditors in any event. Get the deposit ledger and the funds at closing.

That $200 figure is modest compared to the double- and treble-damage states — but it is not the whole exposure. The wrongfully withheld amount itself, plus litigation costs in practice, is what sloppy withholding actually costs.

FAQ

Can I really charge three months' rent as a deposit?

Legally yes — § 89-8-21 sets no cap. Practically, you will struggle to fill the unit, and a large deposit enlarges the actual-damages base if any of it is later retained without good faith.

When exactly does the 45-day clock start?

The statute frames the return duty as no later than 45 days after the termination of the tenancy, the delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant (§ 89-8-21(3)). Log all three dates; calendar from the date all three have occurred, and do not wait for a demand before preparing the accounting.

What must the written notice contain?

It must itemize the amounts claimed (§ 89-8-21(3)) — each claim listed separately, and each amount reasonably necessary for one of the four lawful purposes. Deliver the notice to the tenant with the remaining balance inside the 45 days.

Can I deduct for carpet cleaning?

Cleaning the premises upon termination of the tenancy is an express claim purpose under § 89-8-21(3). Document the before-and-after condition and charge only what was reasonably necessary.

What if the tenant caused no damage but owes rent?

Remedying the tenant's defaults in the payment of rent is the first listed purpose. Apply the deposit to the arrears, itemize that claim in the written notice, and return the balance within 45 days.

Do I owe interest, or need a separate account?

No — § 89-8-21 requires neither. But the deposit is held for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it is prior to the claim of any creditor of yours (§ 89-8-21(2)).

I bought a building with tenants in place. Am I liable for their deposits?

Subsection (4) expressly reaches a landlord's transferee who retains a deposit in violation of the section and without good faith. Reconcile every deposit at closing and get the funds transferred to you.

Is the $200 penalty automatic if I am one day late?

No. Subsection (4) requires retention in violation of the section and with absence of good faith, and the added damages are "not to exceed" $200 on top of actual damages. A late return still violates the section — fix it immediately rather than testing the good-faith element in court.

Read the statute yourself

Everything here traces back to one section, Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21 (part of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, §§ 89-8-1 to 89-8-45). If anything is disputed, the primary sources control:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21 (Justia) — the full current text of the section, subsections (1)–(4).
• Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-21 (Cornell LII) — the same section in Cornell's code.

The official Mississippi Legislature site was unreachable from our verification environment, so it is not linked here; the two sources above carry the identical section text.

The deposit is only one piece of Mississippi compliance. Our full Mississippi landlord-tenant law guide covers the rest of the relationship — rent rules, habitability and repair duties, the 3-day, 14-day, and 30-day termination tracks, the residential eviction process, and the good faith, retaliation, and entry rules.

More security deposit guides

• Security deposit laws by state
• Minnesota security deposit law
• Missouri security deposit law
• Michigan security deposit law
• Montana security deposit law

Last verified: October 15, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Verify with a licensed Mississippi attorney before acting.