How to Remove a Squatter in Mississippi: The Legal Process for Owners

Mississippi law changed on this exact question. Under the Real Property Owners Protection Act (House Bill 1200, 2025 Regular Session, approved by the Governor on April 10, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025), a property owner no longer has to file a civil lawsuit to get a squatter out. You file a sworn affidavit with your local law enforcement agency, law enforcement issues a citation on the occupant within 24 hours, and if the occupant does not tell the municipal or justice court within 3 days that he intends to contest, he is subject to immediate removal by law enforcement — the act states that "No writ of removal shall be required for such removal." Squatting is also now a criminal offense. You can read the act yourself in the Legislature's own text of House Bill 1200 (2025).

The affidavit track, step by step

This is the front door now. It is built to run in days rather than weeks, and it does not require you to hire a lawyer or open a civil case.

• Give written notice to leave. The offense of squatting reaches a person who trespasses onto property, or who was invited onto property, and then remains without the consent or authority of the owner or the owner's agent after written notification to leave. Deliver a written demand to vacate and keep proof of it.
• File a sworn affidavit with law enforcement. The owner or the owner's agent files it with the law enforcement agency of the municipality, county, or political subdivision where the property is located. It must state the property address, your name and address, whether you are the owner or the agent, and any supporting documentation. Your deed is the natural exhibit — the act defines the "owner" as the person listed on the deed in the chancery court of the county in which the premises is located.
• Law enforcement issues a citation within 24 hours. The citation commands the occupant to vacate immediately, or to notify the municipal or justice court, as applicable, no more than 3 consecutive days after receiving it that he wishes to show cause why he is not squatting.
• No response within 3 days means removal. If the occupant never notifies the court in that window, he is subject to immediate removal from the property by the law enforcement agency, and no writ of removal is required.
• If he does contest, the court hears it fast. The municipal or justice court must set a hearing no later than 7 days from its receipt of the challenge, and decides by a preponderance of the evidence. If the court finds he is a squatter, he has no more than 24 hours from the judgment to move out, and law enforcement then removes him and his personal property.

Be accurate in that affidavit. Intentionally false statements in it are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine equal to triple all costs and fees, plus up to six months in jail. The act also created felonies carrying two to five years for presenting forged lease or deed documents, for fraudulently renting or selling property you do not own, and for intentionally damaging a dwelling you occupied unlawfully by more than $1,000.

Who counts as a "squatter" — and who does not

The definition is broader than most owners expect, and it carries one exception that matters enormously.

• A trespasser who remains on the premises for a period of time is a squatter.
• A person invited in by your tenant who stays on after that tenant's rental agreement has ended is also a squatter. This is the classic fact pattern — the tenant moves out and leaves a partner, a relative, or a friend behind — and the act names it expressly. You do not have to run a full tenant eviction against that person.
• A person with heirship rights is NOT a squatter. The act carves them out by name. If the occupant is an heir to the property, the affidavit track is not the right tool, and a claim of heirship is exactly the kind of thing a contested hearing exists to sort out.
• Someone you invited and allowed to stay — who paid you rent, or who lived there with your permission — may well be a tenant or a licensee rather than a squatter. Do not aim the squatter affidavit at a real tenant.

The act is explicit that a squatter "shall not have the same rights or eviction process as a tenant." It also amended the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act itself: Sections 89-8-3 and 89-8-7 of the Mississippi Code now provide that the chapter gives no rights to, and that the word "tenant" does not include, a person who trespasses or otherwise enters and/or remains on the property of another without the landlord's knowledge or permission. The landlord-tenant act is therefore no longer the source of law for removing a squatter.

If the occupant really is a tenant, the old rules still apply

The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act was not repealed. It still fully protects actual tenants, and misusing the fast track against one is where an owner will get burned. For a genuine tenant you still go to Justice Court, and you still give notice first. Note that Mississippi's trial courts are separate from one another: Justice Court, Municipal Court, County Court, and Circuit Court are distinct, and Justice Court is not "the county court."

• Nonpayment of rent: 3 days' notice, in writing. Section 89-7-27 requires three days' notice, in writing, demanding payment of the rent or possession of the premises. That is a firm statutory number, not a rule of thumb.
• Email or text is not automatically good enough. Under the same statute, as amended by Senate Bill 2473 (2018), notice of default by email or text message is proper only if that party has agreed in writing to be notified by that means. If your lease does not say so, put the notice in writing and do not rely on a text message.
• A judge orders the removal. Section 89-7-27 allows the judge of the county court, any justice of the peace of the county, or the mayor or police justice of a city, town, or village to order a holdover or nonpaying tenant removed.
• No lockouts against a tenant. Changing locks, cutting utilities, or hauling out belongings is still the wrong move where the occupant may be a tenant. If you are unsure which category the person falls into, that uncertainty is a reason to get advice before you act — not a reason to try self-help.

Adverse possession in Mississippi, in context

Owners often worry that a squatter will somehow own the home if he stays long enough. The number is ten years, flat. Section 15-1-13 of the Mississippi Code vests title only after ten years' actual adverse possession, and Mississippi courts make the claimant prove six elements — (1) under claim of ownership; (2) actual or hostile; (3) open, notorious, and visible; (4) continuous and uninterrupted for ten years; (5) exclusive; and (6) peaceful — each by clear and convincing evidence. You can see the test applied in this Mississippi Court of Appeals opinion. That is a heavy burden, and an occupant you are actively fighting is not in peaceful possession.

There is one exception, and it runs in the occupant's favor: Section 15-1-13 saves persons under the disability of minority or unsoundness of mind, who may sue within ten years after the disability is removed, as provided in Section 15-1-7. Otherwise, a squatter who has been there for weeks or months has no ownership claim at all. Act promptly anyway — the law now gives you a remedy measured in days, so there is no reason to let an occupancy drag on.

Practical steps for owners

• Document everything: photos, dates, how the person got in, and any communications.
• Serve a written notice to leave, and keep proof that you delivered it.
• Confirm the person is not a tenant you invited and not an heir before you swear the affidavit.
• File the sworn affidavit with your local law enforcement agency and keep a copy.
• Do not use self-help lockouts or utility shutoffs. Let law enforcement carry out the removal.
• Calendar the deadlines: 24 hours to the citation, 3 days for the occupant to contest, 7 days to a hearing if he does.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant rules change and can have local city or county variations, so confirm the current Mississippi requirements or consult a Mississippi landlord-tenant attorney or legal aid before you act.

Official Legal Sources for Mississippi

This page is based on Mississippi state landlord–tenant law. Laws change — verify the current text directly against the official sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Mississippi landlord–tenant statutes (full text) — reproduced on this site from the public-domain Mississippi Code, because Mississippi publishes its official code only through a commercial service.
• Mississippi State Department of Health — Guide to Reducing Health Hazards and Managing Repairs (tenant/landlord rights and repair duties) — official state resource.

Local ordinances may apply. This page covers Mississippi state law. Your city or county may add protections — such as rent control, just-cause eviction, rental registration, or stricter housing codes — that change these rules. Check your local city or county ordinances.