Bernalillo County, NM Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Nuisance Abatement Office (NAO)
- How to complain
- NAO-prescribed complaint form
- Coverage area
- Unincorporated county only
- Max criminal penalty
- $300 fine, 90 days jail
- Governing chapter
- County Code ch. 11
Summary
Renters and neighbors report substandard housing or nuisance conditions to Bernalillo County's Nuisance Abatement Office on NAO-prescribed complaint forms, triggering an investigation and, if warranted, immediate abatement action in unincorporated areas of the county.
Complaints of nuisance violations under this chapter shall be made on forms prescribed by the NAO. However, county employees have a duty to protect public health and safety and shall investigate known credible threats to health and safety. When a nuisance is alleged or observed, the NAO shall investigate, and if the apparent nuisance is substantiated, determine whether abatement can be accomplished over time or if public health and safety requires immediate action.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 92).
Full Breakdown
Bernalillo County's Nuisance Abatement Office (NAO) takes complaints about substandard housing and problem properties in the unincorporated county on standardized forms (County Code § 11-5(1)). Investigators check conditions against the substandard-building list in § 11-3, covering things like missing hot water, inadequate heat, and structural hazards. Non-emergency complaints go through voluntary-compliance outreach first; conditions that create an imminent health or safety threat let the NAO act immediately under § 11-7. This process covers unincorporated areas only. Albuquerque, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, and Tijeras each enforce their own separate housing codes.
Violations & Fines
Noncompliance after notice can bring a clean-and-lien action against the property (§ 11-11) or a criminal charge in Metropolitan Court: up to $300 and 90 days in jail per day the violation continues (§ 11-12).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I file a tenant complaint about my rental in Bernalillo County?
Does this cover an apartment in Albuquerque?
What happens after I file a complaint?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bernalillo County
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