How much notice must a landlord give before entering in New Mexico?
New Mexico landlords must give 24 hours' written notice before entering a rental unit, and the notice must state the purpose, the date, and a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry.
Cited to NMSA 1978 § 47-8-24 (A)-(F) · Verified October 1, 2026
Permitted reasons cover inspections, repairs, decorations, alterations, improvements, agreed services, and showings to prospective purchasers, lenders, tenants, workmen or contractors. Three no-notice paths exist: emergencies; repairs or services performed within seven days of the tenant's own request; and entry alongside a public official conducting an inspection or a cable, electric, gas or telephone company representative. The 24-hour rule is a default the parties may alter by agreement ('unless otherwise agreed'), and the tenant can propose alternate entry times that the landlord must try to accommodate where that is practicable or will not cause the landlord economic detriment. A tenant who refuses lawful access, or a landlord who enters unlawfully, unreasonably, or with harassing repeated demands, faces injunctive relief or lease termination plus damages. There are no statutory time-of-day limits.
New Mexico entry notice at a glance
| Advance notice required | 24 hours |
|---|---|
| Notice standard | The notice must be in writing, and it must state the intent to enter, the purpose for entry, and the date and a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry (47-8-24(A)(1)). The full rule: unless otherwise agreed by owner and resident, entry is allowed only after giving the resident twenty-four hours' written notification carrying those contents. |
| Permitted reasons | An owner may enter to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, prospective residents, workmen or contractors (47-8-24(A)). No advance notice is required to perform repairs or services within seven days of the resident's own request, or when the owner is accompanied by a public official conducting an inspection or a cable television, electric, gas or telephone company representative (47-8-24(A)(2)). Otherwise access exists only by court order, or on abandonment, surrender, or the resident's absence of more than seven days under 47-8-34 (47-8-24(D)). |
| Emergency exception | Yes |
| Time-of-day restrictions | New Mexico sets no clock hours on entry. The only timing constraints are that the written notice must state the date and a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry, and that the owner must attempt to reasonably accommodate resident-requested alternate times when it is practicable or will not result in economic detriment to the owner (47-8-24(A)(3)). |
Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, New Mexico Landlord Entry Notice Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/entry-notice/new-mexico/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.
Notes and caveats
- The notice must be written, and its contents are specified — 47-8-24(A)(1) requires 'twenty-four hours written notification' stating the intent to enter, the purpose, the date, and a reasonable estimate of the time frame.
- The 24 hours can be modified by agreement — The lead-in 'unless otherwise agreed upon by the owner and resident' makes the whole 24-hour default waivable or modifiable, so lease clauses shortening it are enforceable.
- Asking for a repair opens a seven-day no-notice window — No advance notice is required to perform repairs or services within seven days of the resident's own request — in effect, a tenant who asks for a repair has consented to unannounced entry to perform it for the next seven days.
- No notice when an inspector or a utility representative accompanies the owner — No notice is required when the owner is accompanied by a public official conducting an inspection, or by a cable television, electric, gas or telephone company representative (47-8-24(A)(2)).
- The residual access list is exhaustive — 47-8-24(D) closes the set: court order, abandonment or surrender, or the resident's absence of more than seven days under 47-8-34. 47-8-25 separately lets the rental agreement require notification of extended absences over seven days.
- Remedies run both ways, with no damages floor — Under subsections (E) and (F) either side can obtain injunctive relief or termination plus damages. There is no statutory minimum-damages figure in New Mexico, so do not import other states' one-month floors.
- Currency — The section was last amended by Laws 1995, ch. 195, § 10. 2025's SB 267 did not touch it, and the official compilation current through the 2026 session carries the 24-hour figure unchanged.
Common questions: New Mexico entry notice
Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.
- How many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in New Mexico?
- 24 hours. The notice must be in writing, and it must state the intent to enter, the purpose for entry, and the date and a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry (47-8-24(A)(1)).
- What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in New Mexico?
- An owner may enter to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, prospective residents, workmen or contractors (47-8-24(A)).
- Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in New Mexico?
- Yes — New Mexico recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.
- Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in New Mexico?
- New Mexico sets no clock hours on entry.
Citations
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-24 · (A)-(F) (verified 2026) Official source
How this record was verified: Read on the New Mexico Compilation Commission's site (nmonesource.com), the official publisher of the New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978: Chapter 47 in the compilation current through the 2026 session, for the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (sections 47-8-1 to 47-8-52), section 47-8A-1 on rent control and the Mobile Home Park Act (sections 47-10-1 to 47-10-23), with chapters 12, 14, 34, 35 and 39 and the court rules (Rule Sets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 12 NMRA) for the eviction answers. The final version of 2025 Senate Bill 267 (Laws 2025, ch. 122, signed April 8, 2025, effective June 20, 2025) was read on nmlegis.gov for the current text of section 47-8-15 (the 5% late fee), new sections 47-8-19.1 to 47-8-19.4 and amended section 47-8-48. The 2026 regular session adjourned on February 19, 2026; Senate Bill 138 (repeal of the rent control prohibition) died in committee, and no act of that session amended the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act. Every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was last read on October 1, 2026. The codes of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Farmington, Roswell, Bernalillo County, Sandoval County and Los Alamos County were searched the same day for local eviction ordinances.