Albuquerque named 10 lazy landlords. We found 9 more.

In June, the City of Albuquerque named 10 rental properties whose owners live outside New Mexico. The city says those owners let problems pile up, like broken heating and cooling, leaks, mold and rodents. The city calls it the Lazy Landlords list. Four months later, all 10 are still on it.

The Ledger wanted to know which buildings have the most trouble on file, whether the city named them or not. So we ranked all 293 apartment buildings and motels with records in the city’s inspection files from the last two years. We counted orders from inspectors, reports of no heat, water or power, and cases that are still open.

Of the 15 buildings with the most trouble on file, the city’s list names 6. The other 9 all have owners with out-of-state addresses, like the 10 on the list.

You can check your own building here. Type your address to see its record and where it ranks.

What the records show

The top of our ranking looks a lot like the city’s list. The city’s picks come in first, second, third and fourth.

Mont 44, on Montgomery Boulevard, ranks third. Inspectors gave its owner 10 formal orders in two years. Most were orders to make repairs. In September, inspectors ordered people out of four units.

Right behind the city’s picks are buildings the city left off:

• An apartment complex at 6303 Indian School Road NE ranks fifth. People reported no heat, water or power there 15 times in two years. Its owner’s address is in New York.
• Canon de Arrowhead Apartments, on Market Street NW, is tied for sixth. It got four repair orders this year, and six city cases there are still open.
• 312 Graceland Drive SE is tied with it. In February 2025, an inspector found a unit with no heat and ordered people out.

Inspectors gave orders to move people out at 30 of the buildings in our ranking, at least. We counted only orders whose case files we read.

Some buildings can’t be on the list at all

The city’s list only covers owners who live outside New Mexico. Buildings with owners in Albuquerque can’t be on it, however much trouble is on file. The highest-ranked building with a New Mexico owner address is 19th.

The city’s list, four months on

A property comes off the list when every problem is fixed. The city’s list shows 21 problems still not fixed and 64 fixed. People made 612 complaints that the city checked and confirmed. The Paper.’s City Desk ABQ checked on the list on Oct. 13. The city told it that none of the 10 had come off, and that five face civil enforcement.

The city never said its list would name every building. In June, it called it the “Top 10 Out-of-State Chronic Offenders.” It also said it would update the list every three months. So far, the 10 are the same 10.

How we ranked buildings

We added up two years of city records for each apartment building and motel. An order to move people out counts 4 points. An order to make repairs counts 2. A report of no heat, water or power counts 1, and so does a case that’s still open. Any other housing complaint to 311 counts a quarter point.

We read the case file behind every order we counted. Some reports of no heat, water or power are what a caller told 311, not what an inspector found. Owners come from county property records. For buildings on the city’s list, we use the owner the city names. Owners who are private people, not companies, are not named. The page has every building and the full method.