As used in the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act:

A. "abandonment" means absence of the resident from the dwelling, without notice to the owner, in excess of seven continuous days; providing such absence occurs only after rent for the dwelling unit is delinquent;

B. "action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, set-off, suit in equity and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for possession;

C. "amenity" means a facility appurtenance or area supplied by the owner and the absence of which would not materially affect the health and safety of the resident or the habitability of the dwelling unit;

D. "codes" includes building codes, housing codes, health and safety codes, sanitation codes and any law, ordinance or governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation or the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy or use of a dwelling unit;

E. "deposit" means an amount of currency or instrument delivered to the owner by the resident as a pledge to abide by terms and conditions of the rental agreement;

F. "dwelling unit" means a structure, mobile home or the part of a structure, including a hotel or motel, that is used as a home, residence or sleeping place by one person who maintains a household or by two or more persons who maintain a common household and includes a parcel of land leased by its owner for use as a site for the parking of a mobile home;

G. "eviction" means any action initiated by the owner to regain possession of a dwelling unit and use of the premises under terms of the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act;

H. "fair rental value" is that value that is comparable to the value established in the market place;

I. "good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction concerned as evidenced by all surrounding circumstances;

J. "normal wear and tear" means deterioration that occurs based upon the use for which the rental unit is intended, without negligence, carelessness, accident, abuse or intentional damage of the premises, equipment or chattels of the owner by the residents or by any other person in the dwelling unit or on the premises with the resident's consent; however, uncleanliness does not constitute normal wear and tear;

K. "organization" includes a corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency thereof, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest or any other legal or commercial entity;

L. "owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested:

(1) all or part of the legal title to property, but shall not include the limited partner in an association regulated under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act [repealed]; or

(2) all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises and agents thereof and includes a mortgagee in possession and the lessors, but shall not include a person or persons, jointly or severally, who as owner leases the entire premises to a lessee of vacant land for apartment use;

M. "person" includes an individual, corporation, entity or organization;

N. "premises" means facilities, facilities and appurtenances, areas and other facilities held out for use of the resident or whose use is promised to the resident coincidental with occupancy of a dwelling unit;

O. "rent" means payments in currency or in-kind under terms and conditions of the rental agreement for use of a dwelling unit or premises, to be made to the owner by the resident, but does not include deposits;

P. "rental agreement" means all agreements between an owner and resident and valid rules and regulations adopted under Section 47-8-23 NMSA 1978 embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit or premises;

Q. "resident" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit in peaceful possession to the exclusion of others and includes the owner of a mobile home renting premises, other than a lot or parcel in a mobile home park, for use as a site for the location of the mobile home;

R. "roomer" means a person occupying a dwelling unit that lacks a major bathroom or kitchen facility in a structure where one or more major facilities are used in common by occupants of the dwelling units. As referred to in this subsection, "major facility", in the case of a bathroom, means toilet and either a bath or shower and, in the case of a kitchen, means refrigerator, stove or sink;

S. "single family residence" means a structure maintained and used as a single dwelling unit. Notwithstanding that a dwelling unit shares one or more walls with another dwelling unit, it is a single family residence if it has direct access to a street or thoroughfare and shares neither heating facilities, hot water equipment nor any other essential facility or service with any other dwelling unit;

T. "substantial violation" means a violation of the rental agreement or rules and regulations by the resident or occurring with the resident's consent that occurs in the dwelling unit, on the premises or within three hundred feet of the premises and that includes the following conduct, which shall be the sole grounds for a substantial violation:

(1) possession, use, sale, distribution or manufacture of a controlled substance, excluding misdemeanor possession and use;

(2) unlawful use of a deadly weapon;

(3) unlawful action causing serious physical harm to another person;

(4) sexual assault or sexual molestation of another person;

(5) entry into the dwelling unit or vehicle of another person without that person's permission and with intent to commit theft or assault;

(6) theft or attempted theft of the property of another person by use or threatened use of force; or

(7) intentional or reckless damage to property in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000);

U. "term" is the period of occupancy specified in the rental agreement; and

V. "transient occupancy" means occupancy of a dwelling unit for which rent is paid on less than a weekly basis or where the resident has not manifested an intent to make the dwelling unit a residence or household.

History: 1953 Comp., § 70-7-3, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 38, § 3; 1977, ch. 55, § 1; 1983, ch. 122, § 18; 1985, ch. 146, § 1; 1989, ch. 340, § 1; 1995, ch. 195, § 2; 1997, ch. 39, § 1; 1999, ch. 91, § 1.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law. Laws 2007, ch. 129, § 1206 repealed the Uniform Limited Partnership Act, effective January 1, 2009. For comparable provisions, see the Uniform Revised Limited Partnership Act, Chapter 54, Article 2A NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For the Mobile Home Park Act, see 47-10-1 NMSA 1978.

The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, added present Subsection C, and redesignated the subsequent subsections accordingly; deleted "written" following "means all" in Subsection P; and rewrote Subsection T.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, substituted "in excess of seven continuous days" for "for one full rental period or in excess of seven days, whichever is less" in Subsection A, deleted "other than a mobile home lot" following "land" in Subsection E, and made stylistic changes in Subsection S.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, deleted "as referred to in the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act" preceding "includes" in Subsection C; inserted "including a hotel or motel" following "part of a structure" in Subsection E; in Subsection I, substituted "that" for "which" and substituted "residents or any other person in the dwelling unit or on the premises with the resident's consent" for "tenant, members of the tenant's household or by his invitees or guests"; substituted "the Uniform Limited Partnership Act" for "Sections 54-2-1 through 54-2-30 NMSA 1978" in Paragraph (1) of Subsection K; inserted "corporation, entity" in Subsection L; added Subsection S, redesignated former Subsection S as Subsection T; added Subsection U; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, in Subsection O, substituted "all written agreements" for "all agreements written or oral".

The 1985 amendment added Subsection I and redesignated former Subsections I through R as Subsections J through S, respectively.

The 1983 amendment inserted "other than a mobile home lot" in Subsection E, deleted "or of vacant land for a mobile home park or court" at the end of Paragraph (2) of Subsection J and inserted "other than a lot or parcel in a mobile home park" in Subsection O.

Law reviews. — For survey, "The Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act," see 6 N.M.L. Rev. 293 (1976).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Recovery of expected profits lost by lessor's breach of lease, 92 A.L.R.3d 1286.

What constitutes abandonment of residential or commercial lease - modern cases, 84 A.L.R.4th 183.