My question involves an eviction in the state of: Mississippi. Sorry this is going to be long but I want the whole story told.
My brother, one of his dogs, my dog, and me moved into the place I am living at now last August. I decided to move in because the LL did not require a lease or a security deposit. He also met the two large breed dogs and said he didn't mind if they were there and in the house. In fact he said they would love it because they would have the 10 acres my place sits on to roam, plus the other neighbor has 60 acres (most of which is empty fields) and she is okay them wandering too. Shortly after moving in my brother and I had to go back to Michigan for a funeral and he wanted to bring his other dog back down. We called the LL and asked for permission and he gave us the go ahead with no restrictions. Now my brother has moved back to Michigan without his dogs because he has no where for them to go up there. In the mean time they had a litter of puppies together, I kept one and never kept that a secret from the LL. He would come over and look at her and make comments on how she was getting big and smile and all of this.
The LL and his live in girlfriend have told me several times that I'm the best tenant they have ever had and they love having me there. The tenants in the past missed rent, had their utilities shut off, kept the place a mess inside and out, and were over all just not good tenants. The LL girlfriend admitted that my brother's other dog who came down later scared her because of his bark but she liked having him around because she could hear him barking (they are my neighbors) at things that we didn't want around and she liked the security. I have never missed rent and the times I have been late with it I had their permission, I keep the house and yard clean and presentable, and I've always done what I can to help out.
When I moved in the LL told me about all of this stuff that needed to be repaired or replaced that he would get done right away. Every month it was it'll be done next month. Well 9 months later that month finally came for the biggest project. He is having a new roof cover put over the trailer to cut down on electricity (which I pay for). In the middle of the project he came over out of the blue and told me I have to move out. His reasoning is the dogs are tearing the place apart inside. He came to this conclusion because when the roofers go by the windows, the dogs jump up on the windows and scratch at the windows while barking. I told him it was because these guys are strangers and said he understands that.
These are good and friendly dogs but they are trying to protect their space. Two of the roofers decided at different times that they were going to try and walk into the house to plug in an extension cord and the dogs started growling so I put up a "Beware of the Dog" sign to protect myself. Now they have been warned. I also pulled all the curtains and blinds so these people can't be looking into my house while they are there. I even bought a replacement back porch light to replace the one they broke, out of my own pocket.
The LL made a few claims when he told me to move out, he believes the dogs are peeing and pooping in the house because that is their nature to do that and he believes the house is flea infested even though none of the dogs have fleas. He wants me to keep them outside while I'm at work but the small fenced in area in the back has no shade what so ever and it has been already 100 degrees three times this week. He also mentioned I should keep them in the chicken coop which is smaller than the fenced yard and until recently had chickens in it that the previous tenant left but I told him no for fear of diseases (Coccidiosis).
I know the LL has gone into the house when I'm not there because he has told me did. Well he was able to do this because the house is never locked. I never received a set of keys when I moved in. I have brought this up several times and he always sounds shocked and like it is the first time he is hearing about it. He doesn't have keys either. And the truth is, I got my dogs for security being a single female moving out of state to a new area, I wanted the security and companionship. Since I can't ever lock the doors, the dogs do a great job, plus they don't get heat exhaustion while in the house.
I will freely admist that the three and a half month old puppy is having accidents in the house because she isn't house broken yet and that there is some carpet damage from the dogs, but I have volunteered to replace the whole carpet on my own when I get the money for it. I have even started looking into some other repairs that he has promised but I was getting tired of waiting for. I also let him know that my brother's dogs will be leaving by Labor Day and it will just be my two dogs.
He gave me three options 1.) move out, 2.) get rid of all the dogs or 3.) pay $300 more a month for rent. In my research I have found out that he can't just tell me to move out. He needs a court ordered eviction to do that. In the past he has told tenants to move out and they complied. So I don't know if he legally has to go to court or if he chooses not to go that route. I think the rent payments may be under the table for him, but I can't say that with any certainty. That being said, here are my questions:
Is there anything I can do to mitigate this?
Knowing he needs to go to court, should I inform him of this or keep quiet and continue to pay my rent and wait for him to do the legal eviction?
Should I go ahead and do some of the fixes I was planning or wait?
I want to change the locks on the doors so I can lock them and he can't lock me out (which I know is unlawful for him to do unless I have been formally evicted).
Any advice in this matter would be really appreciated. Thank you.

