Abstract
Over a thousand different professions throughout the United States are subject to occupational regulations for the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Yet, few professions are as crucial to public health, safety and welfare as the business that controls access to rental housing. The availability of rental housing is critical to the people of New Mexico due to the state’s high percentage of low-income households and the shortage of affordable housing units available in recent years. Thus, low-income renters in New Mexico are often left dealing with substandard housing conditions or paying a significant portion of their income on housing costs—or face both hardships—to avoid eviction or pro se litigation. These problems, and others, contribute to larger systemic issues like homelessness and low economic growth. Despite these issues, there are currently no regulations that require a landlord of long-term rental housing to identify themself or the rental property they own and manage in New Mexico. Thus, policymakers in New Mexico have little to no control over, or knowledge of, the landlords dictating the rental housing market. This Comment proposes a pathway to change that: landlord licensure. New regulation, which would require landlords of long-term rental housing to be licensed in New Mexico, would provide a basis for the collection of much-needed rental housing data, training programs, community outreach, proactive housing code enforcement, and other benefits. Although there are potential drawbacks, landlord licensure has real potential to significantly improve the quality of rental housing in New Mexico.
Recommended Citation
Stefanie N. Jock,
Landlord Licensure: A Pathway to Improved Rental Housing in New Mexico,
55
N.M. L. Rev.
265
(2025).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmlr/vol55/iss1/8
