Inherited tenant question

[Scott Parker]

Hello all, I have an inherited tenant situation that I have not experienced and have never heard of this specific situation before. I purchased a property that had a tenant that was 3 months behind on rent, has no job, and has never had a lease from the previous owner. I had a very clear and frank conversation with the tenant after I purchased the property and they said that they could not pay rent and would have to move. I get a text a couple days later that says that they are living with family and are going to leave their belongings in the property until they find somewhere else to rent which will be at least a month. The electricity and water have been off for a while. Clearly I want their things out of the house but it appears they are trying to hold me hostage and use the property for storage for an indefinite period of time. I live in Mississippi and, after my review of the landlord-tenant laws, the tenants have abandoned the property because there are no utilities on. The way I see it, there is no lease in place and they aren't living there so I could have them arrested for trespassing if they show up and I can simply remove their things and proceed with renting the property to someone else. Again, I have reviewed the Mississippi laws and this specific situation isn't addressed, only that abandonment can be used because the utilities are off. Have any of you seen this specific situation and do you have any thoughts about how I should handle it? Thank you. 

[Nathan Gesner]

The guy can't afford an attorney so I wouldn't be afraid of a lawsuit over wrongful removal. I would call him and say something like, 

"Hey, John. My rental is not a free storage unit. I need your stuff out of there so I can clean it up and get a paying renter. I'm going to leave the door unlocked for the next 24 hours. I don't expect you to clean it on your way out the door but I do expect you to be respectful and not damage anything. After 3:00PM tomorrow, anything remaining in the rental will be considered abandoned property and I'll take it to the landfill. Thanks!"