Whether you're a tenant being evicted from an apartment off Coors, a homeowner renting out a casita in Nob Hill, or a small landlord with a duplex in the South Valley, the same statute governs you: the New Mexico Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act. UORRA sets the notice periods (3 days for nonpayment, 7 days to cure a violation, 30 days for a no-cause termination), the security deposit rules (30-day return clock, willful violations forfeit the deposit and shift fees), and the eviction process in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Below are vetted Albuquerque firms that handle both sides of the table, plus the free legal aid path for income-eligible tenants.
UORRA is one of the few statutes that small landlords and tenants can read and roughly understand. But the procedure in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court — where almost every Albuquerque eviction is filed — turns small details into case-killers. A defective 3-day notice (wrong dollar amount, no proper service, missing the statutory language) restarts the entire timeline and costs the landlord another month of unpaid rent. A tenant who shows up at the hearing without their habitability evidence loses the affirmative defense.
Talk to an Albuquerque landlord-tenant lawyer if:
Tenants should know that NM Legal Aid handles a high volume of Albuquerque tenant cases at no cost for income-eligible clients. Even when you don't qualify for free representation, the fee-shifting provisions of UORRA (especially around security deposits and habitability) mean a private tenant case is often more affordable than people assume.
Move quickly on either side. Tenants who wait until the hearing to gather habitability evidence often can't get the photos, repair requests, and witness statements together in time.
Downtown Albuquerque firm with a dedicated landlord-tenant practice. Handles both eviction defense for tenants and eviction prosecution for small landlords. Direct attorney communication and transparent flat-fee structure for routine cases. Call (505) 242-4LAW.
Established Albuquerque firm with attorneys reporting 44 and 39 years of landlord-tenant and eviction experience. Strong on contested cases where decades of Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court practice translates into real procedural advantage.
Niche Albuquerque eviction practice serving landlords only. High-volume model with flat-fee pricing for non-payment cases. Good fit for property managers and small landlords who want predictable cost on routine evictions. Not a tenant-defense option.
Mid-size multi-practice Albuquerque firm. Right fit when a landlord-tenant dispute is part of a larger real estate or commercial matter — a foreclosure with tenants in place, a commercial lease dispute, a multi-property portfolio with overlapping issues.
Not a private firm, but the first call for many ABQ tenants facing eviction. NM Legal Aid provides free representation for income-eligible tenants in habitability, retaliation, illegal lockout, and security deposit cases. Apply through the statewide intake line. Capacity is limited; apply as soon as you receive a notice.
Tell us which side you're on and what the situation is. We route a confidential request to the best-fit Albuquerque firm in this directory. No high-pressure sales calls.