Landlord Won't Make Repairs in New Mexico: What Can I Do?
Under New Mexico law, your landlord must keep your home safe and in working order. If your landlord will not fix problems, this page covers what to do: ask in writing, lower your rent, or end the lease. Some cities add stricter rules. Check your city's guide.
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New Mexico law makes your landlord follow local housing codes for health and safety. Your landlord must make repairs needed to keep your home safe, and keep common areas safe too. Your landlord must keep electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and other systems your landlord supplies in good working order.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord must supply running water, a reasonable amount of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat. This duty does not apply to a building the law does not require to have heat or hot water. It also does not apply if only you control the heater and you pay the gas or electric company directly for it.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Write to your landlord describing the repair problem. If your landlord does not fix it within 7 days of your notice, you can lower your rent. You can lower it by one third for each day the problem continues, counted from the day you gave notice. For example, if your daily rent is $30, that is about $10 off for each day. This does not cover amenities (extras that would not seriously affect your health, safety, or whether your home is fit to live in). If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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This rule is for a New Mexico home that is not fit to live in because of a repair problem. First give your landlord written notice. Your landlord then has 7 days to fix it. If not, and you move out because the home is not fit to live in, you can lower your rent by 100%. For example, 100% of $900 rent is $900, so you pay nothing. That lasts until your landlord fixes it. This does not cover amenities (extras that would not seriously affect your health, safety, or whether your home is fit to live in). If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord seriously fails to follow the lease or the repair law, New Mexico gives you repair rights. They include lowering your rent, ending your lease, suing for money, or asking a court to order repairs. You lose all of these rights if you, a family member, or a guest you allowed in caused the problem on purpose or carelessly. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If the problem is only because of something beyond your landlord's control, you can still lower your rent or end the lease. You cannot sue for money or ask a court to order the repair in that case. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord still has not fixed the problem, you can lower your rent yourself. Take off one third of your daily rent for each day, counted from the day you gave notice until the repair is done. If your rent is $900 a month, your daily rent is about $30, and one third of that is $10 a day. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Say your landlord still has not fixed the problem, and your home is now uninhabitable (not fit to live in) because of it. If you do not live there for that reason, you owe no rent for each day from your notice until the problem is fixed. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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For one repair problem in one rental period, you can pick only one of these: lower your rent, or end the lease. You cannot do both for the same problem in the same rental period. For a new problem, or the same problem in a later rental period, you can pick again. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord seriously breaks the lease, or breaks state repair rules that seriously affect your health and safety, you can end the lease. Send your landlord a written notice describing the problem. It must say the lease ends at least 7 days after your landlord gets it. The lease does not end if your landlord makes a real effort to fix the problem by then. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord seriously breaks the lease or the state repair rules, you can sue for money for the harm caused. You can also ask a court to order the repair. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. Whoever wins this kind of lawsuit can also make the other side pay reasonable lawyer fees and court costs.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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You can ask your city or county to inspect your home. If it is very unsafe, an inspector can close it and make everyone leave right away. This can happen even if you asked for the inspection.
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If you follow your lease and New Mexico renter law, your landlord cannot punish you for using your rights under this law. Your landlord cannot raise your rent, cut your services, or start or threaten an eviction case because of it. New Mexico protects you for 6 months after you complain to a code agency, ask for repairs in writing, or lower your rent.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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New Mexico law bans your landlord from punishing you for using your rights as a renter. This includes asking in writing for repairs or reporting a housing code problem. This protection covers the 6 months before your landlord's action. It only applies if you are not breaking your lease or another part of this law. If your landlord punishes you this way, you can use it as a defense in an eviction case against you. A landlord who does this also owes you 2 times your monthly rent. If your rent is $900 a month, 2 times that is $1,800. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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