New Mexico HOA Fence & Exterior

Quick-Reference Panel

Section 1: Overview — How fence and exterior rules work in New Mexico

In New Mexico, the recorded declaration — the CC&Rs — and the architectural guidelines adopted under it set most of the rules for fences, walls, exterior paint, siding, roofing, trim, exterior structures, and the look of the landscaping. Those documents operate against three things: a condominium statute, a dedicated homeowner-association statute, and one strong statutory override for solar collectors.³

Classification decides which statute applies. The New Mexico Condominium Act governs condominiums created after May 19, 1982; the older Building Unit Ownership Act governs the ones created before that date, with an opt-in to the Condominium Act; and the New Mexico Homeowner Association Act governs planned communities.^1,2,7 The list of overrides is short: NMSA § 3-18-32(B) makes any covenant that effectively prohibits a solar collector void and unenforceable, and the Homeowner Association Act's flag provision (§ 47-16-16) blocks planned-community flag restrictions that run more restrictive than applicable law.^3,4

No New Mexico statute sets an architectural-review response deadline or a deemed-approval rule, so the declaration sets your application timelines. The Homeowner Association Act does require one thing, though: 14 days' written notice and a hearing opportunity before an association imposes a fine or a suspension.⁵ Nationally, New Mexico lands in the moderate-to-strong range — notable for its solar override and its 2013 homeowner-association statute, and a step apart from the CC&R-primary states that carry no statutory overrides at all.²

The sections that follow lay out the legal framework, the operating obligations, and the recent activity in the Legislature and the courts. New Mexico's community-association sector is mid-sized: industry figures put it at roughly 130,000 residents living in 51,100 homes across nearly 2,000 associations.⁸

Section 2: The legal framework for exterior and fence control

2A. Where exterior and fence authority comes from

In New Mexico, the recorded declaration and the architectural guidelines adopted under it are where exterior and fence authority starts. The declaration is a contract that runs with the land, and an architectural committee draws its power to review fences, walls, paint, roofing, and landscaping straight from it. Which body of statutory law backs up that declaration depends on how you classify the community.

The New Mexico Condominium Act, NMSA § 47-7A-1 through § 47-7D-20, governs condominiums created after the Act took effect on May 19, 1982; the state adopted it as its version of the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act.^1,9 Condominiums created before that date fall under the older Building Unit Ownership Act, NMSA § 47-7-1 et seq. Such a condominium can opt in to the Condominium Act, though: a majority of unit owners approve a resolution, and the association records it like any instrument that creates a real-property interest.⁷

The New Mexico Homeowner Association Act, NMSA § 47-16-1 et seq., governs planned communities. The Legislature enacted it in 2013 and amended it in 2015 and 2019.¹⁰ Section 47-16-15 sets out who it covers: the Act applies to every homeowner association created and existing in the state, but three of its sections — § 47-16-9, § 47-16-10, and § 47-16-14 — skip associations that predate July 1, 2013 and hold fewer than 30 lots.¹¹ One provision matters most here. Section 47-16-15(C) says the Homeowner Association Act does not reach a condominium governed by the Condominium Act.¹¹ Recorded covenants apply too, and for incorporated associations, so does the New Mexico Nonprofit Corporation Act, NMSA § 53-8-1 et seq. New Mexico has not adopted UCIOA; its condominium statute is the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act.⁹

The order of precedence runs from mandatory statute down to board rules. A mandatory statutory provision for the community type controls first — that includes the § 3-18-32 solar override and, for planned communities, the § 47-16-16 flag provision.^3,4 The recorded declaration comes next, then the architectural guidelines adopted under it, and finally the board's own rules and resolutions. Where a restriction conflicts with a mandatory statute, it fails to the extent of the conflict.

2B. State-law limits on association exterior authority

New Mexico limits association control over only a short list of exterior features. For each one below, note whether the limit caps the association's authority, conditions it, or simply regulates procedure.

Solar. NMSA § 3-18-32(B) makes a covenant, restriction, or condition — in a deed, contract, security agreement, or other instrument, effective after July 1, 1978 — void and unenforceable if it effectively prohibits installing or using a solar collector.³ That caps the association's authority. An association can still regulate solar installations, but a New Mexico Attorney General opinion (2011 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 11-02) reads "effectively prohibit" to cover regulation that makes installation or use unreasonably difficult or costly.³ Subsection A separately bars counties and municipalities from restricting solar collectors except in historic districts.³ Cite this override to § 3-18-32(B), not to the Solar Rights Act. The Solar Rights Act, NMSA § 47-3-1 to § 47-3-5, is a different framework: it declares the right to use solar energy a property right — a "solar right" — and brings beneficial-use, prior-appropriation, and transferability concepts to neighbor-access disputes. It is not the covenant-void rule.¹²

Water conservation, landscaping, native plants, and artificial turf. No New Mexico statute voids covenants that restrict xeriscaping, drought-tolerant or native landscaping, artificial turf, or rainwater-harvesting systems. Section 3-18-32 has no water-conservation counterpart, and the Homeowner Association Act carries no landscaping provision.^3,10 So the recorded declaration and the architectural guidelines govern landscaping appearance outright, subject only to the general rule that an association enforce them reasonably and uniformly. Here is where multi-state operators should not assume New Mexico offers a protection — it does not.

Flags. The Homeowner Association Act's flag provision, NMSA § 47-16-16, says an association shall not adopt or enforce a flag restriction more restrictive than applicable federal or state law or a county or municipal ordinance.⁴ Under § 47-16-15, that provision knocks out a conflicting clause in the articles of incorporation, declaration, bylaws, or rules of an association created before July 1, 2013.¹¹ It reaches planned communities, not condominiums governed by the Condominium Act. And for the U.S. flag, the federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572, signed July 24, 2006) sets the baseline no matter what state law says.¹³

Political and noncommercial signs. No New Mexico statute limits how an association restricts political or noncommercial signs. The declaration governs sign display.¹⁰

Fences. New Mexico has no HOA-specific fence statute. Residential swimming-pool and spa-barrier requirements act as a safety floor under the adopted building and safety codes, and local zoning and building codes can set fence height, setback, and materials on their own, apart from the declaration. Treat these as safety and land-use floors, not as caps on an association's design authority.

2C. The architectural review process and procedural limits

No general New Mexico statute sets an architectural-review response deadline or a deemed-approval rule. For planned communities, the declaration and the architectural guidelines set the review timelines; for condominiums, the Condominium Act and the declaration govern.¹⁰ Treat any specific submission or response clock as a creature of the governing documents, not of statute.

The Homeowner Association Act does set an enforcement procedure. Under NMSA § 47-16-18, unless the community documents say otherwise, an association may levy reasonable fines and suspend a lot owner's right to use the common areas for a reasonable period — but only after it gives written notice and a chance to dispute an alleged violation other than nonpayment of assessments.⁵ Before it imposes a fine or a suspension, the board must offer the owner a chance to submit a written statement or to be heard at a hearing before the board or a committee, on 14 days' written notice.⁵ If the board or committee does not approve the fine or suspension by majority vote, it cannot impose either one. Notice and a hearing drop away for violations that pose an imminent threat to public health or safety, and if the owner never requests a hearing or submits a statement, the association may impose the fine or suspension from the date of the violation.⁵ Section 47-16-18 also opens the door to non-litigation dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.⁵

An association must make architectural decisions in good faith, keep them reasonable, and apply them uniformly — all in line with the general New Mexico rule that courts construe restrictive covenants in favor of the free use of property and refuse to expand them by implication.¹⁴ To be enforceable, architectural standards have to sit in the recorded instruments or be duly adopted under them. And the § 3-18-32 void-and-unenforceable rule overrides any architectural standard that effectively prohibits a solar collector.³ Expect notice and an opportunity to be heard before any fine or forced removal.

Section 3: Compliance obligations and operational mechanics

A. Association and architectural-committee obligations

Keep the architectural standards current and available, and enforce only the standards that sit in the recorded instruments or were adopted under them (CONTRACTUAL; both community types). Respect the § 3-18-32(B) void-and-unenforceable rule for solar collectors, and do not adopt or enforce a solar restriction that effectively prohibits installation or use (STATUTORY; both community types).³ In a planned community, honor the § 47-16-16 flag provision and do not restrict flags beyond what applicable law allows (STATUTORY; planned communities).⁴ In a planned community, follow the § 47-16-18 enforcement procedure, including the 14-day notice and the hearing opportunity before any fine or suspension (STATUTORY; planned communities).⁵ In a condominium, observe the Condominium Act's management and enforcement provisions and the declaration (STATUTORY and CONTRACTUAL; condominiums).⁶ Across the board, apply every standard reasonably and uniformly, and give notice and an opportunity to be heard before you enforce (STATUTORY as to planned-community fines; otherwise CONTRACTUAL and good-faith).

B. Owner obligations and rights

Submit an application and get approval before you install a fence or start exterior work where the declaration requires it, then comply with the approved plans and the published standards (CONTRACTUAL; both community types). When an association acts unreasonably, selectively, or beyond the authority it was granted, an owner can challenge the action as unenforceable (CONTRACTUAL and common-law; both community types).¹⁴ An owner keeps the right to install a solar collector despite a contrary covenant, subject to reasonable regulation that stops short of effectively prohibiting it (STATUTORY, § 3-18-32(B); both community types).³ In a planned community, an owner holds the flag right under § 47-16-16 (STATUTORY; planned communities).⁴ New Mexico law grants no matching right to xeriscape, use native plants, or install artificial turf over a contrary covenant; those rights ride on the declaration (CONTRACTUAL; both community types).³

C. Enforcement, remedies, and defenses

In a planned community, an association's remedies include reasonable fines and common-area suspension under § 47-16-18 — with the required notice and hearing — plus injunctive relief, forced removal or restoration, and recovery of attorney fees and costs where the declaration or § 47-16-14 authorizes it (STATUTORY and CONTRACTUAL; planned communities).⁵ In a condominium, the Condominium Act lets the association levy reasonable fines for violations after notice and an opportunity to be heard (§ 47-7C-2), and it provides a lien for assessments, treating unpaid fines as assessments where the declaration says so (STATUTORY; condominiums).⁶ Trial-level enforcement runs through the New Mexico District Courts, with appeals to the New Mexico Court of Appeals and review by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The limits on enforcement include the § 3-18-32(B) void-and-unenforceable rule for solar collectors and the § 47-16-18 procedural requirements (STATUTORY).^3,5 An owner's defenses include selective or inconsistent enforcement; the restriction being void under § 3-18-32 as applied to a solar collector; a defective notice or hearing under § 47-16-18; and the restriction reaching past the authority the statute or the declaration grants (STATUTORY and common-law).

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

The Homeowner Association Act (2013, amended 2015 and 2019) and the § 3-18-32 solar covenant-void rule (enacted by Laws 2007, ch. 232, § 1, effective June 15, 2007) are settled law, not recent enactments.^3,10 The items below fall within the review windows.

A. Recent bills

No 2025 or 2026 bill amended § 3-18-32 or created a landscaping or water-conservation override. The 2025 CAI New Mexico Legislative Session Report notes that HB 232, which would have prohibited HOA transfer fees, died in committee, and that HB 440 — which would have barred foreclosing on a lien less than 12 months delinquent, under $5,000, or made up solely of fines — died in committee as well.⁸

B. Recent appellate rulings

No New Mexico Court of Appeals or Supreme Court opinion in the past 36 months squarely addressed the solar override, the Homeowner Association Act's exterior provisions, or an architectural-restriction dispute. The most instructive published New Mexico appellate authority on exterior covenant enforcement is still the Court of Appeals' decision on covenant interpretation in the Eldorado subdivision, which restated the controlling rules.

C. Active legislative debates

No active New Mexico proposal to expand solar or to create a water-conservation or landscaping covenant override surfaced for the 2025 or 2026 sessions; the association-related activity has centered on governance, fees, and lien-foreclosure limits rather than exterior authority.⁸

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

New Mexico sits in the middle of the national spectrum. Strong-override states such as California, Colorado, and Illinois cap association authority across many exterior categories — solar, landscaping, flags. CC&R-primary states such as Mississippi impose almost no statutory overrides and leave exterior control to the declaration. New Mexico lands in the moderate-to-strong range: it has a dedicated homeowner-association statute (2013) and a strong solar override, but it extends no statutory protection to landscaping, water conservation, or signs.^3,10 What sets it apart are two separate mechanisms — the § 3-18-32(B) rule that voids covenants effectively prohibiting solar collectors, and the Solar Rights Act's property-right and neighbor-access framework.^3,12 For multi-state operators, the practical takeaways are these: a covenant that effectively prohibits a solar collector is unenforceable in New Mexico; the Homeowner Association Act requires a 14-day notice-and-hearing process before fines; and, unlike several western states, New Mexico grants no statutory right to xeriscape over a contrary covenant.^3,5

HOA Weekly's New Mexico Fence & Exterior coverage updates quarterly as the Legislature and the New Mexico appellate courts act. Federal frameworks also reach New Mexico associations no matter the state framework, including the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, the FCC OTARD antenna rule, and the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act for reasonable accommodations that affect exterior features.

1. NMSA § 47-7A-2 (Applicability), providing that the Condominium Act (§ 47-7A-1 to § 47-7D-20) applies to all condominiums created after its effective date; Condominium Act enacted Laws 1982, ch. 27 (effective May 19, 1982) ↩
2. NMSA Chapter 47, Article 16 — Homeowner Association Act (section list), New Mexico Statutes ↩
3. NMSA § 3-18-32 (2025), Limitation of county and municipal restrictions on solar collectors, subsections A and B and annotation citing 2011 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 11-02; History: Laws 2007, ch. 232, § 1 ↩
4. NMSA § 47-16-16 (Flags): an association shall not adopt or enforce a flag restriction more restrictive than applicable federal or state law or a county or municipal ordinance ↩
5. NMSA § 47-16-18 (Enforcement of covenants; dispute resolution), subsections B–E (reasonable fines, common-area suspension, 14-day notice and hearing, majority-vote requirement, imminent-threat exception, ADR) ↩
6. NMSA § 47-7C-2 (condominium association power to levy reasonable fines after notice and opportunity to be heard) and § 47-7C-16 (unpaid fines treated as assessments); condominium lien authority under the Condominium Act ↩
7. NMSA § 47-7A-2(B), providing that the Building Unit Ownership Act does not apply to condominiums created after the Condominium Act's effective date and permitting a pre-1982 condominium to elect the Condominium Act by majority unit-owner resolution recorded as a real-property instrument ↩
8. 2025 CAI New Mexico Legislative Session Report (approximately 130,000 residents in 51,100 homes in nearly 2,000 associations; HB 232 and HB 440 died in committee) ↩
9. NMSA § 47-7A-1, compiler's note: Laws 1982, ch. 27 enacted New Mexico's version of the Uniform Condominium Act as amended in 1980 ↩
10. NMSA § 47-16-1 (Short title, Homeowner Association Act; History: Laws 2013, ch. 122; 2015, ch. 104), and Article 16 section list showing no landscaping or water-conservation provision ↩
11. NMSA § 47-16-15 (Applicability), subsections A–C; § 47-16-15(C): the Act does not apply to a condominium governed by the Condominium Act; annotation on § 47-16-16 invalidating conflicting pre-July-1-2013 association-document provisions ↩
12. NMSA § 47-3-4 (Declaration of solar rights), Solar Rights Act (§ 47-3-1 to § 47-3-5): solar as a property right, with beneficial-use, prior-appropriation, and transferability concepts ↩
13. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572 (H.R. 42, 109th Congress), signed July 24, 2006 ↩
14. Eldorado Community Improvement Ass'n, Inc. v. Billings, 2016-NMCA-053, 374 P.3d 737 (No. 33,850), N.M. Ct. App. (Mar. 28, 2016), applying the four rules of Hill v. Community of Damien of Molokai, 1996-NMSC-008 ↩
15. New Mexico Legislature, SB 72 (2025) Fiscal Impact Report: bill contains no effective-date clause and takes effect June 20, 2025 (90 days after adjournment); signed as Chapter 62 ↩
16. New Mexico Legislature, Senate Bill 72 (2025), final version amending NMSA § 47-7C-8, § 47-7C-9, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act to authorize remote/electronic meetings, quorum, and voting ↩