New Mexico Condo conversion protections

Condo conversion protections in New Mexico

Under NMSA 1978, § 47-7D-12, a declarant of a condominium that contains conversion buildings, and any person in the business of selling real estate for his own account who intends to offer units in that condominium, must give each residential tenant and residential subtenant in possession notice of the conversion and provide the disclosure statement no later than 60 days before those persons are required to vacate. The notice must set forth generally the rights of tenants and subtenants under § 47-7D-12 and must be hand-delivered to the unit or mailed by prepaid United States mail to the tenant and subtenant at the address of the unit or any other mailing address provided by a tenant. If mailed, the notice is deemed received on the earlier of actual receipt or 30 days after mailing. No tenant or subtenant may be required to vacate on shorter notice than the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act requires. Failure to give the required notice is a defense to an action for possession. For 60 days after receipt of that notice, the person who had to give it must offer to convey each residential unit or proposed unit to the tenant who leases that unit. If the tenant does not purchase during that 60-day period, the offeror may not offer to dispose of an interest in that unit during the following 60 days at a price more favorable to the offeree than the price offered to the tenant. That purchase-offer rule does not apply if the unit will be restricted exclusively to nonresidential use or the converted unit's boundaries do not substantially conform to the dimensions of the residential unit before conversion. If a seller violates the purchase-offer rule and conveys to a purchaser for value who has no knowledge of the violation, recording the deed extinguishes the tenant's right to purchase that unit but not the tenant's right to recover damages from the seller. From the date the tenant or subtenant accepts the offer, the rent for the portion in that person's possession may not be increased; if the tenant fails or refuses to consummate the purchase, the rent may thereafter be increased. Nothing in the section permits termination of a lease by a declarant in violation of its terms, and a lease provision that would let the declarant end the lease early solely because of a planned condominium conversion is unenforceable. Example: a tenant who receives the conversion notice and disclosure statement has 60 days to buy the unit at the offered price, and the declarant cannot then sell that unit to someone else at a better price for the next 60 days, unless one of the stated exceptions applies.

Verified Source: NMSA 1978, § 47-7D-12 · last checked 2026-11-12