How to Evict a Tenant in New Mexico: Laws, Process, and Timeline
New Mexico Eviction Timeline 2026: The Writ Gives a 3-to-7-Day Range, Not a Flat 3 Days
New Mexico’s Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 47, Article 8, runs the eviction lawsuit as a petition for restitution, filed with the clerk of the district or magistrate court (§ 47-8-42).
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | 3 days | NMSA § 47-8-33(D) | Yes — paying the full amount due, in the manner the notice specifies, before the 3 days run bars a nonpayment action entirely |
| Material lease violation, or noncompliance with § 47-8-22 materially affecting health and safety, first occurrence | 7 days to cure | NMSA § 47-8-33(A) | Yes — remedying the breach within the 7 days stops termination |
| Second material violation within 6 months of the first | 7 days, no cure right | NMSA § 47-8-33(B) | No — the second notice only states the termination date |
| Substantial violation, knowingly committed or consented to by the resident — for example, a controlled-substance offense other than misdemeanor possession or use, unlawful use of a deadly weapon, serious physical harm, sexual assault, or intentional or reckless property damage over $1,000 | 3 days, unconditional | NMSA § 47-8-33(I); definition in § 47-8-3(T) | No — though the resident may raise the defenses in § 47-8-33(J)-(L): being a domestic-violence victim, not knowing of and being unable to prevent another person’s violation, or acting in lawful self-defense |
| No-cause, month-to-month | 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice | NMSA § 47-8-37(B) | N/A |
| No-cause, week-to-week | 7 days | NMSA § 47-8-37(A) | N/A |
| Holdover after the rental agreement’s term expires, without the owner’s consent | § 47-8-37(C) sets no separate notice period: the owner may bring an action for possession once the resident remains in possession without consent after the term ends; if the holdover is willful and not in good faith, the owner may also recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the owner consents to continued occupancy, § 47-8-15(C) makes the residency week-to-week (weekly rent) or month-to-month, so the 7-day or 30-day notice above applies | NMSA § 47-8-37(C); § 47-8-15(C) | N/A |
New Mexico also protects the last day to fix a problem: when the final day for remedying a breach under a required written notice falls on a weekend or federal holiday, § 47-8-33(H) pushes it to the next day that is neither. Two notice rules shape the first-violation track as well. The initial 7-day notice has to warn that a second material violation within six months will end the tenancy, and it only counts if given within thirty days of the breach or of the owner learning about it (§ 47-8-33(C)). In court, the owner can win only on the grounds written in the notice that was served (§ 47-8-33(G)).
The Court Process
- File. Once notice runs without payment or cure, the owner files a petition for restitution with the district or magistrate court clerk, stating the facts with particularity, describing the premises, and showing compliance with the Act’s notice rules (§ 47-8-42).
- Serve. The summons, with the petition attached, is served under the New Mexico rules of civil procedure (§ 47-8-43(A)).
- Hearing. An owner’s action for possession is set for trial not less than 7 nor more than 10 days after the summons is served; for good cause the court can continue it up to 7 days past the first hearing date (§ 47-8-43).
- Judgment. An owner who prevails gets judgment for restitution of the premises, and the court declares the rental agreement forfeited. Where the resident disputed the amount because of a lawful rent abatement or the owner’s reallocation of rent to damages, § 47-8-33(E) makes the writ conditional: paying the judgment within 3 days of entry gets it dismissed.
- Writ of restitution. The writ directs the sheriff to restore possession on a specified date not less than 3 nor more than 7 days after entry of judgment (§ 47-8-46(A)) — not a fixed 3 days across the board. The date is printed on the writ itself, so the resident learns it when the writ issues rather than being able to count it in advance from the judgment alone.
- Removal. The writ is directed to the sheriff, who restores possession of the premises to the owner on the date specified in it (§ 47-8-46(A)).
What This Costs
No New Mexico filing or service figure is quoted here; the clerk of the district or magistrate court taking the petition for restitution is the reliable source for the current fee schedule, not a flat estimate.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Section 47-8-36 bars an owner from removing or excluding a resident without a court order by changing or plugging locks, blocking the entrance, interfering with utilities such as electricity, gas, water, or heat, removing the resident’s belongings, or pulling out appliances. A resident locked out or cut off can abate 100 percent of the rent for each affected day, claim civil penalties under § 47-8-48, seek restitution of the premises, and recover damages. Section 47-8-39 separately bars retaliation — raising rent, decreasing services, or bringing or threatening an action for possession — against a resident who is in compliance with the rental agreement and who, within the previous six months, complained to a housing-code agency, joined a residents’ union, asked the owner in writing for repairs, made a fair-housing complaint, testified for another resident, or lawfully abated rent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a New Mexico resident always get exactly 3 days to move out once the writ of restitution issues? No — § 47-8-46(A) has the writ restore possession on a specified date between 3 and 7 days after the judgment is entered, not a flat 3 days. The exact date is the one written on the writ.
Can a New Mexico resident cure a lease violation the same way they can cure nonpayment? Only on a first occurrence — a 7-day cure notice applies then. If a second material violation comes within six months of the first, the owner can give a 7-day notice with no right to fix it; a later violation outside that six-month window counts as a new first breach.
Does paying partial rent during the 3-day notice period stop a New Mexico eviction? Under § 47-8-33(D), what bars a nonpayment action is tender of the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, before the 3 days expire. A partial payment does not meet that condition.