Landlords' and Other Statutory Liens

"Landlords have a lien on the property of their tenants that remains in or about the premises, for the rent due by the terms of any lease or other agreement in writing, and the property may not be removed from the premises without the consent of the landlord until the rent is paid or secured. A lien does not attach if the premises rented is a dwelling unit. NMSA §48-3-5

New Mexico law also grants a number of other statutory liens to service providers under NMSA §48-3

Priorities between liens is controlled by NMSA §48-3-10 and NMSA §48-3-13."

Security Pac. Fin. Servs. v. Signfilled Corp., 1998-NMCA-046, ¶ 12, 125 N.M. 38, 956 P.2d 837; Chessport Millworks, Inc. v. Solie, 86 N.M. 265, 267-68, 522 P.2d 812, 814-15 (Ct. App. 1974). In general, a landlords' lien attaches at the beginning of the tenancy for any rent that will come due during the tenancy, but the lien does not attach to the tenant's property until after the property is brought onto the premises. Kuemmerle v. United N.M. Bank, 113 N.M. 677, 831 P.2d 976,(1992).

A number of statutory liens on personal property exist in New Mexico, including landlords’, mechanics’, and towing/storage liens.