New Mexico Rental Application Form
New Mexico is an attractive place to live because of its affordable housing, low income taxes, proximity to the mountains, and good school system. If you’re looking to move to this state, you’ll need to submit a rental application form after finding a property you’d like to lease.
The New Mexico rental application form formally indicates your interest in renting a specific property. Once you’ve filled it out and submitted it to the landlord, the landlord will screen you as a tenant. As part of standard procedure, the landlord will perform a background check to validate the information you’ve provided in your form and your suitability as a tenant.
This background check will enable them to evaluate your capacity to pay rent. Landlords will look into your financial standing, credit score, income, criminal history, and eviction record if you have them. The landlord can also contact your references to ask for additional details about you.
Since the form is an application, it is subject to approval by the landlord. Interested tenants should be aware of their rights under the Federal Fair Housing Act. According to the legislation, it is illegal for landlords to discriminate against potential tenants because of their skin color, gender, religion, familial status, or disability (Federal Fair Housing Act).
Rental Application Fee
The state of New Mexico does not impose a limit on the amount that a landlord can charge as a rental application fee. This fee must be paid by the tenant alongside the rental application form. It is non-refundable.
The rental application fee is used to pay for the background check that the landlord needs to perform after receiving an application. Landlords may perform the investigation themselves, hire third-party services, or use software to help them with the check.
Security Deposits
In New Mexico, the landlord can only ask for one month’s rent as a security deposit fee for lease periods that are shorter than one year. If the lease is for more than a year, the fee can be increased.
The security deposit provides the landlord some financial protection in case the property incurs damage or the tenant fails to pay rent.
During the tenant’s lease, the landlord is mandated to provide the tenant with the annual interest that their security deposit might have gained if it had been deposited in a bank. New Mexico property law states that the interest amount should be “equal to the passbook interest permitted to savings and loan associations in this state” (NM Stat § 47-8-18).