Mississippi
Mississippi Landlord-Tenant Recording Laws: Cameras, Audio, and Privacy Rights (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited November 1, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of November 1, 2026. · 3 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
In Mississippi, both landlords and tenants may record conversations they participate in without notice under Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-531(e). A landlord who hides a microphone inside a rental unit to capture tenants' private conversations can violate the state Wiretap Act, and filming a tenant with lewd intent where they would undress is a felony. Other cameras inside a unit can still lead to a civil invasion-of-privacy claim.
Recording interactions between landlords and tenants in Mississippi is governed by the state's one-party consent wiretapping law, landlord-tenant statutes, and privacy principles. This guide covers when tenants and landlords can legally record, security camera rules for rental properties, and how recordings serve as evidence in housing disputes.
Can Tenants Record Their Landlord in Mississippi?
Yes. Mississippi is a one-party consent state under Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-531(e). Tenants participating in conversations with their landlord can record without informing the landlord, provided the recording is not made to commit a crime, a tort, or any other injurious act.
What Tenants Can Record
- Conversations with landlords about rent, repairs, or lease terms
- Phone calls with property managers
- Interactions during inspections or walkthroughs
- Move-in and move-out inspections
- Conversations with maintenance workers
What Tenants Cannot Record
- Conversations between the landlord and other people when the tenant is not present
- Recordings made with intent to harass, blackmail, or extort
- Private conversations in areas where others have a reasonable expectation of privacy
Can Landlords Record Tenants?
Conversations
Landlords can record conversations they participate in under one-party consent, including discussions about lease terms, rent, and property rules.
Security Cameras
Landlords can generally install cameras on property exteriors and in common areas. Cameras inside a rented unit carry serious legal risk, and which law applies depends on what the camera captures and why.
Permitted locations: Building exterior, parking lots, hallways, lobby, laundry rooms Locations that create legal risk: Inside rental units, bathrooms, and any area where tenants expect privacy
A hidden device inside a rental unit that records tenants' private conversations can violate the Wiretap Act (Miss. Code Ann. sections 41-29-531 and 41-29-533). Filming a tenant with lewd intent, without permission, where they would undress is a felony under the voyeurism statute (Miss. Code Ann. section 97-29-63), and using a camera to peep into a bedroom or bathroom for a lewd purpose is a felony under section 97-29-61. A silent camera that falls outside those statutes can still support a civil invasion-of-privacy claim.
Mississippi Landlord-Tenant Law Overview
Entry and Notice
Mississippi's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (Miss. Code Ann. section 89-8-1 et seq.) covers security deposits, lease termination, landlord and tenant duties, and eviction procedures. It does not contain any provision on landlord right of entry or entry notice, unlike many states that set a statutory notice period. In Mississippi, entry terms are set by the lease itself, and general common-law and trespass principles apply where the lease is silent.
Recording landlord entries can still document what actually happened, including whether the lease's own notice terms were followed and the condition of the property during inspections.
Security Deposits
Mississippi does not have a statutory cap on security deposits, but under Miss. Code Ann. section 89-8-21, landlords must return the deposit within 45 days after three things have happened: the tenancy has ended, the tenant has delivered possession of the unit, and the tenant has made a demand for the deposit. Video recordings of the unit at move-in and move-out are powerful evidence in deposit disputes.
Recordings as Evidence in Mississippi Housing Disputes
Eviction Proceedings
Recordings can document lease violations, improper notice, retaliatory eviction, and property conditions. Mississippi courts accept properly authenticated recordings in eviction cases.
Habitability and Repairs
Tenants can use recordings to document housing code violations, needed repairs, and landlord refusal to maintain the property. The Mississippi State Department of Health oversees certain housing health standards.
Discrimination Claims
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination nationwide; Mississippi has no separate state fair-housing statute. Recordings of discriminatory statements by landlords can support complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Penalties for Illegal Recording
| Violation | Statute | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Recording without consent (not a party) | Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-533(1) | Misdemeanor: up to 1 year, a fine of up to $10,000, or both |
| Violating section 41-29-511 (misuse of court-authorized wiretap contents by officers and lawful recipients; not a private person sharing a recording) | Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-533(2) | Felony: up to 5 years and a fine of up to $10,000 |
| Filming with lewd intent where a person would undress (offender over 21) | Miss. Code Ann. section 97-29-63 | Felony: a $5,000 fine, up to 5 years, or both; up to 10 years if the person filmed is under 16 |
Civil damages under Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-529 include $100/day or $1,000 minimum, plus punitive damages and attorney fees.
More Mississippi Recording Laws
Audio Recording | Video Recording | Voyeurism Laws | Workplace Recording | Recording Police | Phone Call Recording | Security Cameras | Recording in Public | Landlord-Tenant Recording | Dashcam Laws | School Recording | Medical Recording
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record a conversation with my landlord in Mississippi?
Yes. Mississippi is a one-party consent state under Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-531(e). As a participant, you can record without informing your landlord. The recording must not be made to commit a crime, a tort, or any other injurious act.
Can my landlord put cameras inside my apartment in Mississippi?
Not without serious legal risk. A hidden microphone that captures your private conversations can violate the Mississippi Wiretap Act, and filming you with lewd intent where you would undress is a felony under Miss. Code Ann. section 97-29-63. Other in-unit cameras can support a civil invasion-of-privacy claim. Landlords can generally place cameras in exterior and common areas.
Can I install a security camera at my apartment in Mississippi?
You can install cameras inside your own unit, subject to lease terms. Wireless cameras that do not require permanent modifications are generally acceptable. Do not aim cameras into other tenants' units or shared private spaces.
Can I use recordings in a Mississippi eviction case?
Yes. Recordings made legally under one-party consent are admissible in Mississippi courts. You must authenticate the recording as genuine and unaltered.
How long does a landlord have to return my security deposit in Mississippi?
Mississippi law (Miss. Code Ann. section 89-8-21) requires landlords to return security deposits within 45 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, and the tenant makes a demand for the deposit. Video recordings of the unit condition at move-in and move-out can help resolve deposit disputes.
Updates
We corrected the statement that landlords can never place cameras inside a rental unit (the criminal statutes reach hidden audio and lewd-intent filming, and other cameras can support a privacy lawsuit), the description of Mississippi's wiretap felony and hidden-camera penalties, an unsourced count of states with entry-notice laws, the common-area camera rule, the full crime, tort, or injurious-act limit, and an inaccurate changelog line.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected an unsupported claim that Mississippi law requires landlords to give reasonable notice before entering a rental unit; the state's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act has no entry-notice provision at all, so entry terms come from the lease. Also corrected the security-deposit return deadline to note that the 45-day clock requires the tenant to have delivered possession and demanded the deposit, not just that the tenancy ended. Separately, repointed every Mississippi Code citation on this page from the Legislature's bare homepage to the specific Justia section it names (except the Mississippi Fair Housing Act link, which could not be resolved to a specific section and was left unchanged).
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected the wiretapping-law citation for hidden cameras in a rental unit from Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-505 (a narcotics wiretap court-order procedure) to section 41-29-533 (the actual general prohibition on interception).
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Spoke propagation from parent hub: removed FindLaw Turner v. Driver citations (5th Cir. No. 16-10312) from the police, public-recording, and video spokes; corrected is_gov flags for legislature.ms.gov entries in SourcesList components; added keywords and citations arrays to [dashcam](/dashboard-camera-legality-and-privacy-laws-is-it-illegal-to-use-dashcams-in-north-america), landlord-tenant, and schools spokes; updated workplace spoke NLRB section to cite Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023) as the controlling work-rule standard replacing Boeing. No fabricated cases (Lewis v. State, Glazner v. Glazner) or SB 2437 references found. No 47 CFR 64.501 or FCC 23-107 references found.
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated
§ 41-29-531Exceptions to civil liability for violation of this article.In forcecited in 19 of our articles
This article shall not apply to: An operator of a switchboard, or an officer, employee or agent of a communication common carrier whose facilities are used in the transmission of a wire communication, intercepts a communication, or who discloses or uses an intercepted communication in the normal…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-24 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at billstatus.ls.state.ms.us
Cited in 4 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Campbell v. MESC (Court of Appeals of Mississippi 2000, 782 So. 2d 751)“…le involved in the conversation are aware of the recording. Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-531(e) (the statute does not apply to a con…”
- Brian S. Pope v. Deborah Baird Martin a/k/a Deborah L. Martin a/k/a Deborah Martin Pope a/k/a Deborah L. Pope (Court of Appeals of Mississippi 2023)“…vides a list of those who are immune from civil liability. Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-531 (Rev. 2018). Relevant to the present ca…”
- Rosenberg (District Court, S.D. Mississippi 2026)“…olation of the Mississippi Security of Communications Act, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 41-29-531 to -537 (Count IX). See id. at 40-47.…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Mississippi Smart Glasses Recording Laws (2026), Mississippi Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules, Mississippi Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties (2026)
§ 89-8-21Tenant’s security deposit.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(1) Any payment or deposit of money, the primary function of which is to secure the performance of a rental agreement or any part of such an agreement, other than a payment or deposit, including an advance payment of rent, made to secure the execution of a rental agreement shall be governed by the…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2020-07-08 · Read the full text in our law library
Also relied on in: Mississippi Landlord-Tenant Laws (2026): Deposits, Notice, and Tenant Rights
§ 97-29-63Photographing or filming another without permission where there is expectation of privacy; when victim is adult; when victim is child under sixteen.In forcecited in 12 of our articles
(1)(a) It is a felony for any person with lewd, licentious or indecent intent to photograph, film, videotape, record or otherwise reproduces the image of another person without the permission of the other person when the other person is located in a place where a person would intend to be in a…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-31 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at billstatus.ls.state.ms.us
Cited in 9 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2023
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Gilmer v. State (2007) construed Section 97-29-63 on first impression, holding it has four elements and that proof the victim was in a listed place like a private dwelling satisfies the protected-location element as a matter of law, and rejected an overbreadth challenge. Nuckolls v. State (2015) reversed counts where venue was unproven.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Gilmer v. State (Mississippi Supreme Court 2007, 955 So. 2d 829)✓A constable parked at night about 87 feet away and used a zoom camcorder to film a clothed woman inside her apartment; the court held that filming a victim in a private dwelling satisfies the statute's protected-location element as a matter of law, and affirmed the conviction.
- Eddie Gilmer v. State of Mississippi (Mississippi Supreme Court 2004)“…te Med. Ass'n, 381 So. 2d 1046, 1048 (Miss. 1980). ¶10. Miss. Code Ann. §97-29-63 (Rev. 2006) reads: Any person w…”
- Nuckolls v. State (Mississippi Supreme Court 2015, 179 So. 3d 1046)✓Nuckolls hid cameras and filmed women in bathrooms, then was convicted on ten counts charging he later reproduced the videos on a laptop; the court reversed those ten because the State never proved where the transfers occurred, and affirmed one filming count.
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Mississippi School Recording Laws: Student, Parent, and Teacher Rights (2026), Mississippi Security Camera Laws: Home, Business, and Surveillance Rules (2026), Mississippi Video Recording Laws: Surveillance, Filming, and Consent Rules (2026)
Sources and References
- Miss. Code Ann. section 41-29-531 - One-Party Consent Exception(law.justia.com)
- Miss. Code Ann. section 89-8-21 - Security Deposits(law.justia.com)
- Miss. Code Ann. section 97-29-63 - Hidden Camera Voyeurism Statute(law.justia.com)
- Mississippi Legislature - Code Search(legislature.ms.gov).gov
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)(hud.gov).gov
- Mississippi State Department of Health(msdh.ms.gov).gov