Off-Grid Living in Mora County, New Mexico

Mora County, New Mexico is one of the more interesting places I've researched for off-grid purposes, mostly because it's mid-transition. For decades this rural county (population around 4,100) had almost no zoning at all, which made it a magnet for off-grid-curious buyers. That's changed: Mora County now has a Planning and Zoning Department and has been working through a new Mora County Zoning and Subdivision Regulation meant to replace a 1995-era land use rule. As of my research, the exact scope of that new regulation was still being contested at the county commission level, so I can't tell you precise district-by-district rules for raw land occupancy. If you're eyeing a parcel, call the county's Planning & Zoning office directly and ask what applies to that specific property right now, not what applied a few years ago.

On dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs, I found no official Mora County ordinance spelling out occupancy standards. That leaves the state's Construction Industries Division (CID) minimum codes as the practical baseline, but whether the new county zoning regulation adds its own dwelling-type restrictions is not confirmed from any published text I could locate. Worth a direct call before you commit to a structure type.

Building permits themselves are handled at the state level. Mora County does not appear to run its own building department, so New Mexico's CID issues permits directly using a state building permit form that lists the county of the project. That's a notable difference from counties that run their own building code enforcement.

Septic and greywater follow the standard New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) process, since Mora County has no independent wastewater ordinance of its own (only Bernalillo County has that). Homeowners can install simple conventional septic systems themselves after passing a written test, and a Permit to Construct is required. Greywater use falls under the same state rule structure, with no additional county layer found.

Rainwater harvesting is permitted under the state's general framework via the Office of the State Engineer (OSE), and I didn't find any Mora County restriction on it. Wells are a different story: OSE regulates all water rights and well drilling licensing statewide under prior appropriation doctrine, and you'll need to work through the OSE district office covering Mora County's groundwater basin, since the county has no separate water authority.

Finally, living disconnected from utilities: I found no explicit statewide or Mora County law mandating hookups. If any such requirement exists, it would most likely come indirectly through the new zoning and subdivision regulation's infrastructure standards rather than a direct ban, but that's unconfirmed.