New Mexico Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, the 5 percent late fee cap, notice periods, the 3-day demand and the restitution timeline in New Mexico, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Almost every rule a small New Mexico landlord needs sits in the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 47, Article 8. It calls you the owner and your tenant the resident, and covers deposits, notices, repairs and possession.

The legislature amended the act in 2025 (Laws 2025, ch. 122). The big change for landlords is a smaller late fee. If your lease still charges ten percent, fix it.

Here is what you have to get right, with the section behind each rule.

Security deposits

Leases under one year are capped at one month's rent. For a term of less than one year, the deposit cannot exceed one month's rent (NMSA 1978, § 47-8-18).

Longer leases have no hard cap, but they have a cost. On a lease of a year or more, you can take more than one month's rent. Take more and you owe the tenant annual interest equal to the passbook rate paid by savings and loan associations (§ 47-8-18).

You have 30 days to account for it. Within 30 days of the end of the tenancy, mail the tenant an itemized written statement of every deduction along with any balance owed, sent to the last known address (§ 47-8-18).

Normal wear and tear is off limits. No part of the deposit can be kept for ordinary aging of the home (§ 47-8-18).

Missing the 30 days is expensive. Skip the itemized statement and you forfeit the right to keep any of the deposit, you lose the ability to counterclaim for damages in the tenant's deposit suit, and you owe the tenant court costs and reasonable attorney fees. Hold a deposit in bad faith and there is a $250 civil penalty on top (§ 47-8-18).

New Mexico does not make you escrow the deposit. No statute requires a private landlord to hold deposits in a separate account. Keeping the money separate anyway is cheap insurance.

Late fees

The cap is five percent of the rent for the rental period. The 2025 amendment cut it from ten percent. The fee is calculated on rent alone, so deposits, other fees and utilities stay out of the math (§ 47-8-15).

Tell the tenant by the end of the next rental period. Notice of a late fee has to reach the tenant no later than the last day of the rental period right after the one the default happened in. Miss that window and the fee is gone (§ 47-8-15).

Rent increases and rent control

Thirty days' written notice. On a month-to-month tenancy, give written notice of the increase at least 30 days before the periodic rental date. On a fixed term, the notice goes out at least 30 days before the term ends (§ 47-8-15).

No city in New Mexico can cap your rent. State law bars any political subdivision or home rule municipality from an ordinance that controls rental rates on privately owned property. Subsidized units taking government money for reduced rents are carved out (§ 47-8A-1).

Entering the unit

Twenty-four hours, in writing. For an ordinary inspection, repair or showing, give the tenant 24 hours written notice before you enter (§ 47-8-24).

Three situations skip the notice. Work the tenant asked for, done within seven days of the request. Entry alongside a public official or a utility representative. And a genuine emergency. If the tenant proposes a different time with reasonable advance notice, make a real attempt to accommodate it (§ 47-8-24).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Thirty days, either side. A month-to-month tenancy ends on written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date, by you or by the tenant. A week-to-week tenancy takes seven days (§ 47-8-37).

When rent isn't paid

Three days. Serve a written notice of nonpayment. The tenant has three days from receipt to pay. Pay inside that window and the default is cured (§ 47-8-33).

Service matters. A nonpayment notice counts only if hand delivered, mailed to the tenant, or posted on an exterior door. A posted notice carries the posting date and is taped on all sides or left in a fixture meant for mail (§ 47-8-13).

For other lease breaches the tenant gets seven days to cure. A repeat of the same breach inside six months lets you terminate on seven days' notice with no second chance. A substantial violation, the category covering criminal acts on the premises, takes three days' notice (§ 47-8-33).

The restitution (eviction) process

File the petition. A petition for restitution goes to the clerk of the magistrate or district court. It states the facts with particularity, describes the premises, and shows you complied with the notice rules (§ 47-8-42).
Summons and hearing. On an owner's petition the hearing is set not less than seven and not more than ten days after the summons is served. The court can continue it up to seven more days for good cause (§ 47-8-43).
Hearing. If the tenant does not show up after proper service, the court tries the case as though the tenant were there (§ 47-8-44).
Writ of restitution. On judgment for you, the writ is issued for a date not less than three and not more than seven days after the judgment. The sheriff carries it out (§ 47-8-46). Two things to stay far away from. You cannot lock a tenant out, remove their property, or cut electricity, gas, water, plumbing, heat or phone service to push them out. The tenant can abate one hundred percent of rent for every day of it, take civil penalties and damages, and sue to get back in (§ 47-8-36).

Retaliation is the other. Terminating or raising rent within six months after a tenant complains to a government agency, organizes with other residents, testifies, or wins a case against you is presumed retaliatory (§ 47-8-39). Either violation costs two times one month's rent, plus the prevailing party's attorney fees and court costs (§ 47-8-48).

Repairs and habitability

You keep the place fit to live in. Substantial compliance with housing codes affecting health and safety, safe common areas, running water and a reasonable amount of hot water at all times, reasonable heat, and working plumbing, utilities and facilities (§ 47-8-20).

On a single-family rental you can agree in writing that the tenant takes on some of these duties, for real consideration and in good faith, not as a dodge (§ 47-8-20).

The tenant's lever is seven days. A tenant who gives written notice of a breach and gets no reasonable attempt at a fix inside seven days can terminate the lease, sue for damages and seek injunctive relief (§ 47-8-27.1), or abate rent (§ 47-8-27.2).

Tell the tenant who you are

At or before move-in, give the tenant in writing the name, address and phone number of the person managing the premises and of the owner or the person authorized to accept service of process. Keep it current. Skip it and the tenant is released from the duty to give you notice under the act (§ 47-8-19).

The short version

Deposit capped at one month's rent on leases under a year, interest owed above one month on longer leases
Itemized statement and any balance within 30 days, or you forfeit the deposit and pay fees
Late fee capped at 5 percent of rent since the 2025 amendment, billed by the end of the next rental period
30 days' written notice to raise rent or end a month-to-month
24 hours written notice to enter
3-day written notice for nonpayment, 7 days for most other breaches
Hearing 7 to 10 days after service, writ 3 to 7 days after judgment

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the statute books, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. It tracks the 30-day deposit clock, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance calls day and night, and keeps the records a New Mexico magistrate would ask to see. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to a New Mexico attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.