A New Mexico rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant who wishes to use it. New Mexico landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
New Mexico Rental Agreement Types
A New Mexico roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
New Mexico Required Lease Disclosures
- Landlord’s Name and Address (required for all leases) – New Mexico leases must contain the name and address of the landlord or authorized agent. This enables smooth communication of any important legal notice.
- Late Fee Disclosure (required for some leases) – New Mexico limits late fees. To be enforceable, a landlord must disclose any fees in the lease, and the fee amounts cannot be more than 10% of the overdue balance.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – For any property built before 1978, federal law requires that a New Mexico residential lease must contain a lead-based paint disclosure with an EPA informational pamphlet, plus notice of any lead hazards on the property.
To learn more about required disclosures in New Mexico, click here.
New Mexico Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – New Mexico landlords can only rent out habitable property, which means providing certain features essential to basic health and safety like heat, plumbing, electricity, and sound structural elements. Landlords must repair any issues within seven days of proper notice from the tenant. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, terminate the lease, or abate (withhold) a portion of the rent.
- Evictions – New Mexico landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay, comply, or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in New Mexico take between one week to more than one month.
- Security Deposits –New Mexico caps security deposits at a maximum of one month’s rent for property rentals under one year. There is no cap on leases of one year or more, but if the landlord collects a deposit greater than one month’s rent, the landlord must pay the tenant standard interest on the deposited funds. At the termination of the lease, the landlord has 30 days to return any unused portion of a deposit.
- Lease Termination – New Mexico lets tenants terminate a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice. A fixed-term lease can’t be terminated early without active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – New Mexico doesn’t set any maximum cap on rent increases. Before an increase, a landlord must give the tenant 30 days of advance notice. Late rent fees do have a cap, 10% of the owed amount. New Mexico requires a civil lawsuit for a returned checks not paid within 10 days, and a landlord may recover $100-$500 in damages per check.
- Landlord Entry – New Mexico landlords may enter rental property for purposes reasonably related to the tenancy, like repairs, inspections, and property showings. They must provide at least 24 hours of advance notice before entering, unless it’s an emergency or the landlord meets certain conditions for repair and inspection.
- Settling Legal Disputes – New Mexico allows landlord-tenant disputes in small claims court if the amount in controversy is less than $10,000. The state does not allow evictions in small claims. The statute of limitations for most landlord-tenant issues is four years.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in New Mexico, click here.
Additional Resources
- New Mexico State Renter’s Guide – New Mexico’s state Department of Health hosts a guide with comprehensive information useful to both landlords and tenants on the specifics of laws around leases and other rental situations.
Sources
- 1 N.M. Stat. § 56-14-1
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In any civil action against a person for drawing any worthless check, the plaintiff may recover from the defendant damages in the amount equal to one hundred dollars ($100) or triple the amount for which the check is drawn, whichever is greater; provided that damages recovered under this section shall not exceed the amount of the check by more than five hundred dollars ($500) and may be awarded only if:(1) the plaintiff made written demand of the defendant for payment of the amount of the check not less than ten days before commencing action; and(2) the defendant failed to tender to the plaintiff prior to the commencement of the action an amount of money not less than the amount demanded.
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