Can I Sue My Landlord in New Mexico?
Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims New Mexico tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.
Before you sue
- Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
- Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
- Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
- If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.
Your security deposit wasn't returned
| Penalty for withholding | Missing the 30-day statement: owner forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit, to counterclaim in a suit to recover it, and to sue separately for property damage, and owes the resident's court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Bad-faith retention: additional $250 civil penalty payable to the resident. See Garcia v. Thong, 1995-NMSC-030 (annotation on the official page). Source: NMSA 1978, § 47-8-18(D)-(E) |
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| Deposit return deadline | Within 30 days of the end of the rental agreement or the resident's departure, whichever is later Owner complies by mailing the statement and any payment to the resident's last known address. Source: NMSA 1978, § 47-8-18(C) |
Free New Mexico security deposit demand letter
You were locked out or your utilities were cut off
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Without a court order, an owner may not exclude or remove a resident by fraud, changing/plugging locks, blocking entrances, interfering with utilities or services, removing belongings, disabling appliances, or making the unit inaccessible/uninhabitable. Resident may abate 100% of rent for each affected day, recover a civil penalty of 2x monthly rent, recover possession or terminate, and get damages. The owner need not pay utility bills the resident failed to pay. No landlord's lien on tenant property (§ 47-8-36.1). |
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Your landlord retaliated after you complained
| Landlord retaliation | An owner may not raise rent, reduce services, or bring/threaten an eviction because, within the previous 6 months, the compliant resident complained to a code-enforcement agency, joined/organized a residents' association, exercised UORRA rights (including written repair requests), made a fair housing complaint, won or has pending a lawsuit against the owner about the residency, testified for another resident, or lawfully abated rent. Retaliation is a defense to eviction; owner is liable for 2x monthly rent plus attorney's fees. Uniform increases applied to all similar units at the end of a term are allowed (§ 47-8-39(C)). |
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Your landlord won't make repairs
| Repair and deduct | No statutory repair-and-deduct remedy (the UORRA remedies are rent abatement, termination, damages and injunctive relief). Statement based on the remedies listed in §§ 47-8-27.1 and 47-8-27.2; no section authorizing repair-and-deduct appears in the Article 8 table of contents. |
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| Withholding rent | Statutory rent abatement: after written notice of conditions violating the owner's § 47-8-20(A) duties, if not fixed within 7 days the resident may abate one-third of the pro-rata daily rent per day from the notice date until fixed, or 100% per day if the unit is uninhabitable and the resident does not live there. Alternatively, 7-day notice to terminate for material noncompliance. Not available for amenities or for conditions caused by the resident. If the owner wins possession where the resident abated rent, the writ is conditioned on the resident's right to pay within 3 days of judgment (§ 47-8-33(E)). |
| Mold | No statute — general repair duty applies. The owner must substantially comply with applicable minimum housing codes and make repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a safe condition. The Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act has no mold disclosure or remediation provision. Where a minimum housing code applies, it sets the owner's maximum duty under § 47-8-20 (§ 47-8-20(B)). Source: NMSA 1978, § 47-8-20(A)(1)-(2) |
| Pests & bed bugs | No pest- or bed-bug-specific statute. The owner must keep the premises in a safe condition and common areas safe, and provide garbage receptacles and removal; the resident must keep the occupied part of the premises clean and safe and dispose of garbage properly. No state bed-bug disclosure or inspection rule. Local housing codes may assign extermination duties. |
| Heat | Yes. The owner must supply reasonable heat (and running water and a reasonable amount of hot water at all times) and maintain heating facilities in good and safe working order. No statewide minimum temperature or heating season is set. Exceptions: buildings not required by law to be equipped for heat, or units where heat is generated by an installation in the resident's exclusive control supplied by a direct public utility connection. In a single-family residence, the parties may agree in a good-faith writing, for consideration, that the resident supplies heat (§ 47-8-20(C)). The New Mexico Supreme Court has read the heat duty as applying unless the owner shows a specific law exempting the building (T.W.I.W., Inc. v. Rhudy, 96 N.M. 354). |
Free New Mexico repair request letter to landlord
Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy
| Landlord entry notice | 24 hours' written notice stating the purpose and date and a reasonable time frame, unless otherwise agreed. No notice needed for repairs/services within 7 days of the resident's request, when accompanied by a public inspector or utility/cable representative, or in an emergency. Owner must try to accommodate a resident's reasonable alternate time. Unlawful or harassing entry: injunction, termination, and damages. Source: NMSA 1978, § 47-8-24 |
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| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute. Voyeurism — intentionally viewing, photographing, videotaping, filming, webcasting, or recording another person's intimate areas without knowledge and consent in a bedroom, bathroom, or other place with a reasonable expectation of privacy — is a misdemeanor (fourth-degree felony if the victim is under 18). Owner entry generally requires 24 hours' written notice of the purpose, date, and estimated time. 'Instrumentality' expressly includes camcorders, digital and phone cameras, and electronic devices of any type. Source: NMSA 1978, §§ 30-9-20, 47-8-24 |
You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No statewide protection. 2025 HB 339, which would have added 'source of income' as a protected category for housing under the Human Rights Act, died. A similar 2024 bill (HB 25) was reported as failing in committee. |
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Other claims tenants bring in New Mexico
| Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out) | Recognized by the New Mexico Supreme Court. A tenant claiming constructive eviction generally must move out within a reasonable time after the landlord's acts deprive the tenant of the beneficial use of the premises. A delay in moving out may be excused if the tenant relied on the landlord's promises to fix the problem or the bad conditions kept coming back. A tenant must show actual or constructive eviction to sue for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. By statute, a resident may also end the lease by written notice (at least 7 days) if the owner does not reasonably try to fix a material breach affecting health and safety within 7 days, and owes no rent for days the unit is uninhabitable and the resident does not live there. El Paso v. Kysar involved a commercial lease. Statute text (Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, Ch. 47, Art. 8): https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do. The statutory remedies do not apply to conditions the resident, family members or guests caused. |
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| Covenant of quiet enjoyment | Recognized. New Mexico courts recognize a covenant of quiet enjoyment in leases; to sue for its breach the tenant must show an actual or constructive eviction. By statute, if the owner enters unlawfully, enters in an unreasonable manner, or makes repeated entry demands that unreasonably interfere with the resident's quiet enjoyment, the resident may get a court order stopping it or end the lease, and recover damages in either case. Statute text: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do. An owner who locks out a resident or cuts off utilities without a court order owes 100% rent abatement for each affected day, plus civil penalties and damages (NMSA 47-8-36). |
| Injuries on the property | The owner must comply with minimum housing codes affecting health and safety, keep the premises and common areas safe, and keep supplied electrical, plumbing, heating and other facilities in good and safe working order. The statute says these duties are not intended to change existing tort (injury) law, so injury claims are decided under general negligence law. Talk to a lawyer about any injury claim — filing deadlines apply. Source: NMSA 1978, 47-8-20(A), (B) |
Where and when to sue
| Small claims limit | $10,000 in magistrate courts and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, for tort, contract and landlord-tenant cases. These courts cannot hear domestic relations, malicious prosecution, libel or slander, land title or boundary disputes, specific performance of land sales, injunctions or extraordinary writs. The New Mexico Courts site lists magistrate and Metropolitan Court civil jurisdiction as $0-10,000: https://www.nmcourts.gov/ |
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| Small claims filing fee | $77 to file a civil complaint in Metropolitan Court. A jury request adds a $25 non-refundable jury fee and a $75 jury deposit. Sheriffs and private process servers charge their own service fees. |
| Deadline to sue on a written lease | 6 years for a written lease or other written contract; 4 years for an oral (unwritten) lease. Source: NMSA 1978, §§ 37-1-3(A), 37-1-4 |
How small claims court works in New Mexico →
Tenant lawyers and free legal aid in New Mexico · New Mexico tenant rights · Suing a landlord in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.