New Mexico Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (3)

Disclosures are state or federally required information that landlords must inform tenants of during lease signing. Depending on the specifics of the disclosure, it can be delivered within the lease agreement or as a separate document.

1. Lead Paint: Federal law requires landlords nationwide to disclose the presence or knowledge of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards on any property built before 1978.

2. Landlord Identification: New Mexico landlords must disclose, in writing, the name, address, and phone number of the landlord, owner, or person responsible for managing the property(NMSA § 47-8-19).

3. Shared Utilities: If a property has multiple units and utility costs are split between them, landlords must disclose the calculation used to divide the utilities upon request (NMSA § 47-8-20(F)).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum Security Deposit Amount: There is no specific cap on security deposits in New Mexico, but it must be a “reasonable” amount. However, if the rental agreement lasts less than one year, the law caps security deposits at one month’s rent (NMSA § 47-8-18(A)).

Receipt of Deposit: New Mexico landlords are not required to provide a receipt for the security deposit.

Interest: Landlords in New Mexico must pay tenants interest each year on security deposits exceeding one month’s rent. The interest should equal the passbook interest permitted to savings and loans associations in New Mexico by the federal home loan bank board (NMSA § 47-8-18(A)(1)).

Deduction Tracking: Landlords may deduct funds from the security deposit for unpaid rent, repair work beyond normal wear-and-tear, or other damages due to the tenant’s breach of the rental agreement. Landlords must itemize the deductions and send the written list to the tenant when they return the remainder of the security deposit funds (NMSA § 47-8-18(C)).

Returning a Tenant’s Security Deposit: Security deposits must be returned within 30 days of the tenant moving out (NMSA § 47-8-18(C)).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance Notice: Landlords may enter a tenant’s unit if they provide 24 hours of advance notice. Landlords should attempt to accommodate any time of entry request by the tenant (NMSA § 47-8-24(A)(1)).

Immediate Access: New Mexico landlords may enter a property without advance notice, but only in cases of emergency (NMSA § 47-8-24(B)).

Landlord Harassment: Landlords who repeatedly enter a tenant’s unit without proper notice could be liable for landlord harassment. Tenants may obtain a court order to ban the landlord from entering, recover the costs of any damages incurred by the harassment, or cancel the rental agreement (NMSA § 47-8-24).

Rent Payment Laws

Grace Period: New Mexico has no mandatory grace period for late rent payments.

Late Rent Fees: State law caps late rent fees at 10% of the monthly rent. To enforce them, they must be clearly outlined in the rental agreement (NMSA § 47-8-15(D)).

Tenant’s Right to Withhold Rent: Tenants must give the landlord at least 7 days’ notice to correct an issue affecting the unit’s health and safety. If the violation is not corrected, tenants may withhold one-third of the pro-rated daily rent. If the unit is uninhabitable, tenants may withhold 100% of the monthly rent until the landlord remedies the situation (NMSA § 47-8-27.1, 47-8-27.2).

Breach of Rental Agreement

Missed Rent Payment: Once a tenant fails to pay rent, New Mexico landlords may issue a 3-day notice to pay or quit (NMSA § 47-8-33(D)).

Lease Violation: For lease violations, landlords may issue a 7-day notice to cure or quit (NMSA § 47-8-33(A)).

Self-Help Evictions: Self-help evictions are attempts by landlords to evict a tenant themselves without going through the legal eviction process. They are illegal in New Mexico, and landlords should never attempt them.

Lease Abandonment: If a tenant ends a lease early and without proper cause, they could be responsible for the financial liability on the remainder of the lease. However, New Mexico law requires a landlord to “mitigate damages” by re-renting the unit as early as possible. Once the unit is rented again, the previous tenant is no longer responsible for payments (NMSA § 47-8-6).

Ending a Lease

Month-to-Month: New Mexico landlords and tenants may end a month-to-month lease by providing at least 30 days’ written notice (NMSA § 47-8-37).

Fixed-Term: Tenants may break their lease early and without penalty if they meet a qualifying condition. Conditions include entering active military duty, domestic violence, tenant death, landlord harassment, or uninhabitable living conditions.

Property Abandonment: Any property left behind by a tenant must be stored for at least 30 days. The landlord should send the tenant a notice regarding the property, giving them 30 days to retrieve it. If they do not, landlords may dispose of it. If the landlord sells the property for more than $100, the proceeds must be returned to the tenant, if possible (NMSA § 47-8-34).

Renewing a Lease

Required Renewals: New Mexico landlords are not required to renew a lease once the term expires.

Required Notice: New Mexico landlords are not required to give tenants advanced notice if they do not intend to renew a fixed-term lease. They must provide at least 30 days’ written notice when ending a month-to-month lease (NMSA § 47-8-37).

Rent Control & Stabilization

There is currently no statewide rent control in New Mexico, leaving landlords to choose how much to raise their rent yearly. However, some local cities or counties have rent control provisions, so landlords should check local guidelines before implementing any rent increase.