How can I actually own the beach in Mississippi?

Mississippi law permits owners of riparian and littoral rights to own the beach immediately adjacent to their property. So, how can I actually own the beach in Mississippi? Not all properties on or near the beach have riparian and or littoral rights, but they all did a few hundred years ago.

One of our clients is offering a house that is located directly in front of the beach in Biloxi. This property has rights to the beach and water as far as 750 feet from the shore.

To make it easier for our readers and to ensure we are not repeating the law in a form that is not accurate, the following has been inserted from 2010 Title 49 – Conservation and Ecology…..49-59-9 riparian owners on Gulf Coast defined as follows:

What is riparian and littoral?

Riparian rights are rights that belong to properties that adjoin rivers and streams. This term although in the law does not specifically apply unless the property is on a river draining into the Gulf. Littoral rights are the rights that come with the land permitting ownership of beach property and property on large lakes.

So where is the rub? You want to purchase a property that has littoral rights for the beach and you want to know the whole story. Ok, you will own the land and some of it that extend into the water but, you must permit people to cross the land on the sand near the waterline. There is another but. A non-owner can not gain access to the beach if they have to cross private property to get to the beach.

Most of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches are freely accessible by the public. Owners have built piers and boathouses on their land and these properties are private. Our client that I mentioned above permits the City to have a parking lot on part of beach property but that does not prohibit them from building on the unimproved sand.

Originally when the beach properties were sold in the 1800s, the land stretched to the beach. In later years a road was built then widened so now U.S. 90 consumes a significant section of what was and still is private property. Laws were passed permitting public usage of private property as follows:

As you can see, it is possible to own beach property and build on it with some restrictions that do not seem in my opinion to be prohibitive. Many of the homes along the beach had piers and boathouses before various storms have destroyed them. You can still see some pilings at various points. There are parts of the beach where piers and boathouses are in good repair and are still being used.

Building a pier and boat house

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources controls permits for piers and boathouses. Beach, bayou, river, and lake property owners are permitted by the laws above to build piers and boathouses but they must obtain a permit. This is in part to ensure that the sections of the law which are meant to protect the public are followed.

Rules about the positioning of the boathouse on state and federal waterways must be followed along with the height and width of the pier. Some plant and animal species may pose a problem that would have to be resolved. A good example is building on marsh grass. From time to time DMR will allow what is called matting, a procedure designed to protect vegetation from heavy equipment.

Follow this link to DMR for more information about a pier or boathouse.

Buying a house located on the beach

Few places in the U.S. permit people to build or own a house on the beach. Most of the homes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are no longer located on the beach. At one time they were before various hurricanes caused the government to build U.S. Highway 90 and houses have relocated to the Northside of the highway.

These homes have a great view of the beach and in most cases, they are unobstructed by highrise buildings. We call this living on the beach because all you need to do is walk across the street to the beach. The original deeds show these homes owning the property in the water.

Most of the homes that have been rebuilt no longer have piers and many have simply given up thinking of that beach across the street as theirs. There is an area where there is no highway and you can live on the beach.

Belle Fontaine

This beautiful spit of land located in Jackson County just south of Ocean Springs faces the Gulf of Mexico on the Southside and a bayou on the Northside. It’s a peninsula with one road in and out. When you arrive, it seems like you are in a rural beach area. You are only 15 minutes from U.S. 90 and shopping.

The area is secluded with an HOA that was formed so that owners could work with government on rebuilding activities. Hurricane Katrina cause extensive damage to homes. When I first arrived in the area about six years ago, most of the lots were available for sale. Now many have beautiful homes built where former ones once stood.

There are many unique lots with part of the lot facing the beach and another part on the South side of the street facing the bayou. Some have boat houses on the Gulf beach side and others have docks and boat houses on the bayou side.

Buy a lot and build

The photo above is from one of the lots available to build a home. Every lot is different. Some have bulkheads others are sand from the water to the house. Most have large live oaks that add to the beauty of the property. The oaks survived many hurricanes.

The house above is an example of the type of construction on the beach. This is a drone view from the beach. You can see the oaks in the background. The photo below shows how the house is positioned on the beach. You scan see that the neighbors house has a swimming pool just before the water.

This photo shows the pier and dock that is part of the lot. Notice that there is no practical way that anyone not living in the homes could access the beach. Note the property on the right has sand all the way to the beach.

Another photo from the same house above shows an areal view of more of the beach with other homes. You can see the road in the background to the left of this house. Behind the trees across the road is the bayou I spoke of.

I own a pier and boathouse

As it happens, I own a pier and boathouse on a bayou. It’s been a great experience to watch it being built and to use it. My neighbor just built his pier and boathouse. I decided to buy on a bayou that leads out to the Gulf of Mexico.

Two things are going on here. Living on the beach that you own and the ability to tie up your boat on your property. Look at the piers above reaching into the water.

If you are planning to purchase a property and need to construct a pier and boathouse or just bulkhead, contact me, I can provide suggestions.

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