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Free foreclosure help in Delaware

Delaware's free foreclosure help is run mostly by the Attorney General's Office of Foreclosure Prevention, the state housing authority and legal aid. Find your situation below and call the same day if a court deadline is running. You never need to pay anyone to attend mediation, apply for a modification or claim surplus money.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Delaware law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ask for help in Delaware

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.

Free, and there is nothing to buy. A person reads your message and replies by email, or by phone if you leave a number. We never ask for a fee and we do not sell your details. See the privacy policy.

Who to call first, by situation

  • You are not behind yet but expect trouble

    Before you miss a payment

    Call your servicer about hardship options, and contact Delaware State Housing Authority: Foreclosure Prevention at (888) 363-8808 for a free HUD-approved housing counselor. The housing authority's page also shows which state programs are open; the HAF-funded Mortgage Relief Program and DEMAP are not taking applications.

  • You got a Notice of Intent to Foreclose

    Right away; filing can come 45 days after it was mailed

    Call Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education at (800) 220-5424. It can contact your servicer for you, explain your options and point you to counselors. Bring the notice so they can check the cure amount.

    10 Del. C. § 5062B

  • You were served with a foreclosure lawsuit

    Immediately; counselor and certificate within 30 days

    Use Delaware Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program for the forms and counselor list. Apply for free legal aid through Delaware Legal Help Link, and read Legal Services Corporation of Delaware: A Guide to Foreclosure in Delaware. If you do not qualify, use Delaware State Bar Association: Public Resources and Online Lawyer Referral Service.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(e)

  • A sheriff's sale date is set

    The same day you learn of it

    Apply through Delaware Legal Help Link or find a lawyer through Delaware State Bar Association: Public Resources and Online Lawyer Referral Service about stopping or objecting to the sale. Ask Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education to contact your servicer about a postponement.

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    As soon as the problem happens

    Keep records and send your servicer a written complaint. Report it to Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education, which holds servicers accountable, and to Office of the State Bank Commissioner: Consumer Complaints if the company is a licensed mortgage lender or servicer.

  • A rescue company or home buyer contacted you

    Before you sign or pay anything

    In Delaware a foreclosure consultant cannot collect any money until every promised service is done, and a loan modification company cannot charge until you sign an agreement with your lender. Report scams to Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education.

    6 Del. C. chs. 24B, 24C

  • Your home was sold and there may be surplus

    After the sale

    Search Delaware Superior Court: Project Rightful Owner for money left from the sale. The court encourages using a lawyer and lists free volunteer legal help for those who qualify.

    10 Del. C. § 5067

Official and nonprofit help in Delaware

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

Delaware Mortgage Relief Program (Homeowner Assistance Fund)

The Delaware Mortgage Relief Program, the state's Homeowner Assistance Fund program run by the Delaware State Housing Authority, is closed. Its site says the program is fully subscribed and no longer accepts applications, and the U.S. Treasury says HAF programs can no longer pay assistance after September 30, 2026. The state's own Delaware Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (DEMAP) is also not taking applications right now, according to the housing authority's page. That page lists one local program: the Wilmington Senior Tax Assistance Program, for City of Wilmington homeowners age 62 or older who face foreclosure for unpaid property taxes or water and sewer bills, with grants up to $3,000. Free HUD-approved housing counseling is still available statewide.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in Delaware

What does the Delaware Attorney General's foreclosure office do?

The Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education can contact your servicer for you after you sign its authorization form, explain your options and investigate scams. It also runs the mediation program hotline at (800) 220-5424.

How do I get free legal aid for a Delaware foreclosure?

Apply through Delaware Legal Help Link, the single online intake for the state's free legal aid groups, which is open 24 hours a day. Legal Services Corporation of Delaware also publishes a plain-language foreclosure guide.

Is Delaware's Mortgage Relief Program or DEMAP open?

No. The Delaware State Housing Authority says the Mortgage Relief Program is fully subscribed and DEMAP is not taking applications now. The U.S. Treasury says HAF money could not be used after September 30, 2026. Free counseling is still available.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Delaware

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 Delaware overview

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Sources for this page

  1. Tyler v. Department of Finance of Sussex County, Del. Supreme Court, No. 342, 2018 (Jan. 17, 2019)
  2. One Pie Investment LLC v. Whitfield, Del. Super. Ct., N22L-12-041 (Apr. 16, 2026)
  3. Delaware Superior Court: Petition Requirements to Redeem Sheriff's Sale Excess
  4. 10 Del. C. ch. 49, subch. XI, Scire Facias on Mortgage (§§ 5061 to 5067)
  5. 10 Del. C. ch. 49, subch. V, Sale Under Execution (§ 4973)
  6. 84 Del. Laws ch. 355 (2024), removing the January 1, 2025 expiration of the mediation program
  7. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, Foreclosure Consultants and Reconveyances, subch. I
  8. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, subch. II, Foreclosure Consultants
  9. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, subch. III, Foreclosure Reconveyances
  10. 6 Del. C. ch. 24C, Mortgage Loan Modification Services
  11. Delaware Department of Justice: Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program
  12. Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education
  13. Legal Services Corporation of Delaware: A Guide to Foreclosure in Delaware
  14. Delaware State Housing Authority: Foreclosure Prevention
  15. Delaware's Mortgage Relief Program
  16. U.S. Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  17. Delaware Superior Court: Project Rightful Owner
  18. Sussex County Sheriff: Sheriff Sales