Mississippi Residential Lease Agreement Form
Mississippi’s low cost of living is certainly one of the biggest draws for people to live in the area. If you want to rent a residential property in the Magnolia State, you must know the specifics of a Mississippi residential lease agreement dorm.
It is a legal document that a landlord and tenant sign. The residential lease agreement indicates the terms of how a specific real estate property is to be used. You can find a printable and fillable form online for convenience.
Among the basic information reflected on the document are the personal details of both parties and the particulars of the property. This includes the address, size, information about the room or rooms, and other significant details.
The form must also include the responsibilities of both parties. The renter or tenant, for example, must pay rent on time and ensure that the property is always in good condition. One major responsibility of the landlord is to ensure that the property is safe for occupancy. If there are parts of the property that need to be repaired, the landlord must take care to address them.
Before the residential lease agreement form is signed, the tenant must first submit a rental application to signify their interest in the property. The landlord accepts rental applications from multiple renters and chooses the best tenant from the pool.
Required Disclosure
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure This is a federal law that mandates landlords to inform tenants if the property was built before 1978. Landlords must also provide tenants with educational materials about the dangers of lead-based paint on walls (Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 § 1018).
Rent Grace Period
A rent grace period is the number of days after the rent due date during which the tenant can settle unpaid rent. Once the rent grace period is over, the landlord can move forward with the eviction process. There is no rent grace period in Mississippi unless both parties agree to one.
Security Deposits
In Mississippi, no statute indicates the maximum security deposit a landlord can collect from a tenant. A security deposit is collected at the start of the lease agreement. The landlord will keep it, but they are not allowed to spend it on anything. Unlike a rental application fee, the security deposit is refundable.
The purpose of the deposit is to give landlords a form of insurance in case the tenant leaves without paying rent or they damage or break anything on the property. A simple security deposit is returned at the end of the lease period or when the tenant moves out. Under Mississippi law, the landlord has 45 days to return the security deposit after the lease ends (MS Code § 89-8-21).
Failure to return the security deposit will merit a penalty for the landlord. As Mississippi Code states: “The retention by a landlord or transferee of a payment or deposit or any portion thereof, 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” (MS Code § 89-8-21).
If there is unpaid rent or damage to the property, the landlord can deduct the corresponding sums from the deposit.
While there are agreements that include a penalty for early termination of the lease, there are no related statutes for it in Mississippi.