Mississippi

NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet). 

In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.  

You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected]. 

COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.

Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:

No information at this time.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a bill to allocate $20 million in CARES Act funding, which had been earmarked for small businesses, to residential and commercial landlords who have lost rental income. Governor Tate Reeves’ office also plans to announce its decision to allocate the state’s $38 million Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) to rental assistance.

Big If True explores how, in Mississippi, eviction moratoriums without rental assistance are “just kicking a can down the road.”

Updated on October 14, 2020

More than half of Mississippi’s 352,000 renter households are at risk of eviction if Congress does not intervene. More than a third of all Mississippians missed last month’s housing payment or believed they would not be able to pay the next rent or mortgage on time, making Mississippi the third most vulnerable state in the nation for housing.

Updated on August 25, 2020.

The Mississippi Home Corporation will distribute approximately $8 million for rental assistance and emergency housing relief. The agency will partner with several aid agencies, including the Central Mississippi Continuum of Care, the Open Doors Homeless Coalition, and the Mississippi United to End Homelessness.

Updated on July 13, 2020.

The Mississippi Home Corporation launched the Rental Assistance for Mississippians Program (RAMP), which will partner with several organizations to administer nearly $8 million in Emergency Solutions Grants-CV (ESG-CV). RAMP will provide homeless prevention services, including short-term rental assistance, rental arrears, and housing stability case management.

Updated on June 29, 2020.

The Mississippi Center for Justice filed an emergency motion with the Mississippi Supreme Court to halt evictions until July 27 in an effort to prevent an expected and unprecedented rise in evictions and homelessness due to the pandemic.

No information at this time.

Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.

More than half of Mississippi’s 352,000 renter households are at risk of eviction if Congress does not intervene. More than a third of all Mississippians missed last month’s housing payment or believed they would not be able to pay the next rent or mortgage on time, making Mississippi the third most vulnerable state in the nation for housing.

Updated on August 28, 2020.

The Governor’s order to suspend all residential evictions through the duration of shelter in place order expired May 31.  Eviction cases are being conducted remotely and in person. 

Updated: August 1

In the third week of July, 34% of adults in Mississippi reported they had missed their previous housing payment and/or had little confidence they would make their next one, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 181,760 renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment. According to this Census survey, which has published weekly data since late April, Mississippi had the highest recorded housing insecurity in the nation for 6 of the 12 weeks data was collected, as well as the highest reported housing insecurity overall: 46.4% in Week 3 (May 14-19).  

Updated: July 29

According to a weekly survey by the Census, 38% adults in the state either missed their last housing payment or have little/no confidence of being able to make next month’s housing payment – MS has one of the highest rates in the country.

Updated: July 16