Jackson, MS Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Jackson adopted the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code wholesale as its property maintenance code under City Code § 26-511, then rewrote or added specific sections through § 26-512 to fit local conditions. The amended IPMC § 301.5, added by the city, makes it unlawful for an owner or tenant to store hazardous materials that constitute a fire or environmental hazard or are detrimental to human life, health, or safety, and separately makes unlawful any condition on a building, accessory structure, or property found to be a safety or health hazard whether or not it is visible from outside. Amended IPMC § 301.4 treats any condition on a building or property that harms the safety, health, environment, aesthetics, or nearby property values, if visible from outside the property, as a nuisance, and requires that a building damaged or destroyed by fire or an act of nature be demolished or have repairs begin within three months.

Occupancy limits are set by amended IPMC § 404.5: the number of persons in a dwelling unit cannot create conditions that, in the code official's opinion, endanger the life, health, safety or welfare of occupants or neighbors, and no boarding house, residential care facility, half-way house, hospice, shelter, single-room-occupancy hotel, or rooming house may exceed twelve persons. Amended § 302.4 sets the maximum grass and weed height at 18 inches, with an exemption in § 302.4.1 for landscaping, erosion-control plantings, or natural vegetation more than 50 feet from the curb on lots over one acre. Amended § 108.2.1 lets the code official disconnect water service in an emergency where necessary to eliminate an immediate hazard to life or property.