Mice in a Rental: What New Mexico Law Expects of Landlords and Tenants

Short answer: in New Mexico, the landlord has to keep a rental up to the housing codes that affect health and safety, and the tenant has to keep the unit clean and get rid of garbage properly. If mice are a building problem the owner won't fix, a tenant can serve written notice and, after seven days, choose a remedy under the state's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act. In Albuquerque, tenants in multi-unit buildings can also go to 311.

This is general information, not legal advice. Leases vary, the facts matter, and the statute has more conditions than a summary can cover. If you're thinking about cutting rent or ending a lease, talk to a lawyer or a legal aid office first.

Section 47-8-20 of New Mexico law lists the owner's obligations. The ones that bear on rodents:

• Comply, in substance, with minimum housing codes that materially affect health and safety
• Make repairs and do whatever is necessary to keep the premises in a safe condition
• Keep common areas safe
• Keep plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air conditioning facilities in good and safe working order
• Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles for garbage and other waste, and arrange for their removal

The statute doesn't mention pests by name. Rodents come in through the owner's side of the equation: housing codes, building repairs and trash. A gap under an exterior door, a broken vent screen, a hole where a pipe enters the wall or an overflowing dumpster is a building issue. Albuquerque's Insect and Rodent Control Ordinance defines rodent harborage as any condition that gives rodents shelter or protection, in, under or outside a structure, and treats the owner as the person responsible for the building. A lessee who is responsible for maintenance under the lease may be treated as the owner.

The statute also lets owners and tenants agree in writing, in good faith, to shift some repair duties to the tenant. Read the lease for a pest control clause.

The courts' pamphlet on the Act summarizes the tenant's side. Tenants must comply with housing codes that apply to them, keep their part of the premises clean and safe, dispose of garbage and waste cleanly and safely, keep plumbing fixtures clean, use appliances reasonably and not damage the property or let guests do so.

For rodents, that means food stored in sealed containers, trash taken out, no piles of boxes and clutter, and prompt reports. A tenant who leaves pet food out and garbage piled on the patio will have a harder time blaming the building.

If the owner doesn't meet those obligations, the pamphlet describes the tenant's path. The tenant serves a written notice, called a Resident's Seven-Day Notice of Abatement or Termination, describing the problem and asking for repair. If the owner doesn't fix it within 7 days, or doesn't start when the work can't reasonably be finished in 7 days, the tenant can choose one of these:

• End the lease and move out without penalty
• Abate rent by one-third of the daily rent for each day the problem continues, counted from the notice
• If the unit is completely uninhabitable and the tenant isn't living there, abate 100% until it's fixed
• File a petition in court for damages or other relief

The remedies have conditions that a summary can't fully cover, and using them wrong can put a tenant at risk of eviction for nonpayment. Get advice before reducing rent. Keep a copy of every notice, photos with dates and any reports from a pest control provider. A provider's inspection report, naming entry points in the building, is good evidence that the problem is structural.

Inside city limits there's a parallel path for multi-unit housing. Notify management in writing, wait 10 days, and if nothing happens, call 311 to report the untreated infestation to the city's Urban Biology Division. Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes count. Single-family rentals don't, and the city tells those tenants to use private pest control. The 311 guide has the details.

Tenants in the University area and the International District, where small multi-unit buildings are common, use this process more than most.

Fixing a rodent problem early costs less than a lost tenant or a complaint. Treat the whole building, not one unit, since mice move through shared walls. Seal entry points, keep trash enclosures clean and closed, and keep records of every service visit. Commercial rodent control covers what a building program includes.

Good records make every path easier, from talking to the landlord to calling 311. Keep a simple log: the date, where you saw droppings or mice, what you did and who you told. Take photos with dates. Save texts and emails. If a pest control provider visits, ask for a copy of the report. If the landlord sends someone, note when they came and what they did.

Clean up droppings safely as you go. Soak them with bleach solution and wipe them up rather than sweeping, so you're not breathing the dust while the problem gets sorted out. See hantavirus-safe cleanup.

For legal questions, the New Mexico courts publish a pamphlet on the Owner-Resident Relations Act, listed in the sources below. A lawyer or a legal aid office can look at your lease and your situation. For the city's multi-unit complaint process, call 311. For the pest problem itself, a provider can inspect and give a written report that helps both sides see what needs fixing.

If you're thinking about ending a lease over rodents, follow the 7-day notice process and keep records. Leaving without notice can leave you on the hook for rent. Take photos of the unit when you move out, especially of any droppings or damage you reported, and keep copies of every notice. Get advice before you leave.

• Calling 311 About Rodents in Albuquerque: Who Handles What
• City Rules on Yards, Weeds and Trash That Bear on Rodents
• Mice in the Kitchen: What to Throw Out, Clean and Seal
• Saw One Mouse? Here's How to Tell If It's Alone

Services: Commercial Rodent Control / Rodent Inspection / House Mouse Control

1. NMSA 47-8-20, Obligations of owner (Justia)
2. New Mexico Courts: Owner-Resident Relations pamphlet
3. City of Albuquerque Environmental Health: Rodents
4. Albuquerque Code of Ordinances, Chapter 9, Article 7: Insect and Rodent Control