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Illinois · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Illinois

In Illinois you can stop a foreclosure by reinstating the loan within 90 days of being served, by reaching a loss mitigation agreement with your servicer, by winning or settling the court case, or by paying off the judgment before the redemption period ends. Because the case is in court, you also have tools that homeowners in many states do not: an answer with defenses, mediation in some counties, and a motion asking the judge to delay the sale. Each has its own deadline.

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

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

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Illinois

  • File an Appearance and Answer

    Within 30 days after you are served

    Use the statewide Mortgage Foreclosure Appearance and Answer form and file it with the circuit clerk. It keeps you in the case, lets you raise defenses such as payments not credited or a loan modification that was under review when the case was filed, and makes sure you get notices. If you cannot afford the filing fee, ask for a fee waiver.

    Illinois Courts approved form instructions

  • Reinstate the loan

    Within 90 days after you are served

    Pay everything that is past due plus the costs and expenses your mortgage requires, not the full balance. The case must then be dismissed and the loan continues. Ask the servicer in writing for a reinstatement figure early so you have time to gather the money.

    735 ILCS 5/15-1602

  • Apply for loss mitigation

    As early as possible; a complete application more than 37 days before the sale gets the strongest federal protection

    Send your servicer a complete application for a modification, repayment plan or other option. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 114 has the lender swear in an affidavit which loss mitigation programs your loan is eligible for, what it did, and where things stand. Tell the judge if that does not match what happened to you.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g); Ill. S. Ct. R. 114

  • Ask for foreclosure mediation

    Early in the case; each county's program has its own sign-up deadline

    Mediation depends on your county. Cook County and the 17th Judicial Circuit (Winnebago and Boone counties) run programs with free housing counseling, and other circuits may too under Supreme Court Rule 99.1. Ask the circuit clerk or the judge at your first court date.

    Ill. S. Ct. R. 99.1

  • Redeem, sell or refinance

    Before the redemption period ends (later of 7 months after service or 3 months after judgment)

    You can pay off the full judgment amount with your own funds, a refinance, or a sale of the home. To redeem, give the lender's attorney written notice at least 15 days ahead, not counting weekends and court holidays, and file proof of that notice with the clerk. You can also ask for a payoff statement, which must be sent within 10 business days.

    735 ILCS 5/15-1603, 15-1505.5

  • Ask to vacate a default judgment

    As soon as you learn of it; no later than the date the lender files its motion to confirm the sale

    If a judgment was entered because you did not respond, you can file a Motion to Vacate Default Judgment of Foreclosure. The court's instructions say a judge is more likely to grant it if you file within 30 days after the default judgment.

    Illinois Courts approved form instructions

  • File bankruptcy

    Before the sale is held

    A bankruptcy filing puts an automatic stay on the foreclosure case and the sale. The lender can ask the bankruptcy court to lift the stay, and a filing has long-term costs, so talk with a bankruptcy lawyer or legal aid first.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

What Illinois law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Right to reinstate

You have a legal right to reinstate the loan within 90 days after you (and every other borrower on the mortgage) are served with the summons or come into the case. You pay the past-due amounts plus the costs and expenses the mortgage requires, not the whole loan balance. The case must then be dismissed and the mortgage continues as if there had been no default. If a court makes a written finding that you used this right, you cannot use it again on the same mortgage for 5 years. After the 90 days, catching up depends on your lender agreeing.

735 ILCS 5/15-1602

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

There is no single statewide program. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 99.1 lets each judicial circuit run its own mortgage foreclosure mediation program, so it depends on your county. We confirmed two programs from court pages. Cook County's Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program gives homeowners who have received a summons free housing counseling, legal help and mediation; call (855) 452-2637. The 17th Judicial Circuit (Winnebago and Boone counties) has a free, voluntary program you opt into by application or by filing a motion asking for referral. Illinois Legal Aid Online lists other counties with programs, but rules differ and programs change, so ask your circuit clerk or the judge at your first court date whether mediation is offered and what the deadline is to sign up.

Homeowner Notice attached to the summons

Every home foreclosure summons must include a plain-language notice, in English and Spanish, telling you that you still own the home, can stay until a judge enters an eviction order, can reinstate within 90 days, can redeem, and can ask the court for any surplus.

735 ILCS 5/15-1504.5

Payoff statement within 10 business days

If you ask in writing and include your name, the property address and the loan number, your mortgage company must give you an accurate payoff statement within 10 business days. Your first payoff statement is free.

735 ILCS 5/15-1505.5, 15-1504.5

Loss mitigation affidavit

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 114 uses a sworn loss mitigation affidavit in which the lender lists the loss mitigation programs your loan is eligible for, the steps it took to follow them, and the current status. Eligible means you can be considered, not that a workout is guaranteed.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 114

A judge must approve the sale

The sale is not final until a confirmation hearing, and notice of the hearing must be mailed to you. You can object, and the judge can refuse to confirm if notice was not given, the terms were unconscionable, there was fraud, or justice was otherwise not done.

735 ILCS 5/15-1508(b), (b-5)

You keep possession during the case

For a home you live in, you are generally entitled to stay in possession before judgment, and the buyer's right to possession starts 30 days after the confirmation order. After the redemption period ends, the lender can ask the court to make you pay a monthly amount to stay unless you show good cause.

735 ILCS 5/15-1701

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Illinois

What happens if I ignore an Illinois foreclosure summons?

The court can enter an Order of Default and a Judgment of Foreclosure without hearing from you. You still keep your reinstatement and redemption rights for as long as they last, and you may be able to file a Motion to Vacate the default, but you lose the chance to raise defenses early and you may not get every notice. Filing an Appearance and Answer within 30 days avoids this.

Can I reinstate my Illinois mortgage more than once?

Yes, but with a limit. If the court makes an express written finding that you used your right to reinstate under 735 ILCS 5/15-1602, you cannot use that right again on the same mortgage for 5 years from the date the case was dismissed. A lender can still agree to let you catch up outside the statute.

Does my Illinois county have foreclosure mediation?

It depends. Illinois has no single statewide program; each judicial circuit decides whether to run one under Supreme Court Rule 99.1. Cook County and the 17th Judicial Circuit (Winnebago and Boone) have programs described on their court websites. For any other county, ask the circuit clerk, and check Illinois Legal Aid Online's foreclosure pages.

What is a consent foreclosure in Illinois?

It is an agreed way to end the case under 735 ILCS 5/15-1402. The lender offers to give up any deficiency judgment, you consent in writing, and the court transfers title to the lender without a sale. You give up the home and your reinstatement and redemption rights, but you leave owing nothing more on that loan.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Illinois

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 Illinois overview

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Sources for this page

  1. 735 ILCS 5/15-1503: Notice of foreclosure
  2. 735 ILCS 5/15-1504: Pleadings and service
  3. 735 ILCS 5/15-1508.5: Notice by holder or purchaser to known occupants
  4. 735 ILCS 5/15-1509: Transfer of title and title acquired
  5. 735 ILCS 5/15-1200.5: Abandoned residential property (definition)
  6. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113: Practice and Procedure in Mortgage Foreclosure Cases (forms)
  7. Illinois Courts: How to Ask the Court to Delay a Foreclosure Sale
  8. Illinois Courts: How to Ask the Court to Vacate a Default Judgment of Foreclosure
  9. Illinois Legal Aid Online: Delay a foreclosure sale (Easy Form)
  10. Illinois Legal Aid Online: Vacate default judgment of foreclosure (Easy Form)
  11. 11 U.S.C. § 362: Automatic stay
  12. 735 ILCS 5/15-1502.5 (grace period notice, repealed effective 7-1-16)
  13. 735 ILCS 5/15-1504.5: Homeowner notice to be attached to summons
  14. 735 ILCS 5/15-1505.5: Payoff demands
  15. 735 ILCS 5/15-1506: Judgment
  16. 735 ILCS 5/15-1507: Judicial sale
  17. 735 ILCS 5/15-1508: Report of sale and confirmation of sale
  18. 735 ILCS 5/15-1511: Deficiency
  19. 735 ILCS 5/15-1512: Application of proceeds of sale and surplus
  20. 735 ILCS 5/15-1602: Reinstatement
  21. 735 ILCS 5/15-1603: Redemption
  22. 735 ILCS 5/15-1604: Special right to redeem
  23. 735 ILCS 5/15-1701: Right to possession
  24. 735 ILCS 5/15-1401: Deed in lieu of foreclosure
  25. 735 ILCS 5/15-1402: Consent foreclosure
  26. 735 ILCS 5/15-1219: Residential real estate (definition)
  27. 765 ILCS 940/15: Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, rescission of consultant contract
  28. 765 ILCS 940/35: Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, cancellation of conveyance contract
  29. 765 ILCS 940/50: Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, violations
  30. 765 ILCS 940/70: Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, consultant compensation
  31. Illinois Supreme Court Rules (index showing Rule 99.1 and Rule 114)
  32. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 99.1: Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Programs (amended Dec. 2, 2025, eff. Mar. 1, 2026)
  33. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 114: Loss Mitigation Affidavit (form)
  34. Illinois Courts: Approved Statewide Forms, Mortgage Foreclosure
  35. Illinois Courts: How to Respond to a Mortgage Foreclosure Complaint
  36. Circuit Court of Cook County: Chancery Division Mediation
  37. Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt
  38. 17th Judicial Circuit Court: Mortgage Foreclosure Program
  39. Illinois Attorney General: Home Ownership and Rental Issues
  40. Illinois Legal Aid Online: Mortgage foreclosure
  41. Illinois Legal Aid Online: Options for dealing with foreclosure
  42. Illinois Legal Aid Online: Collecting a surplus after a foreclosure sale
  43. State of Illinois press release on the Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (opened April 11, 2022, closed October 31, 2023)
  44. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  45. Illinois Housing Development Authority: Saving My Home
  46. Illinois Department of Revenue: Property Tax Relief (Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program)
  47. IDFPR Division of Banking: File a Complaint
  48. Illinois State Bar Association: Illinois Lawyer Finder