Outline of the eviction process in New Mexico

New Mexico residential evictions are governed by the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (NMSA 1978, §§ 47-8-1 to 47-8-52). The Act calls the parties owner and resident. The lawsuit is a petition for restitution filed in the magistrate court or the district court of the county, or in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court for Albuquerque-area property (§§ 47-8-10, 47-8-42; the Metropolitan Court has magistrate court jurisdiction under § 34-8A-3(A)). Mobile home park tenancies have their own act and forms and are not covered here.

The case is fast once filed: trial is set 7 to 10 days after the summons is served, and the writ of restitution is dated 3 to 7 days after judgment. Since June 20, 2025, late fees are capped at five percent of rent and applicant screening fees are capped at $50.

1. Grounds

New Mexico has no just-cause requirement for ending a periodic tenancy, and no political subdivision may enact rent control on privately owned property (§ 47-8A-1). An owner may bring an action for possession when the resident is in default in rent; when there is a material noncompliance with the rental agreement that gives a right to terminate; when the resident knowingly commits, or consents to another person committing, a substantial violation; or in two code-related situations (§ 47-8-40(A)).

Substantial violation is a closed list: conduct in the unit, on the premises or within 300 feet of the premises: controlled substance offenses (excluding misdemeanor possession and use), unlawful use of a deadly weapon, unlawful action causing serious physical harm, sexual assault or molestation, entry into another person’s dwelling or vehicle with intent to commit theft or assault, theft or attempted theft by force, or intentional or reckless property damage over $1,000 (§ 47-8-3).

Retaliation for a protected act within the previous six months is a defense to possession and costs the owner two times the monthly rent (§§ 47-8-39, 47-8-48(C)).

2. Notices

• Unpaid rent: three-day notice (§ 47-8-33(D)). The written notice must state the nonpayment and your intention to terminate the rental agreement. If the resident tenders the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, before the three days expire, any action for nonpayment is barred. Late fees may not exceed five percent of the rent for the period in default and are calculated on rent only, and to charge one you must give notice of it no later than the last day of the next rental period after the default (§ 47-8-15(D)).
• Material noncompliance: seven-day notice (§ 47-8-33(A), (C)). For a first material breach of the rental agreement, or a breach of the resident’s duties in § 47-8-22 that materially affects health and safety, the notice must specify the acts and omissions, including the dates and specific facts, and state that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than seven days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in seven days. It must also state that the agreement will terminate on a second material noncompliance within six months. To be effective, the notice must be given within 30 days of the breach or of your knowledge of it.
• Second breach within six months: seven days, no cure (§ 47-8-33(B)). The notice again gives dates and specific facts and states a termination date not less than seven days after receipt. A breach more than six months after the first is a new initial breach.
• Substantial violation: three-day notice, no cure (§ 47-8-33(I)). The notice must specify the time, place and nature of the act and state that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than three days after receipt.
• Ending a periodic tenancy (§ 47-8-37). Month-to-month: written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice. Week-to-week: at least seven days before the termination date in the notice.
• Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice; check before relying on a three-day notice alone.

How notices must be delivered (§ 47-8-13(D)). A nonpayment notice is effective only when hand delivered or mailed to the resident, or posted on an exterior door of the dwelling unit. For every other written notice to a resident, posting alone is not enough: even if you post, you must also mail the notice by first class mail or hand deliver it. A posted notice must be taped to a door on all sides, or placed in a fixture or receptacle designed for notices or mail. The date of posting must be written in any notice that is posted, mailed or hand delivered, and that date is the effective date of the notice. If a mailed notice comes back undeliverable, or the last known address is the vacated unit, you must serve at least one more notice at any alternative address the resident gave you (§ 47-8-13(F)).

Counting days. The seven-day and substantial violation periods run from the resident’s receipt of the notice. When the last day to remedy a breach falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the period extends to the next day that is neither (§ 47-8-33(H)). The Act adds no fixed days for mailing, but a notice takes effect when it comes to the resident’s attention or would have with reasonable diligence (§ 47-8-13(E)), so allow delivery time if you mail.

3. Filing

File a petition for restitution with the clerk of the magistrate or district court, or the Metropolitan Court in Bernalillo County. The petition must state the facts with particularity, reasonably describe the premises, and show compliance with the Act’s notice provisions (§ 47-8-42). The approved form is Form 4-904. The Metropolitan Court’s pamphlet says to attach the lease and every notice and lists a $77 filing fee, the figure also shown on the state courts’ self-help site; confirm the fee in your court.

The court may grant relief only on the grounds set out in the written notice you served (§ 47-8-33(G)). In magistrate and metropolitan court, the civil rules allow an appearance without an attorney in a case under the Act by the “owner” as the Act defines it or by the person authorized to manage the premises, and by an authorized shareholder or member of a closely held corporation or LLC whose owners are all natural persons active in the business (Rules 2-107(B) and 3-107(B) NMRA; Form 4-403). We did not verify the rule for district court, where entities generally need counsel; ask the clerk before filing in an entity’s name.

4. Summons, service and the trial

The summons issues with a copy of the petition attached and is served under the New Mexico rules of civil procedure (§ 47-8-43(A); Form 4-905). The courts’ self-help materials describe service by the sheriff, a private process server or any non-party 18 or older: personally on the resident, on a person 15 or older who lives at the residence, or by posting on the front door with a full copy also mailed. The magistrate court service rule (Rule 2-202 NMRA) is to the same effect; read the rule for your court.

Trial on an owner’s petition must be set not less than seven nor more than ten days after service of the summons (§ 47-8-43(A)(1)). For good cause the court may continue the hearing up to seven days (§ 47-8-43(B)). The resident may answer on or before the trial date and assert any defense, setoff or counterclaim (§ 47-8-45). If a properly served resident does not appear, the court tries the case as though the resident were present (§ 47-8-44). The prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs (§ 47-8-48(A)).

Substantial violation defenses. It is a defense that the resident is a victim of domestic violence, and if the resident has filed for or obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order arising from the incident or a prior one, the writ may not issue. In other cases where domestic violence is raised as a defense, the court may evict only the resident accused of the violation and let the tenancy of the other residents continue (§ 47-8-33(J)). Lack of knowledge and lawful self-defense are also defenses. A substantial violation case found frivolous or brought in bad faith costs the owner a civil penalty of two times the monthly rent plus damages and costs (§ 47-8-33(J) to (M)).

5. Judgment, pay-and-stay and appeal

Conditional writ in disputed rent cases. If the resident disputed the amount owed because the resident abated rent under the Act, or because the owner allocated rent payments to damages, and the owner prevails, the court must enter a writ conditioned on the resident’s right to remedy within three days of entry of judgment. If the judgment is satisfied in that time the writ is dismissed; if not, the owner may execute without a further order (§ 47-8-33(E)).

• Appeal deadline. Either party may appeal as in other civil actions (§ 47-8-47(A)). The appeal goes to the district court within 15 days after judgment, from magistrate court (§ 35-13-1) and from the Metropolitan Court, where it is heard de novo (§ 34-8A-6(C)).
• Stay of the writ. A resident’s appeal stays the writ only if, within five days of filing the notice of appeal, the resident pays to the owner or a professional escrow agent the rent coming due from the day after judgment through the end of that rental period, and then keeps paying the monthly rent as it comes due during the appeal. A subsidized resident pays only the resident’s own share (§ 47-8-47(A)).
• If appeal rent is missed, the owner may serve a three-day notice; if it stays unpaid the court holds a hearing within ten days and, absent legal justification, lifts the stay (§ 47-8-47(A)).

6. The writ and the lockout

On a judgment for the owner the court declares the rental agreement forfeited and, on request, issues a writ of restitution directing the sheriff to restore possession on a specified date not less than three nor more than seven days after entry of judgment (§ 47-8-46; Form 4-913). Per the Metropolitan Court pamphlet, only the sheriff’s office may carry out the eviction, and it charges a fee.

Tenant property (§ 47-8-34.1). After a writ of restitution, the owner has no obligation to store property left behind after three days following execution of the writ, unless the parties agree otherwise, and may then dispose of it without further notice or liability. Without a writ the rules differ: after abandonment, store the property at least 30 days and give written notice of a disposal date at least 30 days out; after a voluntary surrender, store it at least 14 days.

Self-help. Without a court order an owner may not knowingly exclude or remove a resident, or threaten or attempt to, by means such as changing locks, blocking the entrance, interfering with utilities or removing the resident’s property (§ 47-8-36(A)). The resident may abate 100 percent of the rent for each day affected, recover damages, seek restitution or terminate, and the owner is liable for two times the monthly rent (§§ 47-8-36(C), 47-8-48(C)).

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Laws 2025, ch. 122 (Senate Bill 267), effective June 20, 2025. The late fee cap dropped from ten percent to five percent of rent, calculated on rent only and excluding deposits, other fees and utilities (§ 47-8-15(D)). The act also requires all rental costs and fees to be itemized in published listings (§ 47-8-19.1), caps the applicant screening fee at $50 with refund duties (§ 47-8-19.2), and requires at least 60 days’ written notice to increase a fee under a rental agreement (§ 47-8-19.4). An unauthorized screening fee costs the owner $250 plus a refund (§ 47-8-48(B)), and charging an applicant a prohibited or unpublished fee is also an unfair trade practice.
• Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program (2022). The Supreme Court began the program in Curry and Roosevelt counties on February 1, 2022 and phased it in statewide from April 1 to July 1, 2022 as its pandemic stay on nonpayment evictions was lifted. As announced, if both sides agree, a case is held at least 30 days while a court facilitator helps them negotiate. The courts’ current landlord-tenant self-help page does not mention the program, and we could not confirm whether or how the court program operates today, so ask your court.
• 2026 session. We found no enacted change to the Act or to eviction procedure in the Legislative Council Service’s summary of the 2026 regular session, but we could not run a full bill search; confirm current text.

What actually goes wrong

• Posting a seven-day or substantial violation notice and nothing more, leaving the posting date off, or taping one corner. Posting alone works only for nonpayment (§ 47-8-13(D)).
• A noncompliance notice without dates and specific facts, without the second-breach warning, or sent more than 30 days after you learned of the breach.
• Refusing full payment inside the three days, which bars the nonpayment action (§ 47-8-33(D)).
• Changing locks or cutting utilities instead of waiting for the sheriff: full rent abatement, damages and two times the monthly rent.

When to bring in an attorney

Use counsel for substantial violation cases; when the resident claims abatement, retaliation or a counterclaim; for subsidized housing; when the owner is an entity; and for any appeal. The New Mexico attorneys listed below represent landlords in the magistrate, metropolitan and district courts.

Sources

• Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 47-8-3, 47-8-10, 47-8-13, 47-8-15, 47-8-19.1 to 47-8-19.4, 47-8-33, 47-8-34.1, 47-8-36, 47-8-37, 47-8-39, 47-8-40 to 47-8-48 (2025 codification).
• NMSA 1978, § 47-8A-1 (rent control prohibited); § 35-13-1 (magistrate court appeals); § 34-8A-6 (metropolitan court appeals).
• Laws 2025, ch. 122 (Senate Bill 267), New Mexico Legislature bill page and final text.
• New Mexico Supreme Court civil forms 4-403, 4-904, 4-905, 4-909 and 4-913 (nmcourts.gov); Rules 2-107, 2-202 and 3-107 NMRA.
• New Mexico Courts landlord-tenant self-help page; Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court pamphlet SH-109 (September 2024).
• New Mexico courts news releases of January 4 and March 16, 2022 (Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program).
• Legislative Council Service, Highlights of the 2026 session.

This guide is general information about New Mexico procedure and is not legal advice. Practice and fees vary by court. Confirm the current text before relying on any deadline.