Breaking a Lease Early in New Mexico: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you break your lease and it ends, your landlord can claim the rent. Your landlord can also claim money for harm from breaking the lease, and sometimes lawyer fees. Your landlord must try to keep those losses down.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-35, New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   Say you are gone from your home more than 7 days in a row without telling your landlord, and your rent was already late. The law counts your home as abandoned. Your landlord can take it back at once and try to rent it at a fair rent. If a new renter's lease starts before yours would end, your lease ends that day.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-3(A), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.

When you can leave early

3. 3

   If your landlord seriously breaks your lease, send written notice of what they did. Do the same if they break the state renter law and seriously harm health or safety. The law gives them 7 days after getting it to make a reasonable attempt to fix it. If they do not, your lease ends on the date you set, 7 or more days out. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 47-8-27.1(A)(1), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

4. 4

   Your written notice counts as received when you mail it or deliver it to your landlord's place of business where you made your rental agreement. It also counts if you send it to a place your landlord named for notices.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-13(C)(2), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
5. 5

   If fire or other sudden damage (casualty) harms your home so much that enjoying it is substantially impaired, you can move out. Tell your landlord in writing within 7 days after you leave that you are ending your lease. Your lease ends on the day you left. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 47-8-31(A)(1), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
6. 6

   You cannot end your lease over your landlord's breach if you caused the problem on purpose or by being careless. The same goes if a family member, or another person in the home with your consent, caused it.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-27.1(B), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.

How to leave

7. 7

   To end a month-to-month rental (no end date, paid monthly), send your landlord a written notice. Send it at least 30 days before the rent due date named in the notice. To end a week-to-week rental (no end date, paid weekly), send it at least 7 days before the end date named in the notice. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 47-8-37(B), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.

After you move out

8. 8

   Your landlord can use your deposit for unpaid rent or utilities (water, electric, gas), repair work and other legitimate damage. Your landlord cannot keep any of it for normal wear and tear (normal use over time). The written list of what was taken must be item by item, with the balance. It must come within 30 days after your lease ends or you move out, whichever is later.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-18(C), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

9. 9

   If you give up your home on your own, your landlord must store your belongings. This is for at least 14 days from the day you give it up. Your landlord must give you reasonable access to get them. After 14 days, your landlord may get rid of what is left.

   Source:

   1. § 47-8-34.1(B), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
10. 10

    Say you end your lease because your landlord seriously broke it, and you give the home back. Your landlord must return any rent you paid ahead. Your landlord must also return any deposit owed to you under your lease or the state deposit law.

    Source:

    1. § 47-8-27.1(A)(1), New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com). Law.
11. 11

    If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
12. 12

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.