What are squatters’ rights in Mississippi?
In Mississippi, ten years of actual, uninterrupted adverse possession by a person claiming to be the owner gives that person full title to the land. A minor or a person of unsound mind keeps the right to sue within 10 years after the disability ends, but for unsoundness of mind never longer than 31 years. The rule does not apply against a landowner on whose property a fence or driveway was built who files a written notice with the chancery clerk, within the 10 years, that it was built without permission. Under a tax collector’s conveyance, three years of actual occupation, counted after two years from the day of the tax sale, bars a suit to recover the land because of a defect in the sale. Under the Real Property Owners Protection Act, in force from July 1, 2025, the owner or the owner’s agent files a sworn affidavit with local law enforcement, which must issue a citation to the alleged squatter no more than 24 hours later. If the person does not notify the municipal or justice court within three days of receiving the citation that they will contest it, they are subject to immediate removal by law enforcement and no writ of removal is required; if they do contest it, the court holds a hearing within seven days, and a person found to be a squatter must leave within 24 hours of the judgment. A squatter is a trespasser who remains on the premises, or a person invited by a tenant who stays after the tenant’s rental agreement has ended, and the term does not include a person with heirship rights. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is Miss. Code §§ 15-1-13, 15-1-15; Miss. Code § 89-10-3.
| What | Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 10 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Law enforcement can remove the occupant without an eviction case |
Source
Miss. Code §§ 15-1-13, 15-1-15; Miss. Code § 89-10-3
Read the statute in the Mississippi Code (Mississippi Legislature): legislature.ms.gov.
The linked sections open Justia’s free copy of the code, because the state’s own site has no stable address for each section.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
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- Every Mississippi rule on one page
The same question in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii