New Mexico Eviction Notice
New Mexico eviction notice: 3-day pay-or-quit and 7-day cure-or-quit rules under NMSA 47-8-33. Free official-form template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord, called an "owner" under New Mexico law, serves on a tenant, called a "resident," to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a Petition by Owner for Restitution in court. What follows on this page is that actual notice document, not a general walkthrough of how New Mexico eviction law works: the New Mexico Supreme Court has approved fill-in-the-blank forms for each notice type, Rules 4-901, 4-901A, 4-902, and 4-903, and this template mirrors their required content. Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-day pay-or-quit notice, a lease or Act violation gets a 7-day cure-or-quit notice, and a serious "substantial violation," drug activity, weapons, violence, or property damage over $1,000, gets a 3-day notice with no chance to fix it. New Mexico's sharpest quirk sits inside that 7-day notice: the first noncompliance notice is curable, correct the problem within 7 days and the rental agreement continues, but a second material noncompliance within 6 months of the first gets its own 7-day notice with no cure right at all. Service is looser than many states too: a nonpayment notice is valid if hand-delivered, mailed, or posted on the door, each method sufficient on its own, while every other notice type requires mailing if the landlord posts instead of hand-delivering. New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978 Sections 47-8-1 through 47-8-52, governs the entire process. Serve the wrong notice type, or the wrong day count, and the case can be dismissed or delayed.
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Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord (called an "owner" in New Mexico) must serve on a tenant (called a "resident") to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a Petition by Owner for Restitution in court.
- 2
New Mexico's Supreme Court has approved official fill-in-the-blank notice forms for this document: NMRA Rules 4-901 (nonpayment), 4-901A (substantial violation), 4-902 (noncompliance), and 4-903 (no-cause termination), a level of prescribed content most states don't have.
- 3
Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-day pay-or-quit notice. Tendering the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, before the 3 days expire bars the eviction entirely. (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-33(D))
- 4
A curable lease or Act violation gets a 7-day cure-or-quit notice, but only the first time: a second material noncompliance within 6 months of the first gets its own 7-day notice with no right to cure at all. (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-33(A), (B))
- 5
A "substantial violation," drug activity, unlawful weapon use, serious physical harm, sexual assault, unlawful entry to commit theft or assault, theft by force, or property damage over $1,000, occurring on or within 300 feet of the premises, gets a 3-day notice with no cure offered from the start. (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-33(I))
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The governing law is the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978 Sections 47-8-1 through 47-8-52, which sets the notice rules and the court process (a Petition by Owner for Restitution) that follows if the resident doesn't comply.
- 7
Service has no strict priority order like some states: a nonpayment notice is valid if hand-delivered, mailed, or posted on an exterior door, each sufficient alone. For every other notice type, hand delivery alone is enough, but a posted notice must also be mailed. (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-13(D))
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in New Mexico, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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New Mexico Requirements for Eviction Notice
Governing Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (New Mexico Statutes Sections 47-8-1 to 47-8-52)
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the Petition by Owner for Restitution process that follows if the resident does not comply: New Mexico Statutes Annotated (NMSA) 1978, Sections 47-8-1 through 47-8-52, the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act.
Notice Period for Curable Noncompliance, First Notice (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-8-33(A), (C))
7-day cure-or-quit notice for an initial material noncompliance with the rental agreement or a health/safety violation. The notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach, including dates and specific facts, and must be given within 30 days of the breach occurring or the owner learning of it.
Service of Notice Requirements (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-8-13(D))
A nonpayment-of-rent notice is effective if hand delivered, mailed, or posted on an exterior door of the dwelling unit, each method sufficient on its own. For every other notice type, hand delivery alone is sufficient, but if the notice is posted instead, a mailed copy must also be sent by first class mail or hand delivery.
Notice Period for Nonpayment of Rent (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-8-33(D))
3-day pay-or-quit notice. Tendering the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, before the 3-day period expires bars any eviction action for nonpayment of rent entirely; a petition filed before the third day has fully elapsed is premature and must be dismissed.
No-Cure Notice for Repeat Noncompliance and Substantial Violations (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-8-33(B), (I))
A second material noncompliance within 6 months of the first gets its own 7-day notice with no right to cure. Separately, a "substantial violation" (drug activity, unlawful weapon use, serious physical harm, sexual assault, unlawful entry to commit theft or assault, theft by force, or property damage over $1,000, on or within 300 feet of the premises) gets a 3-day notice with no cure offered from the first notice.
Official Prescribed Notice Forms (NMRA Rules 4-901, 4-901A, 4-902, 4-903)
New Mexico's Supreme Court has approved specific fill-in-the-blank forms for each pre-filing notice type: Rule 4-901 (three-day nonpayment), Rule 4-901A (three-day substantial violation), Rule 4-902 (seven-day noncompliance), and Rule 4-903 (thirty-day or one-week termination). These forms are published on the New Mexico Courts website and referenced in the Supreme Court Law Library's landlord-tenant resource guide.
No-Cause Termination Notice Period (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-8-37)
Distinct from the for-cause notices above: ending a week-to-week residency without cause requires at least 7 days' written notice, and ending a month-to-month residency without cause requires at least 30 days' written notice prior to the periodic rental date.