Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Mississippi
What remedy for abandoning tenant in arrears on rent?
I am an out-of-state landlord. Tenants are nearly a month behind on rent. I have learned (from handyman and calls to utility companies) that they have had all utils but electric cut off, have stopped cutting yard, and are no longer living in the house. However, their belongings are still in there. I received no word whatever from them of any of this, am getting no rent, don't know where they are, and can't call them (phone disconnected). In a nutshell, they are living elsewhere while using my house as a warehouse to store their stuff (rent-free) until they move everything out at a time of their choosing.
I have resigned myself to getting no further rent from these people. I just want possession restored to me now (not on their schedule), so I can re-rent the house.
Do tenants' actions meet the definition of abandonment, so that I can have the constable post notice to pay rent and restore possession to me if they don't? If so, what happens to their possessions? Must I store them, do they get put out in the yard, or what? Also, could I legally have the locks changed and demand that they pay their rent before they can have their possessions back?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: What remedy for abandoning tenant in arrears on rent?
Mississippi provides self-help remedies for landlords in your circumstance. As a landlord, you also have a duty to mitigate your damages. I recommend that you enter the home, have movers move all belongings to a storage location, cleanup the home, and rerent it. You are entitled to hold the belongings until the tenants make good on what they owe you, including the costs of moving the furniture, storage unit, etc. If you would like to engage our firm, I can provide you with more specific advice and legal support for all that you are entitled to do. Send me an e-mail or give me a call.
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