Jackson, MS Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Jackson runs rental inspections through Article XII of Chapter 26, administered by the Rental Registration Division of the Planning and Development Department, which the code simply calls the department. Ordinance 2026-1(6), adopted December 2, 2025, replaced the former article in its entirety. Inspections happen twice in each registration cycle: once after an owner registers and again after the owner renews. The number of units inspected depends on portfolio size. An owner with five or fewer rental housing units has one unit inspected. An owner with more than five has no more than 20 percent of units inspected, and the department can stop at ten percent: if it finds no violations of the nine checklist items in § 26-525(d)(1) through (9) in the first ten percent of units, it can issue certificates for the rest without more inspections. A property manager or managing agent who registers units on an owner's behalf triggers the same inspection counts, measured against the units under management. If a required inspection turns up violations affecting present habitability, the department can inspect additional units of that owner.

The department must give the owner and managing agent written notice, naming the individual units, at least 14 calendar days before the inspection dates so the owner can warn tenants. The checklist covers a visible address, covers on all electric outlets, no visible defects in the roof, ceiling, floors, walls or exterior doors caused by improper maintenance, an unexpired fire extinguisher in the kitchen, a working smoke detector in each bedroom and each path of egress, no visible rodents or infestations, a secured and covered exterior breaker box (interior boxes secured per manufacturer requirements), secured and covered crawlspace entrances, and no active plumbing leaks. The checklist does not limit the department's right to cite other violations of the property maintenance standards, meaning the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted by Jackson.

After a failed inspection the department must send written notice of the deficiencies within ten days and gives the owner 45 days to fix them before re-inspection. If the repairs need a building permit, the owner must apply within seven calendar days, and the 45-day period is tied to the date the department issues the permit. The owner can ask for an earlier re-inspection by reporting that the work is done. After four inspections without a cure, the department can deny the certificate of compliance. Units that pass, and units not required to be inspected, receive a certificate that authorizes operation for one year (§ 26-526). Government-owned units, institutional dormitories and units already inspected under federal, state or local subsidy programs are exempt, but the department can still inspect an exempt property on reasonable information that specific units violate the maintenance standards (§ 26-523).