New Mexico Construction Industries Division - building permit authority for Los Lunas, New Mexico

Village of Los Lunas, New Mexico

city

5500 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

Required

Required

A roofing job in Los Lunas runs through two agencies, and the Village publishes the split plainly. THE BUILDING PERMIT comes from the New Mexico Construction Industries Division - "permits for structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and gas work are reviewed and issued by the New Mexico Construction Industries Division (NMCID). Applicants are responsible for coordinating with both the Village and NMCID to ensure all required approvals are obtained prior to construction." Applications are taken through the Division's online permitting system and at its offices: Albuquerque, 5500 San Antonio NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 222-9800; Las Cruces, 505 S Main, Ste 118, PO Box 939, Las Cruces, NM 88004, (575) 524-6320; and Santa Fe, 2550 Cerrillos Rd, PO Box 25101, Santa Fe, NM 87504, (505) 476-4700. The Village lists the CID Albuquerque Office at 505-222-9801 as its referral contact. Only a currently licensed contractor may be issued a permit (14.5.2.8.B NMAC), with a homeowner's permit available to an owner working on their own primary residence - but not for a subcontracted single-scope job such as roofing (14.5.2.18.L NMAC). Fees are valuation-based: the Division's guide states that "Valuation of your project is based CID Rules New Mexico Administrative code 14.5.5.10," that "The fee, which covers plan review, the permit notice and required inspections, is based on the valuation amount," and that "Our office will calculate the valuation and fee for you." For an alteration or repair with no structural change, "two sets of lists outlining work to be performed and materials to be used will be accepted in lieu of" full plan sets. Roofing inspections are the decking inspection after tear-off and a final on completion (14.5.2.8.E(3) NMAC), requested at [email protected], 505-222-9813 or 877-243-0979, and "NMCID is also responsible for issuing Certificates of Occupancy upon completion of applicable inspections." THE VILLAGE'S PART is site development, zoning and floodplain. Los Lunas requires that "a Development Plan Application and supporting documents must be submitted and approved prior to development," emailed to [email protected], and reviews residential projects for site plan, zoning compliance, floodplain compliance and water consumption, with Public Works covering grading and drainage, utility placement and connections, driveway and curb-cut plans on Village roads, sidewalks and right-of-way. The Village's Zoning and Development Inspector verifies structure placement and setbacks, height, parking layout, landscaping, grading and drainage flow, floodplain compliance, and fence, wall and sign placement, and the Village states those inspections "primarily occur on private property and focus on site development improvements from the property lines to the structure foundation and do not include structural or trade work regulated by NMCID." The Division's guide sets the ordering where zoning approval applies: "You must obtain zoning approval and signature on the APPLICATION for STATE BUILDING PERMIT before applying to this office for the building permit." Village contacts are Sonia Walker, AICP, CFM, Senior Planner/Floodplain Manager, 505-352-7658, [email protected]; Michael Montoya, CFM, CZO, Zoning & Development Inspector/Floodplain Manager, 505-352-7705, [email protected]; Michael Jaramillo, Public Works Director, 505-352-7658; and Fire Marshal Reynaldo Carrillo, 505-866-2116. The Village's own codified permit provision remains on the books alongside all this - Sec. 15.04.040(A) requires a permit "prior to any construction, installation, alteration, repair or addition to or within any building, structure or premises," Sec. 15.04.020 allows the Village to "require the same inspections that are required under the Construction Industries Licensing Act," Sec. 15.04.030 leaves the Village fee schedule to administrative adoption, and Sec. 15.04.050 sets a penalty of up to three hundred dollars or ninety days for violating Sec. 15.04.040 or failing to call for a required inspection.

The operative residential code in Los Lunas is the state rule, enforced by the state, and the Village's own ordinance routes to it by rolling reference. STATE RULE: the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code, 14.7.3 NMAC. 14.7.3.8 provides "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule," and 14.7.3.6 states its purpose is "to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico" - a floor a municipality may add to but never fall below. Its scope at 14.7.3.2 is why it governs here directly: "This rule applies to all construction, alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, removal and demolition of all detached one- and two-family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) not more than three stories high with separate means of egress, and their accessory structures that is performed in New Mexico on or after December 14, 2023, and that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID, unless performed pursuant to a permit for which an application was received by CID before that date." Los Lunas structural work is subject to the jurisdiction of CID. Under 14.7.3.5 the rule took effect July 14, 2023 and after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it; statutory authority is NMSA 1978 §§ 60-13-9 and 60-13-44. WHAT CID ENFORCES: the Division's own current Building Permit Guide for Residential Construction states "The Construction Industries Division currently enforces the following codes:" and lists "2021 New Mexico Commercial & Residential Building Code," "2021 International Building Code," "2021 International Residential Code," "2012 Solar Energy Code (lAPMO)," "2021 NM Energy Conservation Code," "2017 ICC/ANSI A117.1," "2021 New Mexico Plumbing and Mechanical Code," "2021 Uniform Mechanical Code (lAPMO)," "2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (IAPMO)," "2012 Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code," "2020 New Mexico Electrical Code," "2020 National Electrical Code," "2012 NMESC" and "2012 National Electrical Safety Code." VILLAGE LAYER: Los Lunas Municipal Code Sec. 15.04.010 (Adoption) names 2009-edition state codes but adopts them with a forward-looking clause that carries the current editions in automatically - "The 2009 New Mexico Commercial Building Code, 2009 New Mexico Residential Building Code, the 2009 New Mexico Earthen Building Materials Construction Code (Phase III), the 2009 New Mexico Non-Load Bearing Baled Straw Construction Building Code (Phase III), the 2009 New Mexico Energy Conservation Code, the 2009 New Mexico Existing Building Code and the 2009 New Mexico Historic Earthen Buildings as adopted by the State of New Mexico pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing Act, (Section 60-13-1, NMSA 1978), is adopted in its entirety by reference as the building code for the village and subsequent revisions thereto adopted by the State of New Mexico pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing Act." The Village therefore prints no competing residential code of its own; the edition years in the section are the 2011 supplement's snapshot, and the trailing "subsequent revisions" clause tracks the state forward to the 2021 rule. Sec. 15.04.020 (Inspections) similarly ties the Village to state practice - "The village may require the same inspections that are required under the Construction Industries Licensing Act and rules and regulations issued thereunder…" - and Sec. 15.04.030 leaves the Village's own fee schedule to administrative adoption. Los Lunas Municipal Code Title 15 was read in full, Chapters 15.04 through 15.24, and contains no residential construction standard of its own: it is the building-code adoption chapter, abatement of dangerous buildings (the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, as amended by Sec. 15.08.010), moving buildings and structures, low-income and subsidized housing, drainage regulations, and flood area development restrictions.

Required — A decking inspection after tear-off is mandatory, not discretionary, and it is written into the same state rule that requires the permit. 14.5.2.8.E(3) NMAC provides, verbatim: "Inspections must include, at a minimum, decking inspection upon removal of existing roof and the roof system or application of roof coating systems as a final inspection upon completion of roofing project." So a compliant Los Lunas re-roof has at least two inspection points - the exposed deck once the old covering is off and before the new system goes on, and a final on completion - and the wording "at a minimum" leaves the inspector free to require more. The rule reaches Los Lunas squarely: 14.5.2.2 NMAC scopes it to "all work performed in New Mexico that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID for which permits are required," and the Village states that "permits for structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and gas work are reviewed and issued by the New Mexico Construction Industries Division (NMCID)." 14.5.2.6 NMAC describes the rule's purpose as "to set forth standards and requirements governing permitting of construction work in New Mexico as the statewide minimum standard." These are Division inspections, not Village ones - Los Lunas is explicit that its own inspections "focus on site development improvements from the property lines to the structure foundation and do not include structural or trade work regulated by NMCID," and that "NMCID is responsible for Inspections associated with: Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Gas." Inspections are requested from the Division at [email protected], 505-222-9813 or 877-243-0979. The decking inspection dovetails with the state's tear-off rule at 14.7.3.17 NMAC § D - the conditions that force a full tear-off (deteriorated or water-soaked deck, two existing layers, pumice or granular fill) are exactly what an inspector is looking at when the deck is exposed. The Village's own ordinance is consistent rather than competing: Sec. 15.04.020 provides that "The village may require the same inspections that are required under the Construction Industries Licensing Act and rules and regulations issued thereunder…"

Not required — Checked at both layers a Los Lunas residential re-roof actually runs through, and neither imposes an impact-resistance requirement. VILLAGE LAYER: Los Lunas Municipal Code Title 15 (Buildings and Construction), Chapters 15.04 through 15.24 - Building Code, Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, Moving Buildings and Structures, Low-Income and Subsidized Housing, Drainage Regulations, and Flood Area Development Restrictions, which together are the complete local building-code adoption and administration title - was read in full, and no provision anywhere in it addresses impact resistance, UL 2218 or Class 4 roofing. Sec. 15.04.010 adopts the State's codes by reference and adds nothing of its own; the Village's published development-review materials list its residential reviews as site plan, zoning compliance, floodplain compliance and water consumption, with structural work assigned to the Construction Industries Division - no roof-material overlay anywhere. STATE LAYER: the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code, 14.7.3 NMAC, which is the operative code here, contains no impact-resistance requirement - no UL 2218 or Class 4 provision appears anywhere in the rule, and its Chapter 9 amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC concern roof replacement and tear-off, flashing and reglets, canales and scuppers, taper board at deck transitions and the exclusion of pumice and granular fill, not impact rating. The Construction Industries Division's own current residential Building Permit Guide likewise says nothing about impact-rated roofing. New Mexico's rule is a floor (14.7.3.6: "minimum standards"), so state silence alone would not settle the question for a municipality - it is settled here because the Village's own title and its own published review scope were read and are silent too.

No dollar threshold and no de minimis exemption - a re-roof in Los Lunas requires a state building permit at any job value, and roof coating counts too. The statewide permitting rule states the requirement without qualification at 14.5.2.8.E NMAC: "(1) All new roof installations and re-roofs require building permits and inspections. (2) All applications of roof coating systems require building permits and inspections." Nothing in that subsection turns on job value, roof area, or whether the work is a repair rather than a replacement. The exceptions were checked directly rather than assumed. 14.5.2.9 NMAC (Exceptions to requirement for permits) opens "Permits shall not be required for the following:" and was read in full - its commercial list runs to eleven items (small accessory structures under 120 square feet, oil derricks, low retaining walls, small grade-supported water tanks, low sidewalks and driveways, stage sets, above-ground prefabricated pools, shade cloth structures, playground equipment, window awnings, and partitions under five feet nine inches) and its residential subsection works through IRC Section R105.2 item by item, deleting R105.2(2), (5) and (6) and retaining the rest. Roofing appears nowhere in either list. The Construction Industries Division's own current Building Permit Guide for Residential Construction says the same thing from the other direction: its "WHEN BUILDING PERMITS ARE NOT REQUIRED" section lists ten exempt categories - small accessory buildings, fences not over 6 feet, low retaining walls, small water tanks, low sidewalks and driveways, "Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work," shallow prefabricated pools, playground equipment, small window awnings and small detached decks - and roofing is not among them. Where the work is an alteration or repair rather than new construction, the Guide relaxes the drawing requirement but not the permit: "When performing alterations and repairs to an existing residence without performing structural changes, two sets of lists outlining work to be performed and materials to be used will be accepted in lieu of the above requirements." The Village's own ordinance points the same way for the work it does regulate - Sec. 15.04.040(A) provides that "The village shall require a permit to be secured prior to any construction, installation, alteration, repair or addition to or within any building, structure or premises," and the four classes of work exempted at Sec. 15.04.040(B) are minor plumbing and electrical fixture repairs, temporary testing wiring, signal and low-voltage wiring, and after-hours emergency work for which a permit is applied for the next business day. Roofing is not among them either.

Two layers maximum, plus four mandatory tear-off triggers - statewide, and directly applicable in Los Lunas because the state code is the operative construction code for structural work in the Village. New Mexico's residential code deletes IRC Section R908.3 (Roof replacement) outright and substitutes its own text. 14.7.3.17 NMAC (Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies), § D, provides verbatim: "New roof coverings shall not be installed without first removing existing roof coverings where any of the following conditions occur: (1) The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing. (2) The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile. (3) The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. (4) Where pumice or other granular fill are present, the material must be removed prior to installing a new roof." Condition (3) is the layer cap: a roof already carrying two applications of any covering must be stripped before a new covering goes on, so no more than two total layers may ever exist. Conditions (1), (2) and (4) force a tear-off regardless of layer count, and the same state section bars the fill material from going back on with new Section R904.5: "Pumice and other granular fill type materials are not permitted in roof assemblies." Compliance is checked in the field - 14.5.2.8.E(3) NMAC requires a "decking inspection upon removal of existing roof" on every re-roof permit, and those inspections are CID's. Los Lunas adds nothing on top of the state text: Sec. 15.04.010 adopts the State's codes by reference "and subsequent revisions thereto adopted by the State of New Mexico pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing Act," and Los Lunas Municipal Code Title 15 was read in full, Chapters 15.04 through 15.24, with no roof-covering or re-roofing provision of the Village's own anywhere in it.

New Mexico levies no sales tax. What attaches to a roofing job in Los Lunas is the gross receipts tax (GRT), imposed on the seller's receipts rather than on the buyer's purchase - the Taxation and Revenue Department states that "Gross receipts tax (GRT) is imposed on businesses, but it is common for a business to pass the GRT on to the purchaser." The total GRT rate for Los Lunas is 8.425%, under GRT Location Code 14-316 (Valencia County), in the July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 edition of the Department's designated location-code and tax-rate publication. Rates are keyed to location codes rather than to city names, and they are reissued semiannually. As the Department puts it, "GRT rate varies throughout the state because the total rate combines the rates imposed by the state, counties, and municipality for each location." For a roofing contractor the governing code is the one covering the job site rather than the office: "businesses will use the location code and tax rate corresponding to the location where their goods or the product of their service are delivered." The Department publishes the current rates as an interactive map - "Identify the appropriate GRT Location Code and tax rate by clicking on the map at the location of interest" - and cautions that users should "Please consult local authorities where appropriate to confirm GRT Location Codes and tax rates."