47-8-48. Prevailing party rights in lawsuit; private enforcement.
A. If suit is brought by an applicant or any party to the rental agreement to enforce
the terms and conditions of the rental agreement or to enforce any provisions of the
Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, the prevailing party shall be entitled to
reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs to be assessed by the court.
B. An owner who charges an unauthorized screening fee shall be liable for two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) and shall return all fees paid by the applicant.
C. An owner who violates a provision of Section 47-8-36 or 47-8-39 NMSA 1978
shall be liable for two times the amount of the monthly rent.
D. A resident who intentionally violates a provision of Subsection F of Section 47-8-
22 NMSA 1978 shall be liable for two times the amount of the monthly rent.
History: 1953 Comp., § 70-7-48, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 38, § 48; 1995, ch. 195, §
23; 2025, ch. 122, § 7.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, expanded private remedies; in the
section heading, deleted "civil penalties" and added "private enforcement"; added new
Subsection B and redesignated former Subsections B and C as Subsections C and D,
respectively; in Subsection C, after "shall be" deleted "subject to a civil penalty equal to"
and added "liable for"; and in Subsection D, after "shall be" deleted "subject to a civil
penalty equal to" and added "liable for".
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, designated the existing language as
Subsection A, and in that subsection, substituted "or to enforce any provisions" for
"entered into pursuant to the terms", and substituted "attorneys' " for "attorney's"; and
added Subsections B and C.