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New Mexico Housing Choice Voucher program — the PHAs, the regional agencies, and what to expect

New Mexico has over 20 public housing authorities spread across a large, mostly rural state. Many of them are small city or village offices serving a few hundred households. Four of them are regional housing authorities that cover wide stretches of the state where no local agency exists. This page will help guide you on Section 8 in New Mexico, including where to apply and how the program works.

The Housing Choice Voucher program they administer is federally funded — every voucher is a HUD voucher — but what happens when you apply, how long you wait, and whether a landlord will accept your voucher depend on two things specific to New Mexico: which agency covers your part of the state, and the fact that New Mexico has no statewide rule requiring landlords to accept vouchers.

If you qualify for and receive a voucher, you pay roughly 30% of your adjusted monthly income toward rent and the housing authority pays the rest directly to your landlord, up to local payment limits. That part is the same everywhere in the country. Everything else about applying for Section 8 in New Mexico is shaped by where you live. This is not a crisis program, and if you need immediate rental assistance see the page about organizations by county in New Mexico that help pay rent.

• ALWAYS NOTE: You do not have to apply only to the agency closest to yo or in your area, and there is no rule in New Mexico against being on multiple wait lists at the same time. In a state with limited vouchers spread across many small agencies, applying to several lists — including regional agencies that may cover your area — improves your chances. After you receive a voucher, you generally need to stay in that agency's area for twelve months before moving the voucher elsewhere.

Landlords can say no to your voucher — this is the most important thing to know

In New Mexico, a landlord can legally refuse to rent to you because you have a Section 8 voucher. There is no statewide law that requires landlords to accept vouchers, and no city or county in New Mexico has passed a local rule that changes that. Unlike California or other states that protect voucher holders from flat refusals, New Mexico gives landlords the right to decline.

What this means when you are searching for housing: You will hear "we don't take Section 8" regularly. Plan for it. It is not you — it is the landlord's legal right in this state, and pushing back will not change it.

Start your search with the landlord list at your housing authority. Most New Mexico agencies maintain a list of landlords who have rented to voucher holders before. Call and ask for it before you start making calls. Those are the landlords most likely to say yes.

Also watch for income requirements. Some landlords say they accept vouchers but require you to earn two or three times the full rent every month in other income. That disqualifies most voucher holders. It is legal in New Mexico. If you run into it, move on — do not spend time trying to work around it.

New Mexico's regional housing authorities — if you live outside a major city, this is your agency

Most states rely entirely on city and county housing authorities. New Mexico also has four regional housing authorities that exist specifically to cover rural parts of the state where no local agency operates. If you live in a small town or unincorporated area and do not see a local housing authority for your community, one of these four is likely your agency:

• Northern Regional Housing Authority covers the Taos area and surrounding northern New Mexico communities. (575) 758-2460. 525 Ranchitos Road, Unit 962, Taos, NM 87571. See https://northernregionalhousing.org/. The agency also manages the Housing Authority of the Village of Wagon Mound through a coordination arrangement. They offer both types of vouchers.
• Eastern Regional Housing Authority / SHARE covers the Roswell area and surrounding communities in eastern New Mexico. (575) 622-0881. 106 E. Reed, Roswell, NM 88203. Website: https://sharenm.org/eastern-regional-housing-authority-hud. This regional agency serves a wide stretch of the state's eastern plains where most communities are too small to operate their own housing authority. Combined agency.
• Western Regional Housing Authority covers Silver City and surrounding communities in southwestern New Mexico. (575) 388-1974. 2545 N Silver Street, Silver City, NM 88061. Website: http://wrha-nm.org/. Covers surrounding rural southwestern New Mexico. Combined agency, in that both types of vouchers are offered, serving one of the state's more remote regions.
• El Camino Real Housing Authority is based in Socorro and covers communities in that part of the state. (575) 835-0196. P.O. Box 00, Socorro, NM 87801. Website: http://www.elcaminorealhousing.org/

If you are not sure which agency serves your address, call the one nearest to you and ask — they will direct you to the right office.

Different types of section 8 vouchers

The standard Housing Choice Voucher (which most people think of as section 8) goes to you as the renter, and you take it to any landlord / property owner in the agency's service area who will accept it. It moves with you if you relocate within the service area, and after twelve months you can transfer it to another housing authority anywhere in the country.

Maybe not as well known or talked about, a Project-Based Voucher is attached to a specific apartment building. In this case, you apply directly to that building's wait list rather than searching for your own unit. If you leave before twelve months, the subsidy stays with the apartment. After twelve months in a project-based unit, you can typically request a regular voucher from the agency, giving you the flexibility to move.

Given New Mexico's landlord refusal rules, project-based units can be a more reliable path to housing because the landlord has already agreed to participate. Ask your housing authority whether they have any project-based properties and whether those wait lists are currently open.

Leading housing authorities in New Mexico

City of Albuquerque Housing Authority — Albuquerque. 1840 University Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. (505) 764-3920. Website: https://abqha.org/. The city's housing authority serves residents of Albuquerque and is the largest voucher program in the state. Albuquerque accounts for a large share of New Mexico's total population, which means demand for vouchers here is consistently high. This is a Combined agency, operating both public housing and the Section 8 voucher program.

Bernalillo County Housing Department — Albuquerque (county office). 2400 Wellesley Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107. (505) 314-0200. Website: https://www.bernco.gov/community-services/about-the-community-services-division/housing-department/. A separate agency from the city housing authority. The county agency covers unincorporated Bernalillo County and areas outside Albuquerque city limits. If you live in the greater Albuquerque area but outside the city limits, the county agency is the right place to apply. You can apply to both the city and county agencies at the same time.

Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority — Las Cruces. 926 S San Pedro Street, Las Cruces, NM 88001. (575) 528-2000. Serves the Las Cruces area and Doña Ana County, which is New Mexico's second-largest county by population. Las Cruces is the state's second-largest city and the economic center of southern New Mexico. This is a Combined agency

Housing Authority of the City of Gallup — Gallup. 203 Debra Drive, Gallup, NM 87301. (505) 722-4388. Gallup is the largest city in McKinley County and serves as a regional center for a large Native American population across the Four Corners area. The housing authority operates both public housing and the Section 8 voucher program. If you live in or near Gallup and have questions about programs specifically serving Native American households, the housing authority can direct you to additional resources.

Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority — Santa Fe (city). 664 Alta Vista Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505. (505) 988-2859. Website: https://santafehousingaction.org/resource/santa-fe-civic-housing-authority/ The city agency serves residents within Santa Fe city limits. Santa Fe has a tight rental market and high rents relative to New Mexico's average incomes, which makes the voucher program particularly valuable for lower-income residents. This is a Combined agency. Note that there is also a separate county agency below.

Housing Authority of the County of Santa Fe — Santa Fe (county). 52 Camino de Jacobo, Santa Fe, NM 87507. (505) 992-3060. The county agency is entirely separate from the city agency above and covers unincorporated Santa Fe County. If you live outside the city limits of Santa Fe, the county agency is your starting point. You can apply to both.

Housing Authority of the County of San Juan — Farmington. 7450 East Main, Farmington, NM 87402. (505) 334-4545. Website: https://www.sjcounty.net/government/housing-authority. The San Juan County agency covers the Farmington area in the northwest corner of the state — New Mexico's Four Corners region. This is a Section 8-only agency with no public housing.

Clovis Housing and Redevelopment Agency — Clovis. 2101 W Grand Avenue, Clovis, NM 88101. (575) 769-7902. Clovis sits near the Texas border in eastern New Mexico, close to Cannon Air Force Base. The agency is a Combined program. If you live in the Clovis area or Curry County, this is your agency.

Additional New Mexico housing authorities

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