PRIA Logo™
MississippiHB 12002025 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

"Real Property Owners Protection Act"; create.

Sponsored By: Brent Powell (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Judiciary AJudiciary, Division A

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 4 mixed.

Faster owner recovery, shorter occupant deadlines

Beginning July 1, 2025, owners or agents can start removal by filing a sworn statement and supporting documents with local police. Police must issue a citation within 24 hours; occupants have three consecutive business days to notify the court they contest. Without a timely challenge, occupants must leave within 24 hours of citation or face immediate removal without a court writ. A contested case gets a hearing within seven days of notice; squatter status must be more likely true than not. Courts can order departure within 24 hours of judgment, or sooner for emergencies or other compelling circumstances. Police remove people and belongings after the court's deadline without a writ. Police, owners, and agents are not liable for removal-related damage to belongings; owners can discard abandoned items without preserving them.

Owners gain control; unauthorized occupants lose protections

Beginning July 1, 2025, only property owners or their designated agents can manage property or collect payments for its use. Owners are identified through county deed records; agents need a contract or written authority. Trespassers and squatters are excluded from tenant protections, including tenant-invited guests who remain after the rental agreement ends. A short stay without the owner's or designee's permission or authority does not create property rights. The law also adds a tenant management organization definition aligned with federal housing standards.

Squatter cases shift costs and punish lies

Beginning July 1, 2025, courts must award the winner of a squatter hearing attorney's fees and hearing costs. Courts can also award other amounts they find necessary. Owners can recover lost rent, mortgage, or lease charges for the unauthorized occupancy, in addition to fines or other sanctions. A filer whom the court finds intentionally lied in a squatter complaint commits a misdemeanor. Penalties are up to six months in county jail, a fine of three times the targeted person's accrued costs and fees, or both.

New crimes for squatting and property fraud

Beginning July 1, 2025, staying without owner or agent consent or authority becomes a crime after written notice to leave. Notice can come from the owner, agent, or local police, even when entry was originally by invitation. Knowingly and willfully presenting false property documents to detain or remain on property is a felony. So is intentionally causing more than $1,000 in damage while unlawfully occupying or trespassing on a home. Knowingly advertising a sale without the seller's title or authority, or renting without ownership or a leasehold interest, is also a felony; the sale-listing offense excludes heirs. Each felony carries two to five years in prison plus fines tied to lost potential rent, mortgage, or lease charges or offender proceeds, as specified for the offense. For the home-damage felony, fines can also be measured by repair costs.

Victims gain protection from trespass lawsuits

Beginning July 1, 2025, criminal trespassers, squatters, and accomplices assume the risk of related loss, injury, or death. Crime victims are immune from civil damages for acts or failures to act while resisting or responding to that conduct. Specified court records, including guilty pleas, convictions, removal writs, and squatter findings, conclusively establish that assumed risk. Courts must award reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, to the winner of covered civil cases. At the defendant's request, a covered civil case pauses during a related criminal case against the plaintiff, unless needed to preserve evidence.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Brent Powell

    Republican • House

Cosponsors

  • Kevin Felsher

    Republican • House

  • Jill Ford

    Republican • House

  • Stephanie Foster

    Democratic • House

  • Clay Mansell

    Republican • House

  • Jonathan McMillan

    Republican • House

  • Gene Newman

    Republican • House

  • Noah Sanford

    Republican • House

  • Fred Shanks

    Republican • House

  • Lance Varner

    Republican • House

  • Price Wallace

    Republican • House

  • Lee Yancey

    Republican • House

  • Shanda Yates

    Independent • House

  • Henry Zuber III

    Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 249 • No: 27

House vote • 3/26/2025

Concurred in Amend From Senate

Yes: 99 • No: 13 • Other: 3

Senate vote • 3/12/2025

Passed As Amended

Yes: 51 • No: 0

House vote • 2/10/2025

Passed

Yes: 99 • No: 14 • Other: 4

Actions Timeline

  1. Approved by Governor

    4/10/2025legislature

  2. Enrolled Bill Signed

    3/28/2025Senate

  3. Enrolled Bill Signed

    3/28/2025House

  4. Concurred in Amend From Senate

    3/26/2025House

  5. Returned For Concurrence

    3/13/2025Senate

  6. Passed As Amended

    3/12/2025Senate

  7. Amended

    3/12/2025Senate

  8. Title Suff Do Pass

    3/4/2025Senate

  9. Referred To Judiciary, Division A

    2/17/2025Senate

  10. Transmitted To Senate

    2/11/2025House

  11. Passed

    2/10/2025House

  12. Committee Substitute Adopted

    2/10/2025House

  13. Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

    2/4/2025House

  14. Referred To Judiciary A

    1/20/2025House

Bill Text

Related Bills

Back to State Legislation