Free Mississippi Commercial Lease Agreement Template

A Mississippi commercial lease agreement rents non-residential property — a storefront, an office, a warehouse, a restaurant space — to a tenant who will trade from it. Chapter 7 of Title 89 covers landlord and tenant generally, and Chapter 8 is the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

The split is unusually explicit here. Mississippi’s eviction section for business premises is headed nonresidential evictions and defines itself by excluding dwelling units.

The notice rule scales by tenancy, and it disappears entirely for a fixed term.

When Notice Is Needed at All

Miss. Code § 89-7-23 opens with the point that matters most: notice to quit is necessary only where the term is not to expire at a fixed time. Where notice is required to determine a tenancy, the section sets two months’ written notice for a holding from year to year, one month where the holding is by the half-year or quarter-year, and one week where the letting is by the month or by the week.

The section closes by stating that it does not apply to rental agreements governed by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which is what makes it the right authority for business premises.

Who the Nonresidential Eviction Statute Reaches

Miss. Code § 89-7-27 is headed nonresidential evictions. It applies to a tenant or lessee at will or at sufferance, or for part of a year, or for one or more years, of premises or other lands not constituting a dwelling unit as defined in § 89-8-7(b) — together with the assigns, undertenants, or legal representatives of that tenant.

Removal is by the justice court judge, county court judge, or circuit court judge for the place where the premises sit.

Three things, and the third is whatever your lease says. Section 89-7-27 lists the grounds.

The first is holding over: where the tenant continues in possession of the demised premises, or any part of them, after the expiration of the possessory term without the landlord’s permission.

The second is unpaid rent. After any default in payment under the agreement, and three days’ written notice requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises, served by the person entitled to the rent on the person who owes it.

The third is the one worth drafting for. Where a written agreement exists between landlord and tenant, any event calling for eviction in the rental agreement may trigger the eviction process under the section. The statute also allows notice of default by email or text message, provided the tenant has agreed in writing to be notified that way.

1. Settle the rent, the escalation basis, the term, and how taxes, insurance, and repairs divide.
2. Fix a definite expiry date, since § 89-7-23 removes the notice-to-quit requirement where the term ends at a fixed time.
3. Spell out the events that count as default, given that § 89-7-27 lets those events drive the eviction process.
4. If you want email or text notice to be effective, record the tenant’s written agreement to it.
5. Execute the lease and keep the default and notice provisions accessible.

Chapter 7 governs notice and eviction rather than the deal, so a Mississippi commercial lease agreement should cover:

• Legal names of landlord and tenant, and the entity behind each signature.
• A description of the premises and any areas shared with other occupiers.
• Rent, the due date, and how increases are calculated.
• A term expiring at a fixed time, plus renewal rights.
• The events that constitute default and trigger eviction.
• Whether notice may be given by email or text, with the tenant’s written agreement.
• How taxes, insurance, and utilities divide, and who approves a transfer of the lease.