New Mexico: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
New Mexico allows one screening fee of up to $50 to cover the owner's cost of a credit report, reference check, screening service, or application processing, and bars any other application-processing fee. The owner must disclose the fee and obtain written agreement, cannot charge when no unit is available, must delay collecting a later applicant's fee while prior applications remain unresolved, and cannot charge again for same-owner properties when that applicant was screened within the prior 90 days. A receipt and copies of all screening reports are required; specified unused or bypassed fees must be returned within 30 days, and an unauthorized fee carries a $250 liability plus return of all fees.
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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 and coverage | NMSA 1978 §§ 47-8-3, -8, -9, -19.1 to -19.3, and -48; dwelling-unit owners and applicants, including guarantors/cosigners; listed occupancies exempt |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | One screening fee allowed for credit-report, reference-check, screening-service, and application-processing costs; no other application-processing fee (§ 47-8-19.2(A)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | $50 maximum with no adjustment formula; charge is defined and allowed only to recoup or cover the owner's screening costs (§§ 47-8-3(T), -19.2(A)) |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | Written/digital notice + written agreement; no fee if no unit is or will be available; hold/wait to collect until prior applications resolve; no repeat fee for same-owner properties when screening occurred within 90 days (§§ 47-8-19.2(A), -19.3(A)) |
| Before-screening disclosures | Screening-fee notice and written agreement before charging; published listing must itemize base rent and all rental-agreement/residency fees; no special screening-criteria or report-source disclosure (§§ 47-8-19.1, -19.2(A)(1)-(2)) |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Written/digital receipt; copy of every report used; return within 30 days if a prior applicant takes the unit or screening/application work is not done, by certified mail, check destruction on request, or pickup (§§ 47-8-19.2(B)-(C), -19.3(B)) |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure in the current Act |
| Application order and adverse action | Sequential fee hold until prior applicants are rejected or decline an offer; no separate first-qualified selection mandate or state denial-reason notice (§ 47-8-19.2(A)(4)) |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | $250 liability + return of all fees for an unauthorized screening fee; prevailing-party attorney fees/costs; no application-fee-specific local-preemption clause (§ 47-8-48(A)-(B)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
One cost-based screening fee, capped at $50
NMSA 1978 § 47-8-3(T) defines a screening fee as a one-time charge used to
recoup the owner's cost of a consumer credit report, reference check, screening
service, or work that validates, reviews, or otherwise processes the rental
application. Section 47-8-19.2(A) sets an absolute $50 ceiling and says the
charge covers the cost of obtaining applicant information. It also provides
that the owner “shall not charge any other fees to process an application.”
The permission is conditional. Before charging, the owner must give written or
digital notice of the screening fee and the applicant must agree in writing.
The owner cannot charge when the owner knows or should know that no dwelling
unit is available then or will be available at the start of the residency.
Collection follows the prior-application queue
Under NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.2(A)(4), the owner must place a hold on a credit card
or wait to deposit cash or a check until every prior applicant has either been
screened and rejected or offered the unit and declined the rental agreement.
For example, if a prior applicant is still being screened, the owner may not
deposit a later applicant's check merely because both applications were
submitted on the same day.
NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.3(A) adds a separate repeat-charge limit. When the same
applicant was screened within 90 calendar days of the application date, the
owner may not charge more than one screening fee for properties under the same
ownership.
Receipt, report copies, and 30-day returns
NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.2(A)(3) requires a written or digital receipt. Section
47-8-19.3(B) requires the owner to give the applicant a copy of every report
used to screen that applicant.
The owner must return the fee within 30 calendar days if a prior applicant is
offered the unit and enters a rental agreement. The same deadline applies if
the owner does not obtain a consumer credit report, perform a reference check,
use a screening service, or process the application. Section 47-8-19.2(C)
specifies the return methods: certified mail, destruction of a check at the
applicant's request, or making the fee available for pickup.
Private enforcement
NMSA 1978 § 47-8-48(B) makes an owner who charges an unauthorized screening fee
liable for $250 and requires return of all fees paid by the applicant. Under
§ 47-8-48(A), the prevailing party in a suit enforcing the Act is entitled to
reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
The current Act states no application-fee-specific local-preemption clause. A
city or county rule therefore must be checked separately rather than assumed
from the state-law ceiling.
What trips people up
The published listing and the screening-fee notice are separate duties.
NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.1 requires a published listing to disclose the base rent
and itemize all fees or charges assessed during the residency. Section
47-8-19.2 separately requires written or digital notice of the screening fee
and the applicant's written agreement before that charge is made.
The $50 number does not authorize a second “processing” charge. The
screening-fee definition already includes application validation, review, and
processing, and § 47-8-19.2(A)(5) bars any other fee to process the application.
The fee queue is not a first-qualified selection mandate. Section
47-8-19.2(A)(4) controls when a later applicant's fee may be held or deposited.
It does not separately require the owner to rent to the first qualified person
or create a state denial-reason notice.
Common questions
Do the protections cover a guarantor or cosigner? Yes. NMSA 1978
§ 47-8-3(D) includes a person who agrees to act as guarantor or cosigner in the
definition of an applicant.
Do they apply to a mobile-home park? Generally yes unless a Mobile Home Park
Act provision directly conflicts. NMSA 1978 § 47-8-52 applies the Uniform
Owner-Resident Relations Act to mobile-home park owners and residents on that
basis.
Does ordinary hotel or motel occupancy use this process? Transient hotel or
motel occupancy is exempt under NMSA 1978 § 47-8-9(D). A different, nontransient
occupancy may require a closer coverage analysis.
Statutes and sources
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-3(D), (G), (M), (T) — applicant, dwelling-unit, owner,
and screening-fee definitions.“screening fee” means a one-time charge that is charged to an applicant by
an owner to recoup the owner's cost of purchasing a consumer credit report
or reference check or the assistance of a screening service to validate,
review or otherwise process an application for renting a dwelling unit.
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 §§ 47-8-8 and 47-8-9 — statewide dwelling-unit coverage and
exempt arrangements.
The Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act applies to, regulates and
determines rights, obligations and remedies under a rental agreement ...
for a dwelling unit located within this state.
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.1 — published-listing cost disclosure.
An owner shall disclose to applicants in plain language all costs of a
rental agreement in a published listing of the dwelling unit ...
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.2(A) — $50 ceiling, notice and agreement,
availability, receipt, collection order, and other-fee ban.
An owner may charge an applicant a screening fee that shall not exceed
fifty dollars ($50.00) to cover the cost of obtaining information about the
applicant ...
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.2(B)-(C) — 30-day return triggers and methods.
An owner shall return the screening fee within thirty calendar days to an
applicant if ... a prior applicant is offered the dwelling unit and agrees
to enter into a rental agreement ...
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-19.3 — one fee within 90 days and report copies.
An owner shall provide the applicant with a copy of any reports used to
screen the applicant.
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-48(A)-(B) — private enforcement and unauthorized-fee
liability.
An owner who charges an unauthorized screening fee shall be liable for two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) and shall return all fees paid by the applicant.
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NMSA 1978 § 47-8-52 — mobile-home-park application absent a conflict.
Unless a provision of the Mobile Home Park Act directly conflicts ... the
provisions of the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act shall apply to mobile
home park owners and residents.
Official source: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4408/1/document.do (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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