New Mexico Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (3)

1. Lead paint: Federal law mandates landlords to disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards to tenants in rental properties built before 1978.

2. Landlord identification: New Mexico landlords must inform tenants (in writing) the name, address, and phone number of whoever owns or manages the property (NMSA § 47-8-19).

3. Shared utilities: If tenants share utility costs, the landlord must explain their reasoning to divide the charges (but only if a tenant requests the information). Landlords are not obligated to do so if the tenant doesn’t request an explanation (NMSA § 47-8-20(F)).

Required Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Agreement

Because New Mexico’s month-to-month rental agreements have no fixed end date, landlords and tenants abide by state-specific notice periods when attempting to end a lease.

Required notice for the landlord: At least 30 days of advance notice

Required notice for the tenant: At least 30 days of advance notice (NMSA § 47-8-37(B))

Rent Increase Laws

New Mexico has no rent control or rent stabilization laws, meaning landlords can raise rent any amount they’d like.

Before increasing rent, however, landlords must give month-to-month tenants at least 30 days of written notice.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: New Mexico law does not require landlords to offer tenants a grace period for late rent payments.

Late rent fees: New Mexico caps late rent fees to 10% of the monthly rent; however, landlords can only assess these fees if they clearly outline their terms within the rental agreement (NMSA § 47-8-15(D)).

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: Tenants must give the landlord at least 7 days of notice to fix a condition that affects health or safety within the rental unit. If the landlord fails to conduct the repair, tenants may withhold one-third of the daily prorated rent. If the unit is uninhabitable due to the landlord’s inability to perform repairs, the tenant may withhold their entire monthly rent payment until the landlord resolves the issue (NMSA § 47-8-27.1, 47-8-27.2).

Pet rent: New Mexico law doesn’t prohibit landlords from charging monthly pet rent, but to do so legally, they must clearly state the pet rent amount and terms within the rental agreement.

Security Deposit Rules

Maximum security deposit amount: For month-to-month leases and agreements shorter than one year, landlords can’t charge more than one month’s rent as a deposit (NMSA § 47-8-18(A)).

Receipt of deposit: New Mexico law doesn’t require landlords to issue tenants a security deposit receipt.

Deduction tracking: Landlords in New Mexico can deduct from the security deposit for legally acceptable expenses, and must include an itemized list of deductions and send it to the tenant along with the remaining deposit (NMSA § 47-8-18(C)).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: Landlords must return the security deposit to the tenant within 30 days of move-out (NMSA § 47-8-18(C)).

Pet deposits: New Mexico law does not prohibit landlords from charging tenants a pet deposit in addition to their standard security deposit. Landlords should detail this fee within the lease by clearly stating the total amount and the terms of the deposit.

Property Access Regulations

Advance notice: Landlords must give tenants at least 24 hours of notice before entering a rental unit and should make a reasonable effort to schedule entry during a time that works for the tenant (NMSA § 47-8-24(A)(1)).

Immediate access: New Mexico landlords can enter the rental unit without prior notice, but only during emergencies (NMSA § 47-8-24(B)).

Landlord harassment: Landlords who repeatedly enter a tenant’s unit without proper notice could be held liable for landlord harassment. In this case, tenants can ask the court to restrict further entry or terminate the lease altogether (NMSA § 47-8-24).

Rental Agreement Violations

Missed rent payment: If a tenant is late on rent, the landlord can issue them a 3-day Notice to Pay or Vacate (NMSA § 47-8-33(D)).

Lease violation: For other lease violations, landlords may serve a 7-day Notice to Cure or Vacate (NMSA § 47-8-33(A)).

Self-help evictions: New Mexico law prohibits self-help evictions, including changing locks, shutting off utilities, or pressuring tenants to leave. As in all 50 states, New Mexico landlords cannot evict tenants without following legal procedures.

Lease abandonment: If a tenant breaks the lease without legal cause, they may owe the landlord rent for the remainder of the lease term. In this event, landlords must try to re-rent the unit to mitigate the tenant’s financial responsibility. Once a new tenant signs a lease, the previous tenant has no further obligation to pay rent (NMSA § 47-8-6).