How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in New Mexico?

3 days. One notice does the whole job for unpaid rent: it both demands payment and terminates the agreement, and the resident stops the eviction by tendering the full amount due, in the manner the notice states, before it expires (47-8-33(D)).

How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in New Mexico?

7 days. The first notice for a material breach is always a cure-or-quit notice, and the resident gets a full seven days to fix the problem and keep the tenancy (47-8-33(A)).

How long does an eviction take in New Mexico?

Nonpayment, the fastest track, adds up to 13 statutory days from service of the notice to lockout, which lands around 17 to 19 calendar days once the court-side periods skip weekends and holidays. These are statutory minimums, not observed averages, and contested cases run longer.

How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in New Mexico?

No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes).

Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in New Mexico?

No — New Mexico bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Locking a resident out, changing the locks, removing their property or cutting utilities without a court order is barred by statute, and even threatening or attempting a lockout counts as a violation (NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-36(A)).

What is the eviction process and timeline in New Mexico?

Verified July 24, 2026 All New Mexico topics →

To evict a residential tenant in New Mexico the owner serves one written notice - three days for unpaid rent, or seven days to cure any other material breach - under NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-33, and then files a petition for restitution in the magistrate, metropolitan or district court, where trial must be set not less than seven nor more than ten days after the summons is served.

Cited to NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-3 Subsections M, R, V (definitions of owner, resident, substantial violation) and 42 more New Mexico statutes · Verified July 24, 2026

New Mexico calls the parties the owner and the resident, not landlord and tenant, and calls the case an action for possession under the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act; the possession order is a writ of restitution, and only the sheriff may execute it, on a date the court sets between three and seven days after judgment. The three-day rent notice is the only notice needed for nonpayment and is cured by tendering the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, before it expires; the seven-day notice gives a full seven-day cure right the first time, and only a second material breach within six months of the first - after a compliant first notice that warned about exactly that - can be terminated on seven days with no cure. A separate three-day, no-cure notice is available only for a 'substantial violation', a list of seven serious criminal acts fixed by Section 47-8-3(V). Pre-filing notice periods run in ordinary calendar days, but once the case is filed the court's short deadlines are counted with weekends and court holidays skipped. Locking a resident out, changing locks, removing property or shutting off utilities without a court order is prohibited by Section 47-8-36 and exposes the owner to double the monthly rent plus full rent abatement for every day of the lockout.

New Mexico eviction process at a glance

Nonpayment notice (pay-or-quit)	3 days
Nonpayment notice rules (day counting, cure rights, service)	One notice does the whole job for unpaid rent: it both demands payment and terminates the agreement, and the resident stops the eviction by tendering the full amount due, in the manner the notice states, before it expires (47-8-33(D)). NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-33(D): if rent is unpaid when due and the resident fails to pay within three days after written notice from the owner of nonpayment and the owner's intention to terminate, the owner may terminate and the resident must immediately deliver possession. There is no separate demand for rent and no separate notice to quit; the 3-day notice both demands and terminates. The three days are CALENDAR days, not business or judicial days - and that is a two-layer answer. Rule 2-104(A)(2)(a) NMRA (magistrate; identically Rule 3-104(A)(2)(a) for metropolitan and Rule 1-006(A)(2)(a) for district courts) normally excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays from any period of ten days or less specified 'in any statute', but Rule 2-104(A)(2)(b) expressly provides that 'This subparagraph shall not apply to any statutory notice that is required to be given prior to the filing of an action.' The 3-day notice is therefore counted in straight calendar days. The only weekend adjustment is Section 47-8-33(H): if the LAST day to remedy falls on a weekend or FEDERAL holiday the period runs to the next day that is not a weekend or federal holiday (note: the statute says federal holiday; the court rules use the judiciary's own legal-holiday list, which is longer). Cure: 'tender of the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, prior to the expiration of the three-day notice shall bar any action for nonpayment of rent' (Sec. 47-8-33(D)); the notice must therefore state the amount and the manner of payment. Filing: the owner cannot file the petition for restitution until the day AFTER the third day (Cheng v. Rabey, 2023-NMCA-013, annotated to Sec. 47-8-33 in the official compilation; a petition filed on day three was untimely). Delivery, Sec. 47-8-13(D): 'notice to a resident for nonpayment of rent shall be effective only when hand delivered or mailed to the resident or posted on an exterior door of the dwelling unit' - posting alone suffices for the rent notice (unlike every other UORRA notice, which also requires a mailing or hand delivery); the date of posting must appear on the notice and 'shall constitute the effective date of the notice'; a posted notice must be taped on all sides or left in a fixture designed for notices or mail. No statutory mail-transit add-on: under Sec. 47-8-13(C)(3) a mailed notice is received when mailed. Official Supreme Court approved form: Form 4-901 NMRA, 'Three (3)-day notice of nonpayment of rent'. If the resident disputes the amount because rent was abated under Sec. 47-8-27.1 or 47-8-27.2 or because the owner allocated rent to damages, Sec. 47-8-33(E) requires any writ entered for the owner to be conditioned on a three-day post-judgment right to satisfy the judgment.
Lease-violation notice period	7 days
Lease-violation notice rules (cure vs. termination)	The first notice for a material breach is always a cure-or-quit notice, and the resident gets a full seven days to fix the problem and keep the tenancy (47-8-33(A)). NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-33(A): for noncompliance with the resident's Sec. 47-8-22 duties materially affecting health and safety, or 'upon the initial material noncompliance by the resident with the rental agreement or any separate agreement', the owner must deliver written notice 'specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach, including the dates and specific facts describing the nature of the alleged breach, and stating that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than seven days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in seven days.' Two additional content and timing requirements sit in Sec. 47-8-33(C): the initial notice 'shall state that the rental agreement will terminate upon the second material noncompliance ... within six months of the initial breach', and 'To be effective, any notice pursuant to this subsection shall be given within thirty days of the breach or knowledge thereof.' An initial notice that omits the repeat-violation warning cannot support the later no-cure termination. Counting is in CALENDAR days for the same reason as the rent notice (Rule 2-104(A)(2)(b) / 3-104(A)(2)(b) / 1-006(A)(2)(b) NMRA carve pre-filing statutory notices out of the exclude-weekends rule), with the Sec. 47-8-33(H) last-day rollover for weekends and federal holidays. Delivery under Sec. 47-8-13(D) is stricter than for rent: 'In all other cases where written notice to the resident is required, even if there is a notice by posting, there must also be a mailing of the notice by first class mail or hand delivery of the notice to the resident.' Official form: Form 4-902 NMRA, 'Seven (7)-day notice of noncompliance with rental agreement (other than failure to pay rent)', which is a single form with a 'First notice' box (seven-day cure) and a 'Second notice' box that requires the owner to insert the date of the earlier notice. No-cause termination is separate and is not a Sec. 47-8-33 notice: Sec. 47-8-37(B) requires at least thirty days' written notice before the periodic rental date to end a month-to-month residency, and Sec. 47-8-37(A) requires at least seven days for week-to-week (Form 4-903 NMRA); after the term ends the owner sues for possession under Sec. 47-8-37(C).
Unconditional-quit grounds	Two no-cure routes, and only two. (1) Substantial violation - NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-33(I): if the resident knowingly commits, or consents to another person in the unit or on the premises knowingly committing, a 'substantial violation', the owner delivers written notice 'specifying the time, place and nature of the act constituting the substantial violation and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than three days after receipt of the notice.' No cure right. 'Substantial violation' is exhaustively defined by Sec. 47-8-3(V) as conduct in the unit, on the premises or within three hundred feet of the premises that 'includes the following conduct, which shall be the sole grounds for a substantial violation': possession/use/sale/distribution/manufacture of a controlled substance (excluding misdemeanor possession and use); unlawful use of a deadly weapon; unlawful action causing serious physical harm; sexual assault or molestation; entry into another's dwelling unit or vehicle without permission with intent to commit theft or assault; theft or attempted theft by use or threatened use of force; and intentional or reckless property damage over $1,000. Statutory defenses to a Subsection I action: the resident is a victim of domestic violence and, if a temporary domestic violence restraining order has been filed for or secured, 'the writ of restitution shall not issue' (Sec. 47-8-33(J)); the resident did not know of and could not reasonably have known of or prevented another person's substantial violation (Sec. 47-8-33(K)); the resident acted reasonably and lawfully in defense of self, others or property (Sec. 47-8-33(L)). A frivolous or bad-faith Subsection I action exposes the petitioner to 'a civil penalty equal to two times the amount of the monthly rent, plus damages and costs' (Sec. 47-8-33(M)). Official form: Form 4-901A NMRA. (2) Repeat material noncompliance within six months - Sec. 47-8-33(B): 'Upon the second material noncompliance with the rental agreement or any separate agreement by the resident, within six months of the initial breach', the owner delivers written notice stating 'that the rental agreement shall terminate upon a date not less than seven days after receipt of the notice.' No cure right, but it is a genuinely TWO-notice route: it is available only if a compliant Sec. 47-8-33(A) initial notice carrying the Sec. 47-8-33(C) warning was served for the first breach, and 'If the subsequent breach occurs more than six months after the initial breach, it shall constitute an initial breach' - i.e. the clock resets and the resident gets the seven-day cure again. Grounds on which an action for possession may be brought are listed at Sec. 47-8-40(A).
Court and action	Filed in the district court or the magistrate court for the county where the dwelling unit is located - NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-42 ('The person seeking possession shall file a petition for restitution with the clerk of the district or magistrate court') and Section 47-8-10(A) ('The district or magistrate court of this state may exercise jurisdiction over any person with respect to any conduct in this state governed by the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act'). In Bernalillo County there is no magistrate court: the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court is established for class A counties over 250,000 people (Sec. 34-8A-1) and 'shall constitute a state magistrate court' (Sec. 34-8A-2), with jurisdiction 'In addition to the jurisdiction provided by law for magistrate courts' (Sec. 34-8A-3(A)). NEW MEXICO USES DIFFERENT WORDS THAN EVERY OTHER STATE: the governing law is the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 47-8-1 to 47-8-52; the parties are the 'owner' and the 'resident' (defined at Sec. 47-8-3(M) and (R)), not landlord and tenant; the case is an 'action for possession' commenced by a 'petition for restitution' (Sec. 47-8-41, Sec. 47-8-42) and the possession order is a 'writ of restitution' (Sec. 47-8-46). New Mexico does not use 'unlawful detainer', 'forcible entry and detainer' or 'summary process' for residential rentals - the general forcible-entry-and-detainer statutes, NMSA 1978, Sections 35-10-1 to 35-10-6, are expressly reserved for premises NOT subject to the UORRA or the Mobile Home Park Act (Sec. 47-8-49). Procedure: the UORRA's own Sections 47-8-40 to 47-8-47, plus the Rules of Civil Procedure for the Magistrate Courts (Rule 2-101 et seq. NMRA), for the Metropolitan Courts (Rule 3-101 et seq. NMRA) or for the District Courts (Rule 1-001 et seq. NMRA), and the Supreme Court approved civil forms in Rule Set 4 NMRA (Forms 4-901, 4-901A, 4-902, 4-903 notices; 4-904 petition by owner for restitution; 4-905 summons and notice of trial; 4-907 answer). The petition must plead the facts with particularity, a reasonably accurate description of the premises, and 'the requisite compliance with the notice provisions' of the Act (Sec. 47-8-42(A)-(C)); other causes of action may be joined but must be answered and tried separately if either party asks in writing.
Filing to hearing	Set by statute, not by court rule. NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-43(A): the summons issues with a copy of the petition attached, may be served under the New Mexico rules of civil procedure, and 'Trial of the action for possession shall be set as follows: (1) for any matter brought by the owner for possession, not less than seven or more than ten days after the service of summons; or (2) for any matter brought by the resident for possession, not less than three or more than five days after the service of summons.' Note the trigger is SERVICE of the summons, not filing - the Act sets no deadline for serving the summons, so the elapsed time between filing and service is not statutorily bounded. Section 47-8-43(B) allows one continuance: 'Upon finding of good cause, the court may continue the date of hearing on the action for possession for up to seven days from the date of the initial hearing.' The resident 'may appear and answer and assert any legal or equitable defense, setoff or counterclaim' on or before the day fixed for appearance (Sec. 47-8-45); there is no separate answer deadline for the possession claim, although the summons must state 'the answer day for other causes of action' (Sec. 47-8-43(A)). If the resident does not appear on a properly served summons, 'the court shall try the cause as though he were present' (Sec. 47-8-44) - New Mexico does not enter a clerk's default; the owner still puts on its case. The 7-to-10-day window is a period of ten days or less computed by the court, so under Rule 2-104(A)(2)(a) NMRA (and identical Rules 3-104 and 1-006) intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and judicial legal holidays are EXCLUDED - a 'seven day' setting is roughly nine to eleven calendar days.
Writ of possession and lockout	The order is a 'writ of restitution'. NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-46(A): 'Upon petition for restitution filed by the owner if judgment is rendered against the defendant for restitution of the premises, the court shall declare the forfeiture of the rental agreement and shall, at the request of the plaintiff or his attorney, issue a writ of restitution directing the sheriff to restore possession of the premises to the plaintiff on a specified date not less than three nor more than seven days after entry of judgment.' The writ issues on request at judgment - no separate waiting period before applying - but the court must fix a restoration date in that 3-to-7-day band, and the SHERIFF executes it; the owner may not. Because 3 and 7 are periods of ten days or less computed by the court, Rule 2-104(A)(2)(a) NMRA (identically Rules 3-104 and 1-006) excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and judicial legal holidays, so the earliest lawful restoration date is about five calendar days after judgment. Where the resident disputed the amount owed on an abatement or rent-allocation theory, Section 47-8-33(E) requires the writ to be 'conditioned upon the right of the resident to remedy within three days of entry of judgment'; if the judgment is satisfied in that window the writ is dismissed, and if it is not the owner 'may execute upon the writ without further order of the court.' On a petition brought by the RESIDENT the writ directs the sheriff to restore possession 'within twenty-four hours after entry of judgment' (Sec. 47-8-46(B)). A judgment of restitution is not itself authority to cut services: shutting off utilities before the writ executes violates Sec. 47-8-36(A) (annotation to Sec. 47-8-36 in the official compilation). An appeal by the defendant stays execution of the writ, conditioned on the rent deposit in Sec. 47-8-47(A). In courts operating the judiciary's Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program the owner files a separate post-judgment application for the writ on Form 4-904A NMRA.
Appeal window	No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes)
Best-case uncontested timeline (derived from statutory minimums — contested cases run longer)	Nonpayment, the fastest track, adds up to 13 statutory days from service of the notice to lockout, which lands around 17 to 19 calendar days once the court-side periods skip weekends and holidays. These are statutory minimums, not observed averages, and contested cases run longer. Nonpayment of rent, step by step: 3 calendar days for the Sec. 47-8-33(D) notice to expire, plus filing on the day after the third day (Cheng v. Rabey, 2023-NMCA-013), plus service of the summons (no statutory deadline - not counted), plus a trial set at least 7 days after service (Sec. 47-8-43(A)(1)), plus a writ restoring possession at least 3 days after judgment (Sec. 47-8-46(A)) = 3 + 7 + 3 = 13 statutory days from service of the notice to lockout. Because the 7-day and 3-day court-side periods are ten days or less and are computed excluding weekends and judicial legal holidays under Rule 2-104(A)(2)(a) NMRA, those 13 statutory days land around 17 to 19 calendar days, plus whatever time service of the summons takes. Taking the outer end of the same statutory bands (trial at 10 days, writ date at 7 days) gives 3 + 10 + 7 = 20 statutory days. Curable lease violation: 7 + 7 + 3 = 17 statutory days. No-cause end of a month-to-month residency: 30 calendar days under Sec. 47-8-37(B) counted back from the periodic rental date, then 7 + 3 = 40 statutory days. Add the Sec. 47-8-43(B) good-cause continuance (up to 7 more days) and, on appeal, the automatic stay of the writ under Sec. 47-8-47(A).
Self-help eviction (lockout, utility shutoff) barred	Yes
Self-help scope and tenant remedies	Locking a resident out, changing the locks, removing their property or cutting utilities without a court order is barred by statute, and even threatening or attempting a lockout counts as a violation (NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-36(A)). The bar is unusually detailed. Section 47-8-36(A): 'Except in case of abandonment, surrender or as otherwise permitted in the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, an owner or any person acting on behalf of the owner shall not knowingly exclude the resident, remove, threaten or attempt to remove or dispossess a resident from the dwelling unit without a court order by: (1) fraud; (2) plugging, changing, adding or removing any lock or latching device; (3) blocking any entrance into the dwelling unit; (4) interfering with services or normal and necessary utilities to the unit ... including but not limited to electricity, gas, hot or cold water, plumbing, heat or telephone service ...; (5) removing the resident's personal property from the dwelling unit or its premises; (6) removing or incapacitating appliances or fixtures, except for making necessary and legitimate repairs; or (7) any willful act rendering a dwelling unit or any personal property located in the dwelling unit or on the premises inaccessible or uninhabitable.' Subsection B carves out temporary interference for legitimate repairs or inspections. Remedies to the resident under Sec. 47-8-36(C): abate 100 percent of the rent for each day (or part of a day) of denied possession or lost service; civil liability of two times the monthly rent (Sec. 47-8-36(C)(2), reading with Sec. 47-8-48(C), which since the 2025 amendment states that 'An owner who violates a provision of Section 47-8-36 or 47-8-39 NMSA 1978 shall be liable for two times the amount of the monthly rent'); a resident-filed petition for restitution under Sec. 47-8-41 and Sec. 47-8-42, on which trial is set 3 to 5 days after service (Sec. 47-8-43(A)(2)) and the writ restores the resident within twenty-four hours of judgment (Sec. 47-8-46(B)); termination of the rental agreement; and damages. The prevailing party in any UORRA suit gets reasonable attorney fees and costs (Sec. 47-8-48(A)). Owner retaliation - raising rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an action for possession because of protected resident conduct in the previous six months - is separately prohibited by Sec. 47-8-39(A) and is a defense to a possession action (Sec. 47-8-39(B)).

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, New Mexico Eviction Process Laws (verified July 24, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/eviction-process/new-mexico/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the New Mexico statute in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

The statute's own terminology matters — The statute says 'owner' and 'resident' (47-8-3(M), (R)), 'petition for restitution' (47-8-42) and 'writ of restitution' (47-8-46). A summary that silently renames these to landlord, tenant and unlawful detainer will not match the forms, the court dockets or the statute.
'Forcible entry and detainer' is the wrong label here — It is affirmatively wrong for residential rentals: 47-8-49 and 35-10-2 reserve the FED statutes (35-10-1 to 35-10-6) for premises NOT covered by the UORRA or the Mobile Home Park Act.
Two different day-counting regimes in one case — the headline quirk — Pre-filing statutory notices (3-day, 7-day, 30-day) run in calendar days. Rule 2-104(A)(2)(b) NMRA, and identically Rules 3-104(A)(2)(b) and 1-006(A)(2)(b), say the exclude-weekends rule for periods of ten days or less 'shall not apply to any statutory notice that is required to be given prior to the filing of an action.'
After filing, weekends and court holidays drop out — The same rules DO apply once the case is filed, so the 7-to-10-day trial setting (47-8-43(A)(1)), the 3-to-7-day writ date (47-8-46(A)), the 3-day conditional-writ cure (47-8-33(E)) and the 5-day appeal rent deposit (47-8-47(A)) all exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and judicial legal holidays. The 15-day appeal window is eleven days or more, so it is counted in calendar days.
Two different holiday lists — 47-8-33(H) adds only a last-day rollover if the final cure day falls on a weekend or a FEDERAL holiday, while the judiciary's own holiday list (Rule 2-104(A)(7)), which governs after filing, is longer than the federal one.
Why the 3-day notice is not counted with weekends excluded — The general computation statute 12-2A-7(E) says that for a period of less than eleven days a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is excluded, and read literally that would stretch the 3-day rent notice. That reading was rejected for three independent reasons: 12-2A-1(B) applies the Uniform Statute and Rule Construction Act only to statutes enacted on or after July 1, 1997 and only 'unless the statute ... expressly provides otherwise'; 47-8-33's notice periods and Subsection H date from 1975/1995, and Subsection H expressly supplies its own weekend rule; and the Supreme Court's own rules carve pre-filing statutory notices out. Either way the figure shown here is 3, and the alternative reading errs toward more notice, not less — the reasoning, not the number, is the judgment call.
Why no single appeal deadline is given — The appeal window is left blank on purpose even though two statutes say fifteen days. 47-8-47(A) sets no window of its own ('that party may appeal as in other civil actions'). From a MAGISTRATE court the window is 35-13-1's general fifteen days for 'any civil action' — a general civil-appeal statute, not an eviction-specific one. From the BERNALILLO COUNTY METROPOLITAN court, 34-8A-6(C) does set an eviction-specific fifteen days, de novo to the district court. From a DISTRICT court, where 47-8-42 also permits filing, the appeal runs to the Court of Appeals on Rule 12-201(A)(1)(b) NMRA's thirty days. Rule 1-072(A) NMRA repeats the fifteen days for magistrate and metropolitan appeals. Showing a flat 15 would be wrong for every district-court-track case.
An appeal stays the writ — but the tenant must keep paying — Under 47-8-47(A) an appeal by the defendant stays the writ. Where the RESIDENT is the appellant, the stay fails unless, within five days of filing the notice of appeal, the resident pays the owner or a professional escrow agent the rent accruing from the day after judgment to the end of that rental period, and then keeps paying monthly rent as it comes due. A subsidized resident pays only their own portion.
Missing one of those payments collapses the stay quickly — The owner may serve a fresh three-day notice under 47-8-33(D), a hearing must be held within ten days of the court being notified, and the court 'shall immediately lift the stay and issue the writ of restitution' unless the resident shows legal justification. 47-8-47(B) separately lets the trial court require a deposit or supersedeas bond to stay a money judgment.
Scope: residential only — Exempt under 47-8-9: institutional residence incidental to detention or medical, geriatric, counseling, religious or educational service; occupancy by a purchaser under a contract of sale; fraternal or social organization housing; TRANSIENT occupancy in a hotel or motel; employer-provided housing under a written agreement conditioning occupancy on employment; and premises used primarily for agricultural purposes.
The hotel/motel oddity — 47-8-3(G) defines 'dwelling unit' to include a hotel or motel, but 47-8-9(D) then exempts transient hotel and motel occupancy, and 47-8-3(X) defines 'transient occupancy' as rent paid on less than a weekly basis or no manifested intent to make the unit a residence.
Mobile home parks are a separate scheme — The Mobile Home Park Act, Chapter 47, Article 10 NMSA 1978, governs lot tenancies, and 47-8-52 applies the UORRA to mobile home park owners and residents only where the MHPA does not directly conflict, so MHPA figures do not carry over to the fields on this page. A person who owns a mobile home and rents a site outside a park IS a 'resident' under 47-8-3(R).
Local overlays — Rent control is preempted statewide: 47-8A-1(A) bars any political subdivision or home rule municipality from enacting an ordinance or resolution controlling rental rates for privately owned real property, with a carve-out in Subsection C for property receiving government subsidy for reduced rents. There is no equivalent express preemption of local just-cause or longer-notice ordinances in the UORRA, and no official registry of any New Mexico locality that has adopted one could be found, so none are shown here. A 2026 bill to repeal the rent-control prohibition, SB 138, died in committee.
Dead-bill trap: the 3-day rent notice was never lengthened — HB 462 of the 2025 regular session, 'Nonpayment of Rent Notice Period,' would have changed the very figure shown here. The Legislature's own bill-history record shows it was reported Do Pass out of committee and then died on action postponed indefinitely. A .gov-hosted PDF of that bill exists and shows a longer period; it is not law, and any secondary source claiming New Mexico's rent notice is longer than three days is probably reading it. HB 98 (automatic expungement of eviction records) and SB 179 (electronic disclosure for rental agreements) also died in 2025.
The Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program changes how the writ issues — Rule Set 4 NMRA still carries Forms 4-904A, 4-904B, 4-905A and 4-905B marked 'for use only with the Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program,' a judiciary program created as a Ninth Judicial District pilot by Supreme Court Order No. 22-8500-001 and extended to the remaining districts in phases by Order No. 22-8500-012. In a participating court the owner files a separate post-judgment application for the writ of restitution rather than getting it at judgment. Which courts are currently operating the program in 2026 could not be verified from a primary source, so it is described here but not treated as a statewide step.
Trial date runs from service of the summons, not filing — 47-8-43(A)(1) sets trial 'not less than seven or more than ten days after the service of summons,' and because the Act sets no deadline to serve, the span from filing is bounded at one end only.
The 7-day notice carries no cure-versus-termination ambiguity — 47-8-33(A) reads: 'the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than seven days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in seven days.' Both figures are seven, so 7 is correct on either reading.
A defective notice sinks the case — Notices are content-heavy and 47-8-33(G) limits relief to 'the grounds set forth in the written notice served.' 47-8-19(D) relieves the RESIDENT of any duty to give notice to the owner if the owner failed to make the 47-8-19(A) name, address and telephone disclosure. 47-8-13(F) requires the owner to serve at least one additional notice if a mailed notice comes back undeliverable and the resident has given an alternative address.
Currency — The New Mexico Compilation Commission's official NMSA 1978 is current through the Second Session of the Fifty-Seventh Legislature (2026). Sections 47-8-33, 47-8-43, 47-8-46 and 47-8-47 carry no amendment later than Laws 1999, ch. 91 (47-8-33 and 47-8-47, effective June 18, 1999) and Laws 1995, ch. 195 (47-8-43 and 47-8-46, effective July 1, 1995). The most recent UORRA amendment of any kind is Laws 2025, ch. 122 (SB 267, signed April 8, 2025, effective June 20, 2025), which added applicant and screening-fee definitions to 47-8-3, capped late fees at five percent of rent in 47-8-15(D), added 47-8-19.1 to 47-8-19.4 and rewrote 47-8-48 — none of it touching any eviction timeline. Nothing in the 2025 special sessions or the 2026 regular session amends Chapter 47, Article 8; the only 2026 amendment anywhere in Chapter 47 is to 47-16-18 (homeowner associations, effective July 1, 2026).
Where the headline figures come from — Each headline figure sits in the official Chapter 47 text as it stood on July 24, 2026: the three-day nonpayment notice and its cure at 47-8-33(D) ('tender of the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice, prior to the expiration of the three-day notice shall bar any action for nonpayment of rent'); the seven-day cure notice at 47-8-33(A); the statutory trial setting at 47-8-43(A)(1); the enumerated, remedy-formulated self-help ban at 47-8-36(A); and the absence of any appeal period at 47-8-47(A) ('If either party feels aggrieved by the judgment, that party may appeal as in other civil actions').

Common questions: New Mexico eviction process

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 much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in New Mexico?: 3 days. One notice does the whole job for unpaid rent: it both demands payment and terminates the agreement, and the resident stops the eviction by tendering the full amount due, in the manner the notice states, before it expires (47-8-33(D)).
How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in New Mexico?: 7 days. The first notice for a material breach is always a cure-or-quit notice, and the resident gets a full seven days to fix the problem and keep the tenancy (47-8-33(A)).
How long does an eviction take in New Mexico?: Nonpayment, the fastest track, adds up to 13 statutory days from service of the notice to lockout, which lands around 17 to 19 calendar days once the court-side periods skip weekends and holidays. These are statutory minimums, not observed averages, and contested cases run longer.
How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in New Mexico?: No eviction-specific deadline — the standard civil appeal window applies (see notes).
Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in New Mexico?: No — New Mexico bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Locking a resident out, changing the locks, removing their property or cutting utilities without a court order is barred by statute, and even threatening or attempting a lockout counts as a violation (NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-36(A)).

Statute citations

NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-3 Subsections M, R, V (definitions of owner, resident, substantial violation) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-9 Subsections A-F (exemptions) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-10 Subsection A (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-13 Subsections C(3), D, F (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-15 Subsections B, C, F (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-27.2 Subsection A (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-33 Subsection A (seven-day cure notice) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-33 Subsections B and C (repeat violation within six months; initial-notice content; thirty-day limit) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-33 Subsection D (three-day nonpayment notice) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-33 Subsections E and H (conditional writ; weekend/federal-holiday rollover) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-33 Subsections I-M (substantial violation; defenses; bad-faith penalty) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-36 Subsections A-C (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-37 Subsections A-C (seven-day week-to-week; thirty-day month-to-month; holdover) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-39 Subsections A-B (retaliation; six-month look-back) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-40 Subsection A(1)-(5) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-41 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-42 Subsections A-C (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-43 Subsection A(1)-(2) and Subsection B (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-44 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-45 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-46 Subsections A and B (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-47 Subsections A and B (appeal stays execution; rent deposit) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-48 Subsections A and C (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-49 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8-52 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 47-8A-1 Subsection A (rent control preemption) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 34-8A-1 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 34-8A-2 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 34-8A-3 Subsection A (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 34-8A-6 Subsection C (metropolitan court UORRA appeal, fifteen days, de novo) (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 35-13-1 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 35-10-2 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 39-3-1 (verified 2026) Official source
NMSA 1978, Sec. 12-2A-7 Subsections A, E, F (verified 2026) Official source
Rule 1-006 NMRA Paragraph A(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Rule 1-072 NMRA Paragraph A (fifteen days to appeal magistrate/metropolitan judgment) (verified 2026) Official source
Rule 2-104 NMRA Paragraph A(2)(a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
Rule 3-104 NMRA Paragraph A(2)(a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
Rule 12-201 NMRA Paragraph A(1)(b) (thirty days from district court) (verified 2026) Official source
Forms 4-901, 4-901A, 4-902, 4-903, 4-904, 4-904A, 4-905, 4-907 NMRA Form 4-902 (first-notice / second-notice election) (verified 2026) Official source
Laws 1999, ch. 91 (H.B. 48, 1999 Reg. Sess.), enrolled/final version, Secs. 5 and 7 amending NMSA 1978, Secs. 47-8-33 and 47-8-47 Sec. 5 (47-8-33(A)-(D)); Sec. 7 (47-8-47(A)) (verified 2026) Official source
H.B. 462 (2025 Reg. Sess.), 'Nonpayment of Rent Notice Period' - bill history showing the bill died (action postponed indefinitely) (verified 2026) Official source
S.B. 267 (2025 Reg. Sess.) - bill history showing signature April 8, 2025 and enactment as Laws 2025, ch. 122 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Verbatim reads of two independent official documents, each downloaded and read in full: (1) the NM Regulation & Licensing Department's official UORRA compilation PDF (rld.nm.gov, 2019 edition) for sections 47-8-15 (pre-2025 baseline), 47-8-18, 47-8-24, 47-8-37 and full-chapter negative sweeps (no escrow/interest-account rule, no grace period, no pet-deposit statute, no frequency limit); and (2) the final (enrolled, SJC substitute) version of 2025 SB 267 on nmlegis.gov (Laws 2025, ch. 122, signed 2025-04-08, effective 2025-06-20) for the current text of 47-8-15 (5% late fee), new sections 47-8-19.1 to 47-8-19.4, and amended 47-8-48. Every critical figure reconciled against FindLaw (mirror stamped current 2024-01-01) and Justia 2025-edition amendment notes; the two officials agree with each other and the mirrors on the 1-month deposit cap for sub-annual agreements, annual-lease interest trigger, 30-day return, $250 bad-faith penalty, 5% late fee and its notice-to-assess mechanic, 30-days-before-the-rental-date increase rule, and 24-hour written entry notice. Section 47-8A-1 (rent control preemption) initially verified on two mirrors reconciled verbatim (Justia + FindLaw) because the official host nmonesource.com does not offer stable section links; a same-day (2026-07-11) direct read of the official compiled code on nmonesource.com (NMSA Unannotated, Chapter 47) then sight-verified 47-8A-1 verbatim (subsections A-C, History: Laws 1991, ch. 23, § 1), the compiled 47-8-15 text including the 5% subsection (D) and the 2025 ch. 122 history line, the compiled section numbers 47-8-19.1 through 47-8-19.4, and the unamended history lines of 47-8-18 (1975/1985/1989) and 47-8-24 (1975/1995) — all matching the figures shown here. Pending-bill sweep 2026-07-11: 2026 regular session (30-day) adjourned sine die 2026-02-19; SB 138 (repeal rent control prohibition) died in committee (Action Postponed Indefinitely, confirmed on the official nmlegis.gov bill page); no UORRA bill touching the four topics passed.