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Free foreclosure help in California

Free and low-cost foreclosure help exists in California, and who to call first depends on where you are in the process. The state's mortgage relief grant program is closed, so most help today is counseling, legal aid and complaint handling. Every organization below is a government office, a court or a nonprofit. None of them should charge you an upfront fee.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against California law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ask for help in California

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

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Who to call first, by situation

  • You are not behind yet but expect to be

    As soon as you see trouble coming

    Call your mortgage servicer and ask what hardship options it offers, then talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free. If property taxes are the problem and you are a senior, blind or have a disability, look at the State Controller's Office: Property Tax Postponement program, which is taking 2026-27 applications through February 10, 2027.

  • You are behind but have no Notice of Default

    Before you are 120 days behind

    This is when your servicer has to contact you about options. Ask for a loan modification application and send in every document it asks for. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you fill it out, and LawHelpCA can point you to free legal aid in your county.

    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 2923.5, 2923.55

  • You received a Notice of Default

    Within days; the 3-month clock is already running

    Use LawHelpCA to find a legal aid office near you, or contact Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), a California nonprofit that works on mortgage servicing and foreclosure problems. The California Courts Self-Help Guide: Guide to foreclosures explains each step in plain language.

  • A sale date is set

    Today; key cutoffs fall 5 business days before the sale

    Call the trustee number on the Notice of Sale to confirm the date, and call your servicer about a pending application or the amount to reinstate. For legal advice on stopping the sale, contact legal aid through LawHelpCA or a licensed attorney through the State Bar of California: Find a Lawyer Referral Service.

    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 2924c, 2924f

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    Before the sale if possible

    File a complaint with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI): Submit a Complaint, or call 1-866-275-2677 for help with the form. The California Attorney General: California Homeowner Bill of Rights page explains your rights and how to report a violation. Only a court can stop a sale, so also talk to legal aid or a licensed attorney.

    Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.12

  • A foreclosure rescue company or investor contacted you

    Before you sign or pay anything

    California bars foreclosure consultants from collecting any fee before the work is fully done. The California Attorney General asks people who paid or signed over property to a rescuer to file a complaint with its Public Inquiry Unit or call (800) 952-5225. A HUD-approved housing counselor does the same work for free.

    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 2945.4, 2944.7

  • Your home was destroyed or made unlivable by a disaster

    By November 2, 2026

    The CalAssist Mortgage Fund, run by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), is taking applications through November 2, 2026 for grants toward mortgage payments on homes hit by a qualified California disaster between January 1, 2023 and January 8, 2025. Its contact center is 800-501-0019.

Official and nonprofit help in California

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

Need a private foreclosure lawyer?

License-checked lawyers who represent homeowners, by area:

California Mortgage Relief Program

The California Mortgage Relief Program (the state's Homeowner Assistance Fund program) is closed. Its website says it is no longer accepting applications and is no longer offering grants. The U.S. Treasury says the Homeowner Assistance Fund period ended on September 30, 2026. Two other state programs show as open on their own pages today. The CalAssist Mortgage Fund, run by CalHFA, takes applications through November 2, 2026, but only from owners whose primary home was destroyed or made unlivable by a qualified California disaster between January 1, 2023 and January 8, 2025. The State Controller's Property Tax Postponement Program lets seniors and people who are blind or have a disability put off current-year property taxes if they have at least 40 percent equity and a household income of $57,002 or less, among other rules. The 2026-27 filing period runs October 1, 2026 to February 10, 2027, and the postponed taxes become a lien that must be repaid.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in California

Where can I find a free foreclosure lawyer in California?

Start with LawHelpCA, the statewide lookup maintained by the Legal Aid Association of California, and search by your county. Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) is a California nonprofit legal organization that handles mortgage and foreclosure problems. If you do not qualify for legal aid, the State Bar of California lists certified lawyer referral services.

Is the California Mortgage Relief Program still taking applications?

No. Its website says it is no longer accepting applications and is no longer offering grants. The U.S. Treasury says the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund that paid for it ended on September 30, 2026.

Who takes complaints about mortgage servicers in California?

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) takes complaints about the residential mortgage lenders, finance lenders and banks it oversees. Its complaint page says complaints about national banks go to the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency instead. You can also report Homeowner Bill of Rights violations to the California Attorney General.

Do foreclosure consultants have to be registered in California?

Yes. Civil Code section 2945.45 requires a foreclosure consultant to register with the California Department of Justice and hold a certificate of registration. A consultant also cannot take a power of attorney from you or any interest in your home, and you can cancel the contract until midnight of the fifth business day after signing.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in California

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Back to the California overview

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Sources for this page

  1. California Courts Self-Help Guide: The eviction process for tenants
  2. California Courts Self-Help Guide: Summons, Unlawful Detainer, Eviction (form SUM-130)
  3. California Courts Self-Help Guide: What happens if you lose your eviction case
  4. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1167
  5. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 715.010
  6. California Civil Code, Division 3, Part 4, Title 14, Chapter 2, Article 1 (Mortgages in General, §§ 2920 to 2944.10), California Legislative Information
  7. Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f (two versions; the one operative until January 1, 2031 was used)
  8. AB 2424 (Stats. 2024, Ch. 311), Mortgages: foreclosure
  9. AB 1521 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 200), Committee on Judiciary: judiciary omnibus
  10. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 580b
  11. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 580d
  12. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 580e
  13. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 726
  14. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 729.010
  15. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 729.030
  16. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161a
  17. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161b
  18. Cal. Civ. Code § 2945.3 (foreclosure consultant contracts)
  19. Cal. Civ. Code § 2945.4 (foreclosure consultant prohibitions)
  20. Cal. Civ. Code § 2945.45 (foreclosure consultant registration)
  21. Cal. Civ. Code § 1695.4 (home equity sales contracts: right to cancel)
  22. Cal. Civ. Code § 1695.6 (equity purchaser duties)
  23. Cal. Civ. Code § 1695.13 (unconscionable advantage)
  24. Cal. Civ. Code § 1695.14 (rescission within two years)
  25. California Courts Self-Help Guide: Guide to foreclosures
  26. California Courts Self-Help Guide: Your rights in a nonjudicial foreclosure
  27. California Courts Self-Help Guide: Tenants' rights in a foreclosure
  28. California Courts Self-Help Guide: Foreclosure and mortgage help
  29. California Attorney General: California Homeowner Bill of Rights
  30. California Attorney General: Foreclosure Rescue Scams
  31. California Mortgage Relief Program
  32. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  33. CalAssist Mortgage Fund (CalHFA)
  34. California State Controller: Property Tax Postponement
  35. California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)
  36. DFPI: Submit a Complaint
  37. eCFR: 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41, Loss mitigation procedures