How to avoid foreclosure in Washington, D.C.

How foreclosure works in Washington, D.C., step by step

1. Missed payments and the 120-day wait

   Under federal rules your servicer generally cannot start a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Use this time to send your servicer a request for mortgage assistance and to call the DC Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255 for a free housing counselor.

   12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. The lender starts one of two routes

   If the lender goes to court, you are served with a Summons, a Complaint and an Initial Order that lists your first court date. If the lender uses the out-of-court route, you get a Notice of Default by certified and first-class mail, with a loss mitigation application and a Mediation Election Form.

   D.C. Code § 42-815(b)

3. Respond on time

   In a court case, the D.C. Courts say you must file a response within 21 days, or the lender can ask for a default judgment. On the out-of-court route, you must return the Mediation Election Form and fee to DISB, and the loss mitigation application to the lender, within 30 days after the Notice of Default was mailed, or you lose the right to mediation.

   D.C. Code § 42-815.02(d)(1)

4. Mediation

   In court, the judge can put your case on an early mediation schedule with a court mediator. Out of court, DISB schedules a mediation session to start no later than 90 days after the Notice of Default was mailed. In both, you will need to complete a loss mitigation application with your financial papers.

   D.C. Code § 42-815.02(d)(2)

5. Judgment or mediation certificate, then notice of sale

   In court, the judge decides whether to order a foreclosure sale. Out of court, the lender needs a mediation certificate from DISB and must then send you a Notice of Intention to Foreclose, with a copy to the Recorder of Deeds at least 30 days before the sale.

   D.C. Code §§ 42-815(c), 42-815.02(d)(3), 42-816

6. Last chance to cure, then the auction

   On the out-of-court route, you can stop the sale of a residential mortgage by paying all missed payments, late charges and the lender's foreclosure costs up to 5 business days before the bidding starts, once in any 2 calendar years in a row. In a court case, the judge's process controls, and the D.C. Courts say some borrowers can stop the case by paying all missed payments and fees. If you do not cure, the home is sold at auction.

   D.C. Code §§ 42-815.01, 42-815.04

7. After the sale

   The buyer cannot send you a notice to quit, file a case to remove you, or charge you rent until a deed to the buyer is recorded at the Recorder of Deeds. Legal Aid DC says the new owner must then send a 30-day notice and file an eviction case before you can be removed.

   D.C. Code § 42-815.05

District of Columbia foreclosure deadlines to know

These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.

Your rights as a homeowner in Washington, D.C.

Other District of Columbia protections

• Notice of Default and mediation certificate before an out-of-court sale

  A lender cannot sell a home under a power of sale unless it first mails a Notice of Default, with a loss mitigation application and a Mediation Election Form, and gets a mediation certificate from DISB. The certificate and the notice of sale must be recorded in the land records.

  D.C. Code §§ 42-815(b), (d), 42-815.02

• Right to cure up to 5 business days before an out-of-court sale

  On the out-of-court (power of sale) route, you can stop a residential foreclosure sale by paying the missed payments, late charges and foreclosure costs, without the accelerated balance, once in any 2 consecutive calendar years. Court foreclosures are excluded from these power of sale rules and follow the court's process.

  D.C. Code §§ 42-815.01, 42-815.04

• Lender penalties in DISB mediation

  A lender that skips the mediation, fails to bring the required documents, or does not take part in good faith can be fined $500 for each failure. If you miss a session without good cause, DISB issues the certificate to the lender.

  D.C. Code § 42-815.02(e)

• No eviction steps until the buyer records a deed

  A buyer at a foreclosure auction cannot issue a notice to quit, start a case for possession, or charge rent or use and occupancy against a current occupant until a deed to the buyer is recorded at the Recorder of Deeds. This rule was added in 2022.

  D.C. Code § 42-815.05

• Free counseling through the District's Foreclosure Prevention Program

  Anyone who owns residential property in the District can get free foreclosure counseling through DISB's program with Housing Counseling Services, and a counselor may connect you with free legal help.

District of Columbia mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

In a court foreclosure, the sale proceeds are brought into court to be applied to the mortgage debt, so money left over is handled in the court case. Ask the judge or a lawyer how to claim any surplus in your case. If you have equity, Legal Aid DC suggests telling the judge and the lender that you are trying to sell the home yourself, because a regular sale lets you keep what is left after your debts are paid. We could not confirm the exact steps to claim surplus after an out-of-court sale.

D.C. Code § 42-816

Ways to avoid foreclosure

Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in Washington, D.C. as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy