A balcony at the Mont 44 apartment complex near Montgomery Boulevard and Jefferson Street in northeast Albuquerque has partially collapsed, with part of the structure left hanging underneath and caution tape now cordoning off the area below.
The partial collapse, reported by KOB 4, comes at a complex that has spent much of 2026 under a spotlight for habitability complaints. According to city-list information cited in that report, Mont 44 has racked up 94 verified complaints to 311, along with 20 corrected violations and four still open. A separate count from the Albuquerque Journal put the number of complaints associated with the properties in question at 124, a figure that has not been reconciled with the 94 cited elsewhere — so the exact tally of what residents have reported remains unsettled.
Whatever the precise count, the complaints have been piling up for months. Tenants told KOB 4 in September they were dealing with sewage backups, ant infestations, and broken air conditioners, and the station reported that city code enforcement moved to inspect more than 97 apartments at the complex after residents organized a tenant union.
A Union Forms, Then Inspectors Follow
That organizing effort was substantial. Searchlight New Mexico reported that roughly 90 tenants had unionized in May, well ahead of the coordinated inspection at what the outlet described as the 241-unit complex. The same report detailed structural hazards cited by inspectors, including damaged roofs and balconies — the same category of damage now visible in the newly collapsed balcony, though it is not established whether this particular balcony was among those flagged at the time.
KOAT reported that inspectors at Mont 44 identified a broader slate of problems beyond structural wear, including sewage and sanitation issues, electrical hazards, and inadequate weather protection. The Santa Fe New Mexican's coverage of the same inspection effort likewise pointed to inadequate sanitation, citing defective plumbing and rodent activity as recurring habitability concerns at the property.
Tenants Describe Years of Unresolved Repairs
For some residents, the complaints are not new grievances but long-running ones. Alyssa Harper told KOB 4 that sewage was still backing up into her home three years after she moved in, even as she pays nearly $1,700 a month in rent. Another tenant told the station that his air conditioner had not worked since 2023.
The scale of the inspection effort was notable on its own. “We’ve got over 97 apartments being looked at today,” a code enforcement official told KOB 4 during the September inspection, and the city said at the time that it expected to release the full results the following week.
A Repeat Entry on the City's 'Lazy Landlords' List
Mont 44's troubles predate this year's inspection push. The complex landed on Albuquerque's Out-of-State Lazy Landlords List, ranking No. 1 on the roster reported by the Albuquerque Journal in June, with Canyon Crest listed at No. 5 on the same list. The Journal reported that rankings are based on the number of Uniform Housing Code and Integrated Development Ordinance violations, 311 complaints verified by code enforcement, and each property's compliance status with the city. Across all the properties named on that list, the Journal reported a combined 300 code violations and more than 500 complaints to 311.
The City of Albuquerque said in a statement that it was escalating enforcement at Mont 44 after a coordinated inspection uncovered widespread health and safety violations at the complex. The city has not published a final accounting of current violations or outlined what further enforcement steps might follow, and it remains unclear how the newly collapsed balcony factors into that process.
No information is available on when the balcony gave way, what caused it, whether anyone was hurt, or whether the building has been evacuated. It is likewise unclear whether repairs are underway or whether this balcony was among those already identified as hazardous during the earlier inspection sweep.
