New Mexico Roommate Agreement
The New Mexico rules that shape the document: no lodger shortcut, joint and several rent liability by default under a general contracts statute, and a fair housing exemption with New Mexico's own added protected classes.
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Introduction
A roommate agreement is a contract between co-tenants who share a home. It is not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change the terms of the lease the tenants signed. In New Mexico, three things shape the document beyond the national template: the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (UORRA) has no lighter-touch removal process for a roommate, so even a roomer sharing a bathroom or kitchen must go through the same formal, court-ordered eviction as any other tenant; a general contracts statute, not a landlord-tenant law, makes a jointly signed lease joint and several by default, so a landlord may pursue any one signer for the full unpaid rent; and New Mexico's Human Rights Act exempts small owner-occupied households from its housing discrimination rules while adding protected classes beyond the federal list, a combination that changes who a roommate may lawfully select and how carefully they should advertise.
Key Things to Know
- 1
New Mexico has no lodger law and no expedited removal process for a roommate. UORRA defines the term roomer, someone sharing a bathroom or kitchen with other occupants, but never uses that term again in the operative statute, so a roomer gets the exact same formal, court-ordered eviction process as any other tenant (NMSA 1978 Sections 47-8-33 through 47-8-46).
- 2
No New Mexico statute lets one roommate formally remove another. UORRA's eviction process runs only from the owner to a resident (NMSA 1978 Sections 47-8-40 through 47-8-42). A roommate who wants a co-occupant gone without the landlord's cooperation has only self-help, which this agreement does not authorize, or a private agreement.
- 3
New Mexico has no statute giving a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate, the way New York's Real Property Law Section 235-f does. Whether the landlord must consent to a new occupant is governed entirely by the lease, not by state law.
- 4
A New Mexico roommate who is not named on the lease has no independent statutory status. UORRA only defines resident as someone entitled under the rental agreement to occupy the unit (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-3(Q)); whether an unnamed roommate is a cotenant or a subtenant of the signing resident is a question the lease itself must answer.
- 5
New Mexico's general contracts statute, not a landlord-tenant law, converts a jointly signed obligation into a joint and several one (NMSA 1978 Section 38-4-3). Because a co-tenant lease is typically a joint obligation, a landlord may generally pursue any one signer for the full rent, so this agreement should state each roommate's actual payment share.
- 6
UORRA's deposit statute governs only what the owner may demand and how it must be returned (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-18). It says nothing about dividing a shared deposit among roommates or a departing roommate's share, so this agreement is what should set that division.
- 7
New Mexico's Human Rights Act exempts an owner-occupied dwelling of four or fewer families from its housing discrimination rules (NMSA 1978 Section 28-1-9(D)), but where it applies, the Act's protected classes go beyond federal law to include ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, spousal affiliation, and pregnancy or childbirth. Albuquerque, and reportedly Santa Fe, separately protect source of income using a similar owner-occupied carve-out.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in New Mexico, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
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New Mexico Requirements for Roommate Agreement
UORRA defines roomer but never uses the term again in the operative Act, so a roomer is entitled to the same formal notice and court eviction process as any other resident (NMSA 1978 Sections 47-8-33 through 47-8-46). Do not suggest any faster, informal removal process exists for an owner-occupier.
State plainly that the roommate agreement is a contract between roommates only, does not modify the lease, and does not obligate the landlord, and that a roommate not named on the lease has no independent statutory status under UORRA (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-3(Q)).
NMSA 1978 Section 38-4-3 converts a jointly signed obligation into a joint and several one. Flag that this is a general civil statute, not a landlord-tenant rule, and have roommates state their actual payment shares rather than relying on it to define their obligations to each other.
UORRA's deposit statute (NMSA 1978 Section 47-8-18) addresses only the owner's handling of a deposit and is silent on dividing it among roommates. The agreement should set out how a shared deposit is divided when a roommate moves out.
NMSA 1978 Section 28-1-9(D) exempts an owner-occupied dwelling of four or fewer families from the Human Rights Act's housing rules; outside that exemption, Section 28-1-7(G) bars discrimination on classes beyond federal law, including ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, spousal affiliation, and pregnancy or childbirth. Because it is unsettled whether the exemption also reaches advertising, instruct roommates to avoid stating a protected-class preference in any listing regardless of exemption status.
Albuquerque's Human Rights Ordinance adds source of income as a locally protected class using the same four-family, owner-occupied exemption as the state Act. Santa Fe adopted a similar protection effective August 1, 2025. Flag both as local, not statewide, rules and direct Santa Fe roommates to confirm current ordinance text with the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a contract between co-tenants who share a home in New Mexico. It divides rent and expenses, sets house rules, and addresses issues like the security deposit and what happens if a roommate leaves. It is separate from the lease and does not involve the landlord.
No. A New Mexico roommate agreement is a contract only between the roommates. It does not modify the lease, does not add anyone to the lease, and does not obligate the landlord. Whether a new occupant may move in at all is controlled by the lease and the landlord, not by this agreement.
No. New Mexico has no lodger law and no lighter-touch removal process. The Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act routes any removal through its formal notice and court eviction process, and only the landlord, not another roommate, can bring that action.
UORRA defines a roomer as someone occupying a unit that lacks a private bathroom or kitchen, sharing those facilities with other occupants. The term is defined but never used again anywhere else in the Act, so a roomer is treated exactly like any other resident and gets the same formal eviction process, with no expedited removal available to an owner-occupier.
There is no landlord-tenant statute that says so directly, but New Mexico's general contracts statute, NMSA 1978 Section 38-4-3, converts a jointly signed obligation into a joint and several one. Because a jointly signed lease is typically such an obligation, a landlord may generally pursue any one signer for the full rent, so state each roommate's actual share in your agreement.
New Mexico law does not say. UORRA's deposit statute, Section 47-8-18, governs only the owner's handling of a deposit and is silent on dividing it among roommates. Your roommate agreement is the only thing that governs how a shared deposit, or a departing roommate's share of it, is split.
It depends on the household. New Mexico's Human Rights Act protects sexual orientation and gender identity, beyond the federal list, but exempts an owner-occupied dwelling of four or fewer families from its housing rules entirely. Outside that exemption, selecting or advertising based on those characteristics is not allowed.
No. Unlike New York, New Mexico has no statute giving a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate. Whether the landlord must allow a new occupant, and on what terms, is governed entirely by the lease itself.
Yes, locally. Albuquerque's Human Rights Ordinance adds source of income as a protected class, using the same four-family, owner-occupied exemption as the state Human Rights Act. Santa Fe adopted a similar source of income protection effective August 1, 2025; confirm its current terms with the city before relying on it.