Mississippi Right to Cure: Can You Stop an Eviction by Paying the Rent You Owe?

Mississippi does give tenants a statutory chance to "cure" a nonpayment eviction by paying the overdue rent, but that chance exists during a short notice period before the case ever reaches court. Under Mississippi's residential landlord-tenant law, a landlord who wants to evict for unpaid rent must first give the tenant written notice that the rental agreement will end if the rent is not paid within a set number of days. If the tenant pays the full amount owed within that window, the tenancy generally continues and the eviction is stopped. The catch is that this right is time-limited: once the deadline in the notice passes without payment, the automatic pay-to-stay opportunity ends and your options narrow quickly.

How Mississippi's Nonpayment Eviction Process Works

When a Mississippi tenant falls behind on rent, the landlord's first formal step is a written notice for nonpayment. Under the state's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, this notice must tell the tenant that the rental agreement will terminate if the overdue rent is not paid within the period the statute allows, which is a short window of just a few days. The notice must be in writing (or by email or text only if the tenant previously agreed in writing to be contacted that way). If the tenant pays the rent owed within that period, the lease stays in effect and the landlord cannot proceed with eviction based on that nonpayment.

Because how the notice is served and how the days are counted can affect your real deadline, do not rely on a specific day count from this article or from general internet searches. Read the exact date and terms in the notice your landlord actually served, and if anything is unclear, confirm the current, applicable deadline with the clerk of the justice court or county court where an eviction (unlawful entry and detainer) case would be filed, or with a local legal aid attorney. Missing the payment deadline because you assumed the wrong number can cost you the automatic right to stay.

The Right to Cure Before the Landlord Files in Court

During the notice period, paying the full overdue rent is your strongest and most reliable way to stop the eviction, because Mississippi law ties the landlord's ability to terminate to the tenant's failure to pay within that window. In practice, this means:

• If you pay the full amount the notice demands within the stated period, the rental agreement generally continues and the landlord should not be able to evict you over that particular unpaid rent.
• Paying only part of what is owed, or paying after the deadline has passed, may not protect you, because the statutory cure is tied to full and timely payment.
• Your lease may also contain its own language about late payments, grace periods, or fees. Read your lease closely, because it can affect what you owe and how the landlord must handle late rent.

Whenever you pay to cure, get a written receipt or acknowledgment before or at the same time you hand over the money. A text message, email, or a simple signed note stating that the landlord accepts the payment in full is far safer than a verbal exchange, and it protects you if the landlord later claims you did not pay in time or in full.

What About After the Case Is Filed, or at the Hearing?

If you do not pay within the notice period, the landlord may file an eviction (unlawful entry and detainer) case, and the situation shifts from a clear statutory cure to a court proceeding where your automatic pay-to-stay window has already passed. Mississippi law directs the judge handling a nonpayment eviction to follow the terms of the rental agreement the landlord and tenant signed, so your lease can matter a great deal at this stage. Whether you can still resolve the case by paying at or before the hearing generally depends on:

• Whether the landlord is willing to accept the payment and ask the court to dismiss or resolve the case, and
• What your lease says and how the judge applies it.

You should never assume the case will simply disappear because you show up with cash or a money order on the hearing date. If you missed the notice deadline and want to try to resolve the case by paying, contact the landlord or their attorney before the hearing, in writing, and be ready to explain exactly what you can pay and when. Always show up to the hearing regardless.

What Happens After a Judgment for Possession?

If the case reaches a judgment in the landlord's favor, Mississippi does not provide tenants with a clear, codified "redemption" period that guarantees the right to pay off the debt and cancel the judgment. Once a court has ordered possession returned to the landlord, your options are much narrower than they were during the notice period. In some situations a landlord may still be willing to accept payment and hold off before a writ of possession is executed and a sheriff or constable removes you, but this is discretionary, not a right you can compel. Do not count on reversing a judgment through payment alone. If a judgment has already been entered against you, get legal help immediately to learn what, if any, options remain, including whether an appeal or a motion to the court is realistic in your specific case.

What Must Be Paid to Cure?

To cure a nonpayment case, you should be prepared to pay the full amount of unpaid rent the notice demands, and depending on your lease and how far the case has progressed you may also owe:

• Late fees that are properly allowed under your written lease.
• Court costs or filing fees the landlord already paid if a case has been filed.
• Attorney's fees, if your lease has a clause allowing the landlord to recover them and the landlord has incurred them.

Ask for an itemized statement of exactly what is owed before you pay, so you know the payment will actually be enough to resolve the matter and you have a record of what was requested. If you are curing during the notice period, focus on paying the full rent demanded by the deadline in the notice.

Is There a Limit on How Many Times You Can Cure?

Mississippi's nonpayment notice process does not set an explicit statutory cap on how many times per year a tenant can pay to resolve a nonpayment dispute. However, your lease may contain terms that matter here, and because the judge in a nonpayment case is directed to follow the signed rental agreement, repeated late payments could be treated differently if your lease addresses them. Read your lease for any clause about repeated late payments, grace periods, or the consequences of chronic nonpayment, and do not assume that paying late is risk-free just because you were able to cure once before.

Lease Violations Other Than Nonpayment

Everything above concerns unpaid rent specifically. If you are facing eviction for a different reason, such as an alleged lease violation, property damage, unauthorized occupants, or similar issues, the analysis is different and the notice and cure rules can differ from the nonpayment rules. Curing a nonrent violation may not be possible at all in some cases, particularly if the violation is treated as one that cannot be fixed after the fact or if it is a repeat violation of the same lease term. Some landlords may be willing to work with a tenant to correct a fixable problem, such as removing an unauthorized pet or addressing a noise complaint, but do not assume the same pay-to-stay window that applies to rent applies here. If you're facing eviction for something other than nonpayment, read the notice carefully to understand exactly what is being alleged, and get legal advice quickly, since the strategy for responding can differ significantly from a rent-based case.

Practical Steps to Protect Yourself

Whether you are trying to cure during the notice period or dealing with a case already in court, these steps improve your odds and protect you in front of a judge:

• Act before the deadline. The surest way to stop a nonpayment eviction is to pay the full overdue rent within the period stated in your notice. Do not wait until the hearing if you can pay sooner.
• Pay in a traceable way. Use a money order, cashier's check, or a payment through an app or portal that generates a receipt. Avoid handing over cash without a signed receipt.
• Get a written receipt or acknowledgment every time you pay, showing the date, amount, and what it was for.
• Do not ignore a court summons or notice to appear. If a case has been filed, respond and show up on the date listed. Failing to appear can result in a default judgment against you even if you believe you have already paid or resolved the issue.
• Keep copies of everything, including the notice you received, your lease, texts or emails with the landlord, and any payment records.
• Contact legal aid promptly. Mississippi tenants facing eviction should reach out to a local legal aid organization or a housing attorney as soon as possible. Deadlines in eviction cases move quickly, and a difference of a few days can determine whether you keep your home.

Because eviction timelines are short and the exact deadline depends on how your notice was served, the single most important thing you can do is confirm the precise date by which you must pay from the actual notice you were served, the court clerk's office, or a legal aid attorney, rather than relying on a general number.

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.