Rental Property Rules in New Mexico (2026)
18 rules on the books across New Mexico, 5 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
New Mexico: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsNew Mexico expressly preempts local rent control. State law bars any city, county, or home rule municipality from…
Read full rule →Las Cruces
Few RestrictionsLas Cruces has no rent control. New Mexico's Rent Control Prohibition Act (NMSA 47-8A-1, enacted 1991) bars every city…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Albuquerque
Significant RestrictionsAlbuquerque requires a rental property owner cited for a Housing Code violation who fails to fix it to register the…
Read full rule →Santa Fe
Significant RestrictionsSanta Fe requires every short-term rental owner to hold a city-issued business license plus either a short-term rental…
Read full rule →Las Cruces
Some RestrictionsAnyone renting property in Las Cruces on a short-term basis, defined as three months or less, must get a business…
Read full rule →Rio Rancho
Some RestrictionsRio Rancho requires every short-term rental operator to hold a separate, valid Chapter 110 business registration before…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Rent Increase Notice
How much advance written notice a landlord must give before raising the rent on a month-to-month or expiring lease, and how state notice rules differ from any local rent-control caps.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
New Mexico: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsNMSA 47-8-20 requires New Mexico owners to keep rentals safe and habitable: comply with housing codes, make repairs…
Read full rule →Albuquerque
Some RestrictionsEvery occupied dwelling in Albuquerque must be kept safe and sanitary under the city's Uniform Housing Code, and owners…
Read full rule →Bernalillo County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Bernalillo County landlords cannot rent out a dwelling unit unless it has working water, sewage, and…
Read full rule →Las Cruces
Some RestrictionsLas Cruces adopts the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code as its rental habitability standard under Sec…
Read full rule →Late Fees & Grace Periods
Whether late rent fees are capped, any required grace period before a fee can be charged, and limits on bounced-check (NSF) and other add-on charges under state law.
Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.