New Mexico rent notice

New Mexico nonpayment notices for an Albuquerque rental

A three-day nonpayment notice gives the resident a chance to cure unpaid rent before the owner may seek possession through court. This form serves a narrower situation: an ordinary residential rental inside Albuquerque city and Bernalillo County, a new and undisputed rent-only default, the landlord signing by hand, and personal delivery to each named resident today. A postal address or ZIP alone does not establish the legal city boundary.

Sources checked October 27, 2026. The legal requirements below are distinguished from this form's limited supported situations.

1. Establish the rent default and the agreed payment methods

NMSA 1978, § 47-8-33(D) addresses rent unpaid when due and requires written notice of nonpayment and the owner's intention to terminate the agreement. Review the rental agreement and any separate agreement before issuing notice. Section 47-8-15 addresses payment terms; a lease grace period, additional notice obligation or agreed method of payment must not be disregarded.

List the actual rent due dates and amounts. Do not include future rent or relabel a security deposit, utility charge, damage claim or late fee as unpaid rent. This form demands rent only and does not handle an accepted partial payment, disputed credit or allocation of payments. Those situations require a separate review rather than entering a misleading total. The additional rent statement identifies the periods supporting the amount on the court notice.

Section 47-8-15(D) permits a late fee only when the rental agreement provides for it, caps it at five percent of rent for each rental period in default, and excludes deposits, other fees and utilities from that calculation. Notice of a charged late fee must be given by the last day of the next rental period. Section 47-8-15(G) also limits allocating rent to deposits or damages without written agreement. These rules do not make a late fee part of the rent demanded by this form; review any separate fee claim on its own basis.

The court form lists cash, money order, cashier's or certified check, and personal check. Select every listed method that the agreement permits; a landlord should not remove an agreed payment option to make cure harder. An online-only arrangement, another method not listed, or unclear terms are outside this form's supported path.

2. Allow the full cure period after actual delivery

Section 47-8-33(D) gives the resident three days after the written notice to pay. In Cheng v. Rabey, 2023-NMCA-013, paragraphs 16–17, the Court of Appeals explained that the full three days must elapse before the owner files for restitution. Do not count the delivery day as the first full cure day or file while the resident still has time to cure.

Under § 47-8-33(H), when the last cure day falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the period extends to the next day that is neither. For an ordinary sequence with no holiday, delivery on Monday leaves Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as the three full days; filing cannot begin during those days. Confirm the actual calendar, any longer agreement period and applicable orders. Court deadlines after a lawsuit begins are a different issue and must not be substituted automatically for this statutory notice period.

This form does not calculate a fixed cure date or filing date. Its notice date is not proof that delivery occurred. The supported online workflow is for a printed notice given today; if delivery is delayed, reassess the notice before using it and keep the actual service date accurate.

3. Sign the notice and document the actual delivery

The current court Form 4-901 contains the owner or agent signature line and a separate service record. This online form is limited to the landlord signing the printed notice. It preserves the court's resident-rights language and original use notes; these are distinct from the website's preparation instructions.

NMSA 1978, § 14-16-3(B)(2)(b) excludes specified primary-residence default, eviction and cure notices from the electronic-transactions statute; subsection C preserves the possibility of other governing law. A separate basis for electronically signing this notice has not been verified here, so the tool provides a handwritten signature line. That is not a claim that New Mexico prohibits every electronic signature.

Section 47-8-13(C)–(D) addresses receipt and service. For nonpayment, subsection D recognizes hand delivery, mailing or posting on an exterior door, subject to its requirements. This form supports only direct personal delivery to each named resident. It does not establish that mailing or posting is unlawful; absent residents, returned mail and another service method require their own review. Section 47-8-13(F) also addresses an additional notice when mail is returned or the last-known residence has been vacated and an alternative address was provided.

Sign the completed notice, deliver the complete notice and rent statement, and only then record the actual method, time, date and person who delivered it. Retain two copies as directed in the court form's use notes. A saved file, electronic share or prepared service record is not evidence that delivery occurred.

4. Recheck any payment, tender or agreement

Under § 47-8-33(D), tender of the full amount due, in the manner stated in the notice and before the three-day period expires, bars a nonpayment action for that default. Keep an accurate record of a tender and do not proceed as though no payment occurred merely because the original notice remains in your files.

Partial payments, a new repayment agreement, an alleged missing credit or money received after the notice require another review. This form does not decide their legal effect. Section 47-8-33(E) contains a separate rule for certain court disputes involving rent abatement or allocation of rent to damages. Do not convert such a dispute into an ordinary uncontested rent demand by deleting the resident's claimed credit.

5. Check Albuquerque repair and relocation issues separately

Albuquerque's Rental Unit Habitability Enforcement Ordinance, O-2026-019, adds Article 28 to Chapter 14 of the city ordinances. Sections 14-28-5 and 14-28-7 establish abatement deadlines and a process for an approved written remediation plan when more time is needed. Section 14-28-8 addresses relocation costs when remediation exceeds seven days and its stated control-and-knowledge conditions are met.

The city ordinance uses specific procedures. Section 14-28-5 sets a 72-hour abatement period for a Tier 1 violation, with its extension process; § 14-28-7 requires a written plan and Planning Department approval for work needing an extended schedule. Under § 14-28-8, a remediation period longer than seven days triggers the relocation provisions only when the conditions were within the owner’s control and the owner knew or should have known of them. The provision calls for relocation payments within seven days after receipt of the notice. Review the actual city notice and approved plan rather than treating a repair delay as an ordinary unpaid-rent case.

These requirements are not an automatic extension or replacement of the state three-day nonpayment rule. They are reasons to investigate a repair complaint, city notice, rent-abatement claim or relocation situation before demanding rent. Such cases are outside this tool's ordinary branch. The city's renters' rights page provides housing-code reporting and assistance resources. Do not infer from an unpaid balance that a repair or relocation claim has no legal effect.

6. Distinguish notice from a court case

A notice does not authorize a lockout or physical removal. NMSA 1978, § 47-8-36 prohibits specified self-help acts, including changing locks and interfering with necessary utilities to dispossess a resident, subject to the statute's exceptions. The court notice preserves the resident's opportunity to contest the owner's claims at a hearing.

Before filing, review valid service, the fully elapsed cure period, payment or tender, the agreement, any existing proceedings, defenses and applicable orders. Section 47-8-33(G) ties relief requiring prior notice to the grounds actually stated in the served notice. Keep the notice, service record, rent statement and supporting payment records together; do not silently replace a previously delivered version.

Use the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court procedure and current court resources for filing and summons requirements. Housing assistance, federally backed financing, mobile-home arrangements, military protections, bankruptcy or other special circumstances require separate review; this tool does not clear those cases.

Completing the blank notice

The blank download contains the two original court pages and a separate rent statement. Fill in the resident names, address, premises including an apartment name and number when applicable, unpaid rent, total, permitted payment methods and notice date. Make the statement agree with the notice. Leave unrelated amounts out and sign the owner line by hand after checking the completed document.

Leave the service record uncompleted until the notice is actually delivered. Preserve the court's rights language and use notes. The blank form cannot check the property, reconcile a ledger or count a legal deadline; apply the checks above before use and obtain an individual review where the facts do not fit this form.