Albuquerque, NM Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

The IDO's Part 14-16-5-1 (Dimensional Standards) governs where a structure may sit on a lot in every zone district except the form-based MX-FB district, and § 14-16-5-1(C) directs that residential development comply with Table 5-1-1 unless a more specific standard in an Overlay zone (Part 14-16-3) or the Neighborhood Edges section (§ 14-16-5-9) applies, in which case that different standard controls instead. Each of the IDO's six residential zone districts, R-A, R-1, R-MC, R-T, R-ML, and R-MH, also carries its own dimensional-standards summary table under Part 14-16-2-3 that restates the applicable setbacks.

In the R-A zone, the least dense of the six, Table 2-3-1 sets a 20-foot minimum front setback, a 10-foot minimum side setback, and a 25-foot minimum rear setback, on a minimum lot size of 10,890 square feet with 75 feet of lot width. These are minimums, not targets: a homeowner can build farther back but not closer to a lot line without a Variance from the Zoning Hearing Examiner. Section 14-16-5-1(B)(4) layers on a separate floor: every structure, regardless of zone, must also meet the setback standards in Article 14-2 of ROA 1994, the City's adopted Fire Code, so a setback that satisfies the IDO table can still have to move back further to satisfy fire-access requirements.

Setbacks in R-1, R-T, R-ML, and R-MH differ from R-A's numbers and from each other, so a homeowner should confirm the district on their specific lot before laying out a foundation or an addition.