New Mexico Rent Late Fee Limit: 5% of Rent (2026)

Use the current 5% rule, not the former 10% rule

New Mexico SB 267 was signed in April 2025 and became effective June 20, 2025. Its amendment to § 47-8-15(D) replaced the former ten-percent ceiling with five percent.

Older leases, articles or fee schedules may still repeat the pre-amendment 10% figure. For a current 2026 review, compare the charge with the amended statute rather than relying on an older summary.

The percentage calculation is limited to rent

The amended text says late fees shall be calculated only based on rent and expressly excludes deposits, additional fees and utilities from the rent calculation used to determine the late fee.

If a property statement combines base rent with utility charges, amenity fees or other mandatory amounts, separate those line items before calculating the statutory five-percent ceiling.

The rental agreement must provide for the late fee

The statute begins the late-fee authorization with an important contract condition: the rental agreement must provide for charging a late fee. Preserve the executed lease and any incorporated addendum or valid rules instead of relying only on a later portal notice.

The statute does not create one universal statewide grace-period number

Section 47-8-15(D) applies when the resident does not pay rent in accordance with the rental agreement. The subsection does not itself state a universal three-day, five-day or seven-day waiting period before the fee may be calculated.

For arithmetic, use the actual due date and any applicable waiting period found in the rental agreement or another controlling rule. Do not import another state’s grace period into a New Mexico calculation.

Check whether the late-fee notice was timely

To assess a late fee, the owner must provide notice of the late fee no later than the last day of the next rental period immediately following the period in which the default occurred.

Keep the ledger posting, email, portal notice or written notice together with the rental-period dates so the notice timeline can be reconstructed.

Documents to compare

• Executed rental agreement and late-fee clause.
• Rent amount for the rental period in default.
• Ledger separating rent from deposits, utilities and other fees.
• Rent due date and any contractual waiting or grace provision.
• Payment confirmation or bank/portal record.
• Late-fee posting and written or electronic notice date.
• Any older fee schedule that still shows the pre-June-2025 10% ceiling.

Check the 5% ceiling with the actual rent-only base

For a current New Mexico late-fee review, keep deposits, utilities and additional fees out of the percentage base. Enter 5% only when the rental agreement authorizes a late fee, then use the rent amount for the rental period that matches the governing documents.

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