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HB 1404·MS·house

Fraudulent Utility Conversion; create crime when landlord fails to pay utilities and tenants' utilities are interrupted.

Signed into LawFiled Jan 16, 2026
Sponsor: Yates
Latest Action

Approved by Governor

Mar 25, 2026

Summary

The bill makes it illegal for anyone who receives lease payments intended for utilities to deliberately fail to pay those bills or use deception to avoid payment. It targets landlords, property managers, agents or employees who control utility payments and aims to stop tenants from losing water, electricity, gas, heat, or sewer service. Penalties increase with the amount of money misappropriated, and offenders must also repay victims.

AI-generated summary — may be incomplete or inaccurate. Verify against the official bill text.

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