Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Mexico

Re: Tenant dies

In California, death of a tenant does not terminate the lease, and the estate of the deceased tenant is liable for rent for the remainder of the lease term if the landlord files a timely claim against the estate.

Since the executor(s) or administrator(s) (collectively, the "representative") is in charge of all the deceased's property, the representative is the one who now has the deceased tenant's rights to enter and occupy the leasehold. Random members of the family, even the spouse, parents, children, siblings, etc. legally do not have a "right" to enter without the representative's permission. The landlord retains the usual landlord rights to enter a leased unit for proper purposes, such as to make emergency repairs, to show it to successor tenants, etc., and on proper notice.

New Mexico law may vary, and we should hope that a NM attorney will provide an answer as well.