Is there a legal limit on late fees in New Mexico?

5% of the rent for each rental period the resident is in default (NMSA 47-8-15(D), as amended by Laws 2025, ch. 122, effective 2025-06-20).

Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in New Mexico?

Yes — in New Mexico a late fee must be stated in the lease.

Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in New Mexico?

An initial-plus-daily late-fee structure may not total more than 5% of that period's rent, because the 5% ceiling applies per rental period in default.

What late fees can a landlord charge in New Mexico?

Verified October 1, 2026 All New Mexico topics →

New Mexico caps residential late fees at 5% of the rent for each rental period the tenant is in default — cut from 10% by a 2025 law effective June 20, 2025 — and the fee may be charged only if the rental agreement provides for it.

Cited to NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-15 47-8-15(D) and 2 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 2026

The 5% is measured against rent alone: deposits, other fees and utilities are expressly excluded from the calculation. New Mexico also imposes a use-it-or-lose-it notice rule: to assess a late fee at all, the landlord must notify the tenant of the fee charged no later than the last day of the rental period immediately following the one in which the default occurred. There is no statutory grace period — rent is payable without demand at the agreed time — so the fee can attach as soon as rent is late, subject to the lease and the notice rule. Beware outdated sources: most 50-state charts and even major legal databases still show the pre-2025 10% cap.

New Mexico late fees at a glance

Statutory cap	5% of the rent for each rental period the resident is in default (NMSA 47-8-15(D), as amended by Laws 2025, ch. 122, effective 2025-06-20) The base is rent only: late-fee calculations shall not include deposits, additional fees or utilities.
Mandatory grace period	None mandated statewide
Must be in the lease	Yes
Daily fees	An initial-plus-daily late-fee structure may not total more than 5% of that period's rent, because the 5% ceiling applies per rental period in default. The statute is silent on fee structure itself. Rent is otherwise payable without demand or notice at the agreed time (47-8-15(B)).
Reasonableness standard	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, New Mexico Late Fee Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/late-fees/new-mexico/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Check a late fee against the New Mexico rules — free, no signup, built on the same verified New Mexico law as this page.

Notes and caveats

The primary stale-source trap: the 10% cap is dead — From Laws 1995, ch. 195 until June 20, 2025 the cap was 10% of the 'total rent payment.' SB 267 (Laws 2025, ch. 122, § 6, signed April 8, 2025, effective June 20, 2025 under the 90-days-after-adjournment default) reduced it to 5% and narrowed the base to rent only, expressly excluding deposits, additional fees and utilities.
Sources still showing 10% — Unofficial code mirrors (one stamped current as of January 1, 2024), the RLD 2019 compilation, the courts' 2023 self-help brochure and nearly all landlord guides still carry 10%.
The official text carries the current 5% — The final version of the bill (Laws 2025, ch. 122, § 6) restates § 47-8-15(D) with a cap of five percent where the earlier text said ten, and narrows the base to rent only, effective June 20, 2025.
The fee must be written into the lease — The statute's express precondition is 'If the rental agreement provides for the charging of a late fee' — no lease clause, no fee.
Use it or lose it: the notice-to-assess window — The landlord must give notice of the fee charged no later than the last day of the rental period immediately following the one in which the default occurred. This mechanic predates 2025 and survived the amendment verbatim; a landlord who misses that window cannot assess the fee for that period.
No grace period — and the 3-day notice is not one — The word 'grace' appears nowhere in the UORRA. The 3-day nonpayment termination notice of 47-8-33 is an eviction cure window, not a fee-accrual delay, and a 2025 bill to stretch that eviction notice to 10 days (HB 462) did not become law.
No reasonableness test — New Mexico uses a hard percentage cap, so no reasonableness standard is applied or needed.

Common questions: New Mexico late fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

Is there a legal limit on late fees in New Mexico?: 5% of the rent for each rental period the resident is in default (NMSA 47-8-15(D), as amended by Laws 2025, ch. 122, effective 2025-06-20).
Is there a grace period before rent is late in New Mexico?: None mandated statewide.
Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in New Mexico?: Yes — in New Mexico a late fee must be stated in the lease.
Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in New Mexico?: An initial-plus-daily late-fee structure may not total more than 5% of that period's rent, because the 5% ceiling applies per rental period in default.

Citations

NMSA 1978, Section 47-8-15 · 47-8-15(D) (verified 2026) Official source
Laws 2025, ch. 122 (SB 267), § 6 — enrolled act (amends § 47-8-15(D): late-fee cap reduced from 10% to 5%, rent-only base) · § 6 (verified 2026) Official source
Laws 2025, ch. 122 (SB 267), § 6 (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.