New Mexico Bans Local Rent Control (N.M. Stat. § 47-8A-1)

N.M. Stat. § 47-8A-1, the Rent Control Prohibition statute (effective July 1, 1991), provides: "No political subdivision or any home rule municipality shall enact an ordinance or resolution that controls or would have the effect of controlling rental rates for privately owned real property." The ban does not apply to privately owned property receiving federal, state, or local government benefits or funding "for the express purpose of providing reduced rents to low- or moderate-income tenants." Because of this preemption, no New Mexico municipality has rent control, and the state imposes no statewide cap on rent or rent increases. A 2025 bill to repeal the preemption (SB 216) did not pass, so the statewide ban remains in effect.

Any local rent-control ordinance is void as preempted by N.M. Stat. § 47-8A-1, so a landlord cannot be penalized under one. New Mexico sets no statutory cap on the amount of a rent increase; the enforceable limits come only from the lease terms and required notice for changing month-to-month tenancies.