Jackson, MS Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

City Code § 26-521 requires owners of rental housing units, defined in § 26-522 to include single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes, apartments, condominiums, and rooming or boarding houses, to register with the department of planning and development. Section 26-524(a) staggered the original registration deadline by portfolio size: owners with more than 100 rental units had to register by March 30, 2023; owners with 50 to 99 units by June 30, 2023; and owners with fewer than 50 units by August 30, 2023. After that deadline passes, § 26-524(b) bars an owner from letting a tenant occupy a unit that has not been registered, though a timely-registered unit may be occupied while the department decides whether to issue a certificate of compliance.

Fees under § 26-527 are $50.00 per unit for rental registration, which includes the first inspection; $100.00 per unit for any re-inspection; and $50.00 per unit for the annual renewal registration. A certificate of compliance expires one year after issuance, and § 26-526(a) requires the owner to apply for renewal and pay the fee at least 30 days before it expires. Anyone who buys a registered rental unit must update the registration or register it within 90 days of acquiring it under § 26-526(b). Government-owned and operated rental units, and institutional dormitories or subsidized units already subject to federal, state, or local inspection, are exempt from the registration and inspection requirements under § 26-523.