Hurricane Katrina: Legal Issues - Columbus School of Law

website are urged to seek individual advice from their own legal counsel, or to contact one of the many organizations
that provide pro bono legal assistance.
Portions of the information contained in this resource were produced by the University of Mississippi Civil Legal
Clinic and its volunteers for the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyer's Division Hurricane Katrina Relief Manual. The
Young Lawyer's Division has undertaken the daunting task of providing emergency legal assistance to the thousands
of victims of Katrina and has staffed Disaster Relief Centers across the Mississippi Gulf Coast with volunteers.
Persons who wish to volunteer assistance should contact the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyer's Division at (601) 948-
4471 or visit the Mississippi Bar website at: http://www.msbar.org.
We encourage fellow practitioners involved in working for the hurricane victims to build on the information collected
here in an effort to provide maximum legal support to those in need. Users are encouraged to copy and distribute
these materials to help individuals and groups affected by Hurricane Katrina. Reproduction or distribution for
commercial purposes without prior permission is prohibited.
Because this is a work in progress, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please email them to:
mailto:comments@katrinalegalrelief.org
Landlord / Tenant Law
The rights between a tenant and landlord depend in part on several factors -- whether the lease is for a fixed term
(one with a specific ending date) or is from month to month; whether the housing is privately owned, public, or
subsidized; whether the lease is for commercial or residential use; and whether the lease specifically addresses the
matter.
Responding to questions after a disaster can be complicated by the fact that the lease may not be available. In
addition, the landlord and tenant may have difficulty contacting each other and the nature of the disaster may create
questions that are not easily answered. Destruction of rental property creates financial problems for both landlords
and tenants that may not be adequately addressed by existing law. This section begins by describing general landlordtenant
law in Mississippi, followed by specific disaster-related questions. Rental assistance available to disaster
victims is described in the FEMA and benefits sections of this manual.
General Law
Landlord’s duty to repair
In Mississippi, a landlord must repair both commercial and residential property under the following circumstances:
By agreement. A landlord must make repairs if the rental agreement states that the landlord will make repairs.
In common areas A landlord must make repairs in common areas, such as the grounds and buildings used by
all tenants.
In addition, a landord must repair residential property
To comply with codes. A landlord is required to comply with all building and housing codes. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-
8-23. It should be noted, however, that there is no statewide housing code, and not all unincorporated areas and small
towns are covered by a code.
To maintain the unit. Landlords are required to maintain residential units in substantially the same condition as at the
beginning of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-23. A landlord must repair