- Best for
- A hardship that has ended, when you can afford your normal payment again but not a catch-up amount.
- You keep the home
- Yes. Your monthly payment usually stays the same.
- Watch for
- The set-aside balance still has to be repaid later, and there are lifetime limits.
One idea, four names
Each loan program has its own version. They all do the same basic thing: bring the loan current without asking you for the missed payments now.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: payment deferral. For a loan 2 to 6 months behind where the hardship is resolved. The missed principal and interest becomes a balance with no interest, due when the loan matures or you sell, refinance or pay it off. Fannie Mae has a lifetime limit of 12 months of deferred payments, no new deferral within 12 months of the last one, and the loan must be at least 12 months old. Disaster deferrals do not count toward those limits.
- FHA: partial claim. A zero-interest second lien held by HUD that brings the loan current. All partial claims and payment supplements together cannot be more than 30 percent of the unpaid balance at the time of your first one. You must say you can resume your payment and complete a trial payment plan first.
- VA: the VA Partial Claim Program, launched June 15, 2026. After a three-month trial payment plan, the overdue amount is paid to bring the loan current, and you repay it when the loan is paid off, refinanced or the home is sold.
- USDA guaranteed loans: mortgage recovery advance. No interest and no monthly payment, due when the first mortgage is paid off or the title transfers. Advances can total up to 30 percent of the unpaid balance as of your first default.
VA loans: the partial claim may not be available from your servicer yet
VA gave servicers until November 28, 2026 to finish putting the new program in place, so a servicer may not be offering it yet. You cannot apply to VA directly: the partial claim is offered only through your servicer.
VA lists these as disqualifying: a loan modification in the past 24 months, a partial claim in the past 24 months, or any earlier paid partial claim on the same loan. The older VASP program closed to new submissions on May 1, 2025. If your servicer says nothing is available, call a VA loan technician at 877-827-3702, option 6.
FHA loans: one retention option every 24 months
Since October 1, 2025, FHA allows only one permanent home retention option (a partial claim, loan modification or payment supplement) in any 24-month period, except after a disaster. A trial payment plan of at least three months is required first. The older COVID-19 Recovery options ended on September 30, 2025.
FHA also has a payment supplement for fixed-rate loans: partial claim money brings the loan current and then lowers your payment for 36 months without modifying the loan.
How to ask
- Tell your servicer the hardship is over, you can make your regular payment, and you want to be reviewed for a deferral or partial claim.
- Ask how much will be set aside, and get the document that says when it comes due.
- If your payment needs to come down as well, ask about a loan modification.
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Does a partial claim or deferral charge interest?
No. An FHA partial claim, a Fannie Mae payment deferral balance and a USDA mortgage recovery advance do not bear interest. The balance is repaid when the loan ends, or when you sell or refinance.
Can I get a deferral more than once?
There are limits. Fannie Mae caps deferrals at 12 months of payments over the life of the loan. FHA caps partial claims and payment supplements at 30 percent of the unpaid balance and allows one retention option every 24 months.
Other options to compare
- Repayment planYou keep paying your normal mortgage payment and add an extra amount each month until the missed payments are paid back.
- ForbearanceYour servicer agrees to accept reduced payments, or none, for a limited time. The missed amount is still owed and has to be dealt with when the pause ends.
- Loan modificationYour servicer permanently changes the loan, usually by adding the missed payments to the balance and stretching the term or lowering the rate, so the payment is affordable.
- ReinstatementYou pay all the missed payments, late fees and foreclosure costs in one payment. The loan goes back to normal and the foreclosure ends.
- Short saleYou sell the home for less than the mortgage balance and the lender agrees to take the sale price. It avoids a foreclosure sale when keeping the home is not possible.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosureYou sign the home over to the lender and the lender cancels the foreclosure. It is usually considered after a short sale has not worked or is not practical.
Sources
- Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-3.2-04, payment deferral
- Freddie Mac: Payment deferral
- HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (August 2026), FHA loss mitigation
- HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-12, permanent loss mitigation options
- VA: Partial Claim Program launch (June 15, 2026)
- VA: Partial claim servicer FAQ
- VA: Servicer news, partial claim implementation deadline
- VA Circular 26-25-2, end of VASP
- 7 C.F.R. § 3555.303, USDA guaranteed loan servicing options (eCFR)