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Foreclosure mediation in Delaware

Delaware's Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program schedules a mediation conference in foreclosure cases on owner-occupied homes with 1 to 4 units. You do not have to apply, and the program is free to you; the lender pays the mediation fee. A 2024 law removed the program's end date, and the Attorney General's office runs a hotline for it.

Ask for help in Delaware Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

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

How foreclosure mediation works in Delaware, step by step

  1. Who is covered

    Foreclosures filed on or after January 19, 2012

    The program covers mortgage foreclosure cases on owner-occupied 1 to 4 family primary homes. It does not cover a mortgage held by the seller of the home who holds 5 or fewer such mortgages.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(b), (u)

  2. The notice that comes with the lawsuit

    Served with the complaint

    A notice of foreclosure mediation must come with the complaint. It gives the Attorney General's Foreclosure Hotline number, a list of HUD-approved housing counselors who can help with mediation, and a Certificate of Participation form.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(c)

  3. Meet a counselor and file the certificate

    Within 30 days after you are served

    Meet with a HUD-approved housing counselor and file the Certificate of Participation with the court, sending copies to the mediator and the lender's lawyer. It asks if you are the borrower, live in the home, and want to keep it or resolve the case without a sheriff's sale. Answering no cancels the conference, but you can ask to reinstate it before judgment.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(c)(2), (e)(1)

  4. The conference date and what it pauses

    45 to 75 days after service

    The court schedules the conference for 45 to 75 days after the notice was served on you. No judgment can be entered until the day after the scheduled conference date.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(d)(1), (n)

  5. What to send and bring

    14 days and 7 days before the conference

    At least 14 days before, send a completed financial proposal worksheet to the lender and the mediator. At least 7 days before, the lender must send you and your counselor a checklist of documents to bring. Bring everything on that list.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(f), (g)

  6. Who attends

    On the conference date

    You must appear in person. The lender, or its lawyer, must have authority to settle, with a decision maker available by phone, and must bring an updated amount needed to reinstate. You can bring a housing counselor and a lawyer. The parties can agree to more conferences.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(i)(2), (5), (8)

  7. Outcomes, no-shows and no agreement

    At the end of each conference

    Options include bringing the loan current, a repayment plan, a loan modification, a deed in lieu, or moving out by a set date for a payment. If the lender misses 2 conferences in a row, the mediator may recommend dismissal, and the lender can lose attorney's fees for failing to comply. If there is no agreement, the foreclosure goes on.

    10 Del. C. § 5062C(i)(3), (7), (9), (k)

The program in Delaware

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

Delaware has an Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. It applies to foreclosure cases on owner-occupied primary homes with 1 to 4 units (not to a seller who holds 5 or fewer such mortgages). You do not have to ask: a conference is scheduled 45 to 75 days after you are served, and the lender must attend and mediate in good faith. To take part fully, meet with a HUD-approved housing counselor and file the Certificate of Participation within 30 days of service. The program had been set to expire on January 1, 2025, but a 2024 law removed that expiration. For questions, call the Attorney General's foreclosure hotline at (800) 220-5424.

Official program page

Common questions in Delaware

Who pays for Delaware foreclosure mediation?

The lender does. Once you file a completed Certificate of Participation, the lender owes the mediation fee set by the Superior Court. The Attorney General describes the program as free help for homeowners.

What happens to Delaware mediation if I file bankruptcy?

Mediation cannot continue while the bankruptcy stay is in place unless the stay is lifted or modified for your mortgage, or the bankruptcy court allows it. If mediation is later allowed, the lender must ask for a new conference, and no judgment can be entered until the day after it.

Can I bring a lawyer or housing counselor to my Delaware mediation conference?

Yes. You may be accompanied by a housing counselor and may have a lawyer. The court may also arrange volunteer lawyers to represent homeowners at conferences.

What if the papers from my Delaware mediation agreement are wrong?

If the documents do not match what you agreed to, or a trial modification is not met, either side can ask for another mediation conference. No judgment can be entered until that conference date has passed.

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.

Also in Delaware

Foreclosure mediation (this page)Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds Deficiency judgments Letters you may get

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Sources for this page

  1. 10 Del. C. Chapter 49, Subchapter I, Exemptions (§ 4913)
  2. 10 Del. C. ch. 49, subch. XI, Scire Facias on Mortgage (§§ 5061 to 5067)
  3. 10 Del. C. ch. 49, subch. V, Sale Under Execution (§ 4973)
  4. 84 Del. Laws ch. 355 (2024), removing the January 1, 2025 expiration of the mediation program
  5. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, Foreclosure Consultants and Reconveyances, subch. I
  6. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, subch. II, Foreclosure Consultants
  7. 6 Del. C. ch. 24B, subch. III, Foreclosure Reconveyances
  8. 6 Del. C. ch. 24C, Mortgage Loan Modification Services
  9. Delaware Department of Justice: Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program
  10. Delaware Department of Justice: Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education
  11. Legal Services Corporation of Delaware: A Guide to Foreclosure in Delaware
  12. Delaware State Housing Authority: Foreclosure Prevention
  13. Delaware's Mortgage Relief Program
  14. U.S. Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  15. Delaware Superior Court: Project Rightful Owner
  16. Sussex County Sheriff: Sheriff Sales
  17. Tyler v. Dep't of Fin. of Sussex Cnty., No. 342, 2018 (Del. Jan. 17, 2019) (order describing Super. Ct. Civ. R. 69(g) notice)