Mississippi Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Mississippi?

Very little is fixed by statute. Mississippi has no dedicated mobile-home-park or manufactured-home-community tenancy law. There is no state chapter setting park-specific rules on lot leases, park rules, notice, or fees. Be skeptical of any source citing a Mississippi Mobile Home Park Act at Sections 89-9-1 to 89-9-61 with a 60-day notice rule. That is incorrect. Miss. Code Chapter 89-9 is the Condominiums chapter, not a mobile home park act.

Because there is no park statute, a lot lease in Mississippi is governed by the general Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Miss. Code Sections 89-8-1 and following) and by ordinary contract law. Mississippi does not require a lease to be in writing, and it imposes no statutory duty to disclose the owner's or manager's name or address. Section 89-8-19 even defaults an undefined agreement to a week-to-week or month-to-month tenancy, which confirms oral leases are valid.

The practical takeaway: because the statute fixes so little, your lot-lease terms are largely contractual. Put everything you care about in writing, because the code will not fill the gaps for you.

Landlord and tenant duties under the general Act

The Act sets minimum duties that apply even if the lease is silent. Under Section 89-8-23, a landlord must, at all times during the tenancy, comply with applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, and maintain the dwelling unit and its plumbing, heating, and cooling in substantially the same condition as at the inception of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excluded. Note the Act's duties are written around the dwelling unit, so on a bare-lot lease your written agreement should spell out who maintains the pad, utility hookups, and common areas.

Tenants also owe statutory duties under Section 89-8-25: keep the occupied premises clean and safe, dispose of waste properly, use electrical, plumbing, heating, and other facilities reasonably, and not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the premises. The tenant must also inform the landlord of any condition that may cause damage.

The Act contains no general list of prohibited lease clauses, unlike states that adopted the Uniform Act. That means your lease terms are enforced under ordinary contract principles, subject only to general limits such as unconscionability and other governing law.

Security deposit rule (Section 89-8-21)

The one hard deadline operators must calendar is the security-deposit return. Under Section 89-8-21, any remaining portion of the deposit must be returned to the tenant no later than forty-five days after the termination of the tenancy.

You may deduct only amounts reasonably necessary for unpaid rent, tenant-caused damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning on termination, or other reasonable expenses from the tenant's default, and the written notice claiming any portion must itemize the amounts claimed.

Retaining a deposit in violation of the section and in bad faith can expose the landlord to damages not to exceed two hundred dollars in addition to any actual damages. Send an itemized written statement every time, and keep proof of the demand and delivery dates.

Manufactured-home regulation is about the home, not the lease

Mississippi does regulate manufactured housing, but on the trade and installation side, not lease content. The governing law is the Uniform Standards Code for Factory-Built Homes Law (Miss. Code Sections 75-49-1 and following).

That chapter requires manufacturers, transporters, installers, developers, and retailers of factory-built homes to be licensed by the commissioner, and it authorizes a HUD-aligned installation program with inspections and fees. It is consumer-safety and construction/installation regulation.

None of this governs what a lot lease must say or how a park-tenant relationship works. Do not rely on the Factory-Built Homes Law for lease requirements. It is separate from the landlord-tenant relationship entirely.

Lease requirements at a glance in Mississippi

• No mobile home park act
  Mississippi has no park-specific tenancy statute. Lot leases fall under the general Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Sections 89-8-1 and following) and contract law.
• No written lease mandated
  The state does not require a written lease. Section 89-8-19 defaults an undefined agreement to week-to-week or month-to-month. Put terms in writing anyway.
• No owner/manager disclosure statute
  The Act imposes no duty to disclose the owner's or manager's name or address.
• Landlord maintenance duty
  Section 89-8-23: comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety and keep the unit, plumbing, and heating/cooling in substantially the same condition, wear and tear excluded.
• Tenant care duty
  Section 89-8-25: keep premises clean and safe, dispose of waste, use facilities reasonably, and do not deliberately or negligently damage the premises.
• Security deposit: 45 days
  Section 89-8-21: return the balance within 45 days with an itemized written notice of any deductions; bad-faith retention risks up to 200 dollars plus actual damages.
• No statutory prohibited-clause list
  The Act does not enumerate prohibited lease provisions; terms are enforced under ordinary contract law and unconscionability limits.
• Manufactured-home law is separate
  The Uniform Standards Code for Factory-Built Homes Law (Sections 75-49-1 and following) governs licensing and installation, not lease content.

Operator best practices in Mississippi

• Put everything in writing
  Because statute fixes so little, use a detailed written lot lease covering rent, fees, utilities, pad and common-area maintenance, park rules, and notice terms.
• Define who maintains what
  The Act's duties center on the dwelling unit, so spell out responsibility for the pad, hookups, and common areas on a bare-lot lease to avoid disputes.
• Calendar the 45-day deposit clock
  Return any deposit balance within 45 days of termination with an itemized written statement; keep dated proof of the tenant's demand and your delivery.
• Itemize every deduction
  Deduct only for unpaid rent, tenant damage beyond wear and tear, cleaning, or default costs, and always send a written itemization to avoid the bad-faith penalty.
• Give clean written notice
  Use written notice for termination and rule changes; default terminations require 30 days for month-to-month and 7 days for week-to-week under Section 89-8-19.
• Keep park rules reasonable and consistent
  With no statutory prohibited-clause list, enforce written rules evenly across residents to reduce contract and discrimination exposure.
• Separate home regulation from tenancy
  Remember that installer/retailer licensing under the Factory-Built Homes Law does not set lease terms; handle the tenancy under the RLTA and contract.
• Build a relationship with a Mississippi MHP attorney
  Because so much is contractual and unsettled for lot tenancies, have local counsel review your lease and rules and confirm current law before you rely on it.