New Mexico: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements
The short answer
Except in an emergency, a New Mexico landlord must give you 24 hours' written notice before entering — and the notice has to state the purpose, the date, and a reasonable estimate of the time frame. Entry is limited to specific reasons like inspection, repairs, agreed services, or showing the unit, and the landlord may enter for no other reason except a court order, your abandonment of the place, or an absence of more than seven days. Two situations skip the 24-hour notice: a repair or service you requested within the last seven days, and an entry where the landlord is accompanied by a housing inspector or a utility (cable, electric, gas, or phone) representative. If a landlord enters unlawfully or harasses you with repeated entries, you can get a court order or end the lease and recover damages.
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This is the general rule in New Mexico. Ezel applies current New Mexico law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | NMSA 1978 § 47-8-24 ('Right of entry'), part of New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act (Chapter 47, Article 8), which uses 'owner' and 'resident' for landlord and tenant. It is a closed scheme: § 47-8-24(D) gives the owner 'no other right of access except' a court order, after the resident abandons or surrenders the premises, or when the resident has been absent more than seven days (§ 47-8-34). Enacted 1975; the notice rules and remedies were added by the 1995 amendment |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | 24 hours' written notice. 'Unless otherwise agreed upon by the owner and resident, the owner may enter the resident's dwelling unit pursuant to this subsection only after giving the resident twenty-four hours written notification of his intent to enter, the purpose for entry and the date and reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry' (§ 47-8-24(A)(1)). The 24 hours can be shortened only by mutual agreement. The same period applies to showings — New Mexico sets no separate showing figure |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | To 'inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, prospective residents, workmen or contractors' (§ 47-8-24(A)). The list is effectively exclusive: subsection (D) allows 'no other right of access except' a court order, abandonment/surrender, or the more-than-seven-days-absence entry under § 47-8-34 |
| Permitted hours | No fixed time-of-day window. New Mexico does not limit entry to 'business hours' or a set clock; instead the resident may give 'reasonable prior notice and alternate times or dates for entry,' and where practicable and not economically harmful to the owner, 'the owner shall attempt to reasonably accommodate the alternate time of entry' (§ 47-8-24(A)(3)) |
| When no notice is needed | The owner 'may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the resident in case of an emergency' (§ 47-8-24(B)). Two situations are also exempt from the 24-hour notice under § 47-8-24(A)(2): 'entry by the owner to perform repairs or services within seven days of a request by the resident,' and entry 'when the owner is accompanied by a public official conducting an inspection or a cable television, electric, gas or telephone company representative.' Beyond these, § 47-8-24(D) allows entry only by court order, after abandonment/surrender, or during a resident's absence of more than seven days (§ 47-8-34) |
| Form and delivery of the notice | The notice must be WRITTEN and must state four things: the owner's intent to enter, the purpose for entry, the date, and 'a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry' (§ 47-8-24(A)(1)). The time-frame estimate is a distinctive New Mexico requirement — a bare date is not enough. The statute does not fix a delivery method; separately, the resident may propose alternate times, which the owner must reasonably accommodate where practicable (§ 47-8-24(A)(3)) |
| Special rules for showings | No separate showing rule. Exhibiting the unit to 'prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, prospective residents, workmen or contractors' is one of the ordinary purposes in § 47-8-24(A) and runs on the same 24-hour written-notice standard. See the advance-notice row |
| Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry | If the owner 'makes an unlawful entry, or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or makes repeated demands for entry that are otherwise lawful but that have the effect of unreasonably interfering with the resident's quiet enjoyment of the dwelling unit, the resident may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental agreement,' and 'may recover damages' (§ 47-8-24(F)). The owner 'shall not abuse the right of access' (§ 47-8-24(C)). The duty runs both ways: if the resident refuses lawful access, the owner may obtain injunctive relief to compel access or terminate, and recover damages (§ 47-8-24(E)) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
New Mexico's entry rule is NMSA 1978 § 47-8-24 ("Right of entry"), part of the Uniform
Owner-Resident Relations Act (Chapter 47, Article 8) — New Mexico's residential
landlord-tenant statute, which calls the landlord the "owner" and the tenant the
"resident." It is a closed scheme: subsection (D) says the owner "has no other right of
access except" a court order, after the resident abandons or surrenders the unit, or when
the resident has been absent more than seven days. The section dates to 1975; the current
notice requirements and remedies were added by a 1995 amendment.
Advance notice required
Except in the exempt situations below, the owner may enter "only after giving the
resident twenty-four hours written notification of his intent to enter, the purpose for
entry and the date and reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry"
(§ 47-8-24(A)(1)). The 24 hours can be shortened only if the owner and resident agree.
The same period covers a showing — New Mexico has no separate, shorter figure for
exhibiting the unit.
Reasons a landlord may enter
Section 47-8-24(A) lists the purposes: to inspect the premises; make necessary or agreed
repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements; supply necessary or agreed services;
or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, prospective
residents, workmen or contractors. Because subsection (D) forecloses any other access,
that list is effectively the whole menu (absent a court order, abandonment, or a
more-than-seven-days absence).
Permitted hours
New Mexico fixes no time-of-day window — no "business hours" cap. Instead, the resident
may give "reasonable prior notice and alternate times or dates for entry," and where that
is practicable and will not cause the owner economic detriment, "the owner shall attempt
to reasonably accommodate the alternate time of entry" (§ 47-8-24(A)(3)). So the timing
is worked out around the 24-hour notice rather than pinned to a clock.
When no notice is needed
The owner "may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the resident in case of an
emergency" (§ 47-8-24(B)). Two more situations are exempt from the 24-hour notice
(§ 47-8-24(A)(2)): a repair or service the resident requested within the last seven days,
and an entry where the owner is "accompanied by a public official conducting an inspection
or a cable television, electric, gas or telephone company representative." Beyond these,
subsection (D) allows entry only by court order, after abandonment or surrender, or during
a resident's absence of more than seven days (§ 47-8-34).
Form and delivery of the notice
The notice must be written and must state four things: the owner's intent to enter, the
purpose, the date, and "a reasonable estimate of the time frame of the entry"
(§ 47-8-24(A)(1)). New Mexico is one of the states that requires the notice to give a
time-frame estimate — a bare date is not enough. The statute does not prescribe a delivery
method, and it separately lets the resident propose alternate times the owner must
reasonably accommodate where practicable (§ 47-8-24(A)(3)).
Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry
Subsection (F) is the resident's tool: if the owner "makes an unlawful entry, or a lawful
entry in an unreasonable manner, or makes repeated demands for entry that are otherwise
lawful but that have the effect of unreasonably interfering with the resident's quiet
enjoyment," the resident "may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the
conduct or terminate the rental agreement," and "may recover damages." That backs up
subsection (C)'s command that the owner "shall not abuse the right of access." The duty is
mutual: if a resident refuses lawful access, the owner may get an injunction to compel
access or terminate the agreement, and recover damages (§ 47-8-24(E)).
What trips people up
The notice has to include a time-frame estimate, not just a date. New Mexico's
written notice must state the purpose, the date, and "a reasonable estimate of the time
frame of the entry" (§ 47-8-24(A)(1)). A notice that gives only a day, with no sense of
when during that day, does not track the statute.
A repair you asked for waives the 24-hour notice — for seven days. If you requested a
repair or service, the owner may come do it "within seven days of a request" without the
24-hour notice (§ 47-8-24(A)(2)). So asking for a fix is, in effect, standing permission
to enter for it that week.
A utility or inspector escort skips the notice too. When the owner is accompanied by a
housing inspector or a cable, electric, gas, or telephone company representative, the
24-hour notice does not apply (§ 47-8-24(A)(2)).
"No other right of access" is exclusive. Apart from the listed purposes on 24 hours'
notice (and the exempt situations), the owner may enter only by court order, after you
abandon the unit, or when you have been gone more than seven days (§ 47-8-24(D); § 47-8-34).
There is no general inspect-at-will right.
Common questions
How much notice does my New Mexico landlord have to give before entering? 24 hours'
written notice stating the purpose, the date, and a reasonable estimate of the time frame
(§ 47-8-24(A)(1)) — unless you agree to less, or an exemption or emergency applies.
Can my landlord enter without notice in an emergency? Yes. The owner "may enter the
dwelling unit without consent of the resident in case of an emergency" (§ 47-8-24(B)).
Does my landlord need to give notice to fix something I asked them to fix? Not within
seven days of your request. Section 47-8-24(A)(2) exempts "entry by the owner to perform
repairs or services within seven days of a request by the resident" from the 24-hour
notice.
What can I do if my landlord keeps entering without proper notice? Section 47-8-24(F)
lets you seek an injunction to stop the conduct or terminate the lease, and recover
damages, for an unlawful entry, an unreasonable entry, or repeated entries that
unreasonably interfere with your quiet enjoyment.
Statutes and sources
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-24 — the "Right of entry" section of the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act: the resident's duty to consent to entry for listed purposes, subject to 24 hours' written notice stating purpose, date, and a time-frame estimate (A)(1), the seven-day-request and inspector/utility-escort exemptions (A)(2), and the accommodation of alternate times (A)(3); emergency entry without consent (B); the no-abuse rule (C); the "no other right of access" limit (D); and the owner's and resident's mutual injunction/termination and damages remedies (E)-(F).
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/chapter-47/article-8/section-47-8-24/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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