Las Cruces, NM Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

Sec. 16-509(c) gives city staff designated by the city manager the authority to administratively revoke a short-term rental operator's business registration, for all properties that operator manages, on three escalating grounds. Under Sec. 16-509(c)(1), a single finding, on a first or any subsequent offense, that the operator created or perpetuated a significant risk of substantial harm to health or safety at or near a short-term rental unit is enough to support revocation. Sec. 16-509(c)(2) lowers that bar for repeat offenders: by the third or a later offense, a finding that the operator has shown a pattern of conduct demonstrating negligence or indifference toward the ordinance's requirements or toward renter or neighbor safety is sufficient.

Sec. 16-509(c)(3) removes discretion altogether at the top of the scale, making revocation mandatory for a fifth offense within a three-year period. Each finding must take the form of a written determination reviewing the evidence, and a revocation decided by staff can be appealed to district court within 15 days under Rule 1-074 NMRA, per Sec. 16-509(d). This administrative track runs alongside, not instead of, municipal court prosecution, so an operator can face civil fines under Sec. 16-509(b) for the underlying offenses in addition to losing every registered unit once the fifth-offense threshold is reached.