New Mexico Tenant Information

New Mexico Tenant Information – Renters Rights

 

Your rights and the lease agreement

A lease agreement outlines the responsibilities of both you (as the renter) and your landlord. As such it also protects your rights.

Many lease terms and sections are standard:

• The date range of your tenancy
• The amount of rent, when it’s due, and late fees, if any
• Additional fees, like security deposit and last month’s rent
• What repair and maintenance your landlord is responsible for
• Any limits on how you may use the property Sometimes a lease contains terms that could cause problems for you down the line. Examples may include automatic rent increases or your advance agreement to any future rules the landlord may put in place.

You have the right to ask the landlord to take those items out of the lease before you sign it, although they may also refuse.

However, once signed, the lease becomes legally binding. You must both live up to its terms. If one of you breaks the terms, the other can take legal action to enforce it.

 

Tenants Defending an Eviction Forms

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Tenant Defence Forms

 

Renters’ rights and security deposits

It is standard for landlords to require a security deposit from renters. It helps protect them if you damage the rental or leave without warning.

However, there are rules about collecting and using it:

• Many states limit the amount of a security deposit
• Your state may require landlords deposit the money in a separate account and/or pay you interest on it
• When you leave, your landlord can use the money only for certain things and must send you an itemized statement of how it was used
• Any unused amount must be returned to you within a reasonable amount of time, as defined by your state
• You can help ensure you get your whole deposit back by documenting the condition of the apartment before you move in and again after you leave

 

Landlords’ maintenance responsibilities

Tenants’ rights include the right to a livable apartment or house:

• It should be safe, clean, and meet building codes
• Windows and door locks should work
• Water, appliances, and toilets should work
• The roof must be sound If anything major breaks, the landlord should make repairs quickly.

 

Landlords’ right to enter

Because renters’ rights also include rights to privacy, your landlord has a limited right to enter your unit. Your landlord must let you know when someone will need access to your rental for any reason, including making repairs you have asked for.

In most cases, you must give permission before anyone can enter. Emergencies are an exception.

 

Fair Housing Act protections

The federal Fair Housing Act and its amendments make it illegal for landlords to discriminate, either before or after you sign a lease, for any of these reasons:

• Race
• Religion
• National origin
• Familial status (includes pregnant women)
• Age
• Disability or handicap
• Gender This means, for example, that landlords can’t state a preference in ads or have different rental policies based on any of these factors.

If you believe you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some states and municipalities have their own laws that may add other protections.

 

Renters’ rights during eviction

Landlords must have a good reason to evict you, and they must follow strict rules for doing so.

Each state has its own procedures, but in general, the landlord has to terminate your tenancy before starting eviction proceedings. You’ll get a written notice telling you what the problem is and giving you a choice of fixing it by a certain date or moving out.

If you ignore a termination notice, your landlord can begin eviction proceedings. This is a kind of lawsuit, so it involves sending you a summons and complaint through the courts.

However, landlords can’t just move your belongings onto the street. They must arrange for the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement office to escort you off the property. You should also get one last chance to leave on your own, before the sheriff shows up.

Renters’ rights vary somewhat by state, but the basic right to a livable home and privacy is consistent. You can help protect your rights by understanding your state’s laws and everything in your lease before you sign it.

When can a landlord evict a residential tenant?

A landlord must use the courts to evict a residential tenant. It is un-lawful for a landlord to remove a tenant without first obtaining a court order to do so. Before asking a judge to evict, however, the landlord must give the tenant written notice that he or she is terminating the rental agreement. There are two reasons a land-lord can use to terminate a rental agreement: “good cause” and “no cause”. Private landlords who have month-to-month or week-to-week tenants can usually terminate a rental agreement for “no cause”—so long as the reason for the termination is lawful.

 

How much notice must a landlord give in order to terminate a rental agreement for “no cause”?

A month-to-month tenant is entitled to a minimum of 30 days’ written notice of the landlord’s intention to end the agreement. A week-to-week tenant is entitled to one week’s written notice. A tenant who believes he or she got a “no cause” termination notice for an unstated, unlawful reason should get legal advice immediately.

 

When does a termination notice start to run?

If a notice is delivered in person, the tenant starts counting the notice period at the time he or she gets the notice. If the notice is mailed and posted, the date of the posting begins the notice period—not the date the tenant receives the mailed copy.

 

When is it unlawful for a landlord to terminate a rental agreement?

It is not lawful to terminate a rental agreement, including a month-to-month or week-to-week rental agreement because:

• a tenant requested repairs or complained about other things that the landlord is responsible for
• a tenant “abated” rent because of a significant repair need at the rental unit
• a tenant reported a building or fire code violation to an official
• the landlord learns that the tenant is involved in organizing or is a member of a tenants union
• the landlord learns the the tenant has filed a housing discrimination complaint against the landlord
• a tenant succeeds in winning a case in which the landlord attempted to evict the tenant
• a tenant has testified in court on behalf of another tenant in a case against he landlord

These reasons make a termination unlawful even if the landlord says it is for “no cause”. If a landlord tries to terminate the rental agreement for any of these reasons for at least six months after any of these reasons arises, the law considers them “retaliatory”. Even if a landlord uses other methods to “encourage” a tenant to move—such as reducing or stopping utilities or other services or increasing the rent or fees, a tenant who shows a court that the motive was retaliation will be allowed to remain in the unit, and should be awarded damages and a civil penalty against the landlord. There are other reasons to evict that are unlawful because they violate the tenants’ civil rights. A landlord is unwise to try to terminate a rental agreement after a tenant rebuffs sexual advances by the landlord or an agent of the landlord or because of the tenant’s religion, race, national origin, sex, family status, sexual orientation or identity, disability or ethnic background.
A landlord who tries to evict or reduces services or engages in harassing behavior to get a tenant to move for these reasons can be liable in a housing discrimination lawsuit for thousands of dollars in damages and can be enjoined from evicting the tenant. For more information about illegal housing discrimination, see LawHelpNewMexico topic, “Housing Discrimination”.

 

When can a landlord terminate a rental agreement for good cause?

Every landlord always has the right to terminate a rental agreement for a legitimate “good cause”. Like “no cause” terminations, good cause terminations must be for a lawful good cause—not for retaliation or illegal discrimination. Private landlords who use fixed-term rental agreements can terminate those agreements only for good cause during the term of the agreement. In government-operated public housing and in some kinds of rentals with government subsidies, the landlord may use only good-cause terminations. “Good cause” means a violation of important parts of the rental agreement or valid rules by the tenant. Such violations include:

• not paying rent
• failing to tell the landlord that the tenant will be gone for more than seven days if the rental agreement requires notice
• allowing others to live in the unit without the landlord’s consent when consent is needed
• use of the rental for illegal activities
• use of the rental for business or other purposes not allowed by law or the rental agreement
• conduct that threatens the health or safety of others
• substantial damage to the property of the landlord
• repeatedly or excessively distrubing other tenants
• other violations of the rental agreement or house rules
• keeping an unauthorized pet

Depending on the type of violation and the type of notice the landlord gives, sometimes the tenant has the right to correct the problem the landlord is complaining about so that the tenant can continue to live in the rental. In some cases, the tenant is not guilty of the conduct the landlord is complaining about; the parties may be able to work out the problem informally. If not, the landlord and the tenant will have to give evidence to a court to decide if the tenant must leave.

 

What are the “good cause” notice periods?

The length of the notice period, and the right of the tenant to correct the problem, depends on the cause that the landlord claims as the basis to terminate the tenancy. When a tenant has not paid rent on the day it is due, the landlord can deliver to the tenant a written notice (or post a notice on the main entry door to the tenant’s unit) the next day that gives the tenant three days in which to pay the rent so as to avoid having to go to court to face eviction. If the tenant offers the rent within the three-day notice period, the landlord must accept it and allow the tenancy to continue. A tenant who offers late rent within the time limit should have a witness to the attempt to pay.

For most other kinds of lease violations, the landlord can give a for-cause written notice of the violation. The notice must state very specifically what the violation is, the date the violations occurred, and the date the notice is issued. The notice must tell the tenant he or she has the right to “cure” the violation within seven days beginning the day after receiving the notice. The landlord can deliver the notice, or post the notice on the tenant’s front door and then immediately send a copy of the notice in the mail. The date of the posting starts the time period for the correction. This kind of notice must be delivered or posted and sent within 30 days of when the problem occurred or when the landlord first learned about it or the notice is no longer valid. A tenant who does “cure” should let the landlord know in person or by phone, and follow up with a written statement that the problem has been fixed. It is smart to keep a copy of this report.

If the seven-day notice is for something like a loud party that disturbed neighbors and that is now over, the tenant need do nothing to “cure” except refrain from having more parties. If the tenant cures within the seven-day period, the tenancy should not end. If the tenant does not cure the problem within the period allowed, the landlord can start the court eviction process. The court does not have to let a tenant stay in the rental if the tenant cured the problem after the deadline passed. In a few cases, a tenant may have started to fix the problem but was unable (for reasons outside the tenant’s control) to finish curing before the time limit. If the court believes the tenant made a good-faith effort to fix the problem as quickly as possible, the tenant may be allowed to stay. If the tenant violates the rental agreement again within six months after receiving a seven-day notice, the landlord can give another seven-day notice. This time, however, the notice does not have to allow the tenant to cure the problem. If there are no problems within the six months after the original notice, the landlord can no longer use that notice as the basis for a later seven-day notice without giving the tenant the chance to fix the problem. In some cases, the landlord may have given a seven-day notice for such minor problems that they do not qualify as reasons to evict the tenant.

The tenant should get legal advice as soon as possible about how serious a claim must be for it to allow a landlord to terminate the agreement. For a very few kinds of lease violations, the tenant gets a very short notice—and no opportunity to cure. This notice gives the tenant three days in which to move out after the landlord claims that the tenant has committed a “substantial violation”. In this kind of notice, the landlord says that the tenant or someone at the rental with the tenant’s consent committed a serious crime or the equivalent of a crime. Just as with a seven-day notice, the landlord must state very clearly what the violation was that gave rise to the notice, including times and dates. Some landlords use this notice when they have no right to do so—when the violations they are complaining about were not serious and were problems the tenant had the right to cure. It is important for the tenant who receives this kind of notice to get legal help right away to determine if the notice was justified. If it was not, the land-lord likely will be unsuccessful in getting the court to evict the tenant based on the notice.

Can a landlord ever evict a tenant without going to court first?

No. Some landlords try to “evict” by locking tenants out of their homes, shutting off utilities, even claiming they have already been to court without notifying the tenant. A few landlords are even able to convince police officers to accompany them and assist them in illegal attempts to evict. A tenant should demand to see any court order the landlord claims to have obtained, and to call the police if the landlord tries to remove the tenant physically from the home. The tenant should report any police officer who offers to help the landlord “encourage” the tenant to move without first going through the court process. The tenant should get legal advice and assistance as soon as possible to find out how to protect his or her rights in these situations.

 

Are the termination rules the same in public housing and in mobile home parks?

The definition of “public” housing can include housing operated by a housing authority or other government entity, private housing in which landlords accept tenants who receive a rent subsidy, and various kinds of housing that are government-funded and operated by private persons. The rules are similar among these different types of housing, but they are not the same. Tenants in these types of housing may have different rights that they should talk about with an attorney as soon as they receive a notice of termination. The rules for terminating rental agreements in mobile home parks also differ from non-park rentals; getting legal advice about tenants’ rights in parks is important.

 

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