Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in New Mexico?

In New Mexico, a tenant who gives written notice of conditions that breach the landlord’s maintenance duties may, if they are not remedied within seven days, abate one-third of the daily pro-rata rent from the date of the notice until they are fixed, or all of the rent if the unit is uninhabitable and the tenant does not live there because of the condition. The landlord’s maintenance duties include substantially complying with minimum housing codes materially affecting health and safety, keeping the premises and common areas safe, maintaining electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air conditioning facilities and supplied appliances, and supplying running water, a reasonable amount of hot water and reasonable heat. Abatement continues at the same rate into later rental periods while the conditions remain unremedied. In each rental period the tenant may abate or choose another remedy under the act, such as terminating the rental agreement, but may not use both for the same violation in the same rental period. No abatement is allowed for the unavailability or failure of an amenity, or for a condition caused by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a family member or another person on the premises with the tenant’s consent. If the rent is subsidized by a government agency, the total monthly rent counts, and either the third-party payor or the tenant may authorize the abatement. If the landlord sues for nonpayment and prevails where the tenant abated rent, the court enters a writ of restitution conditioned on the tenant’s right to satisfy the judgment within three days. A court may still apply equitable abatement in its discretion. Repair-and-deduct is a different remedy with its own rules. This is N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 47-8-27.2, 47-8-27.1, 47-8-20, 47-8-33.

WhatNew Mexico
Rent withholdingAbate a third of rent if not fixed 7 days after notice
How it worksThe tenant may withhold rent after the required notice

What the statute says

“If the owner does not remedy the conditions set out in the notice within seven days of the notice, the resident is entitled to abate rent as set forth below …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 47-8-27.2, 47-8-27.1, 47-8-20, 47-8-33

Read the statute in the New Mexico Statutes (New Mexico Compilation Commission): nmonesource.com.

The linked sections open Justia’s free copy of the code, because the state’s own site has no stable address for each section.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.

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