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Louisiana foreclosure help

How to avoid foreclosure in Louisiana

Louisiana foreclosures go through the parish district court, but most use a fast track called executory process. The lender files a petition with the mortgage attached, the judge orders a writ of seizure and sale without a trial, and the parish sheriff seizes the home and sells it at a public auction. You are not served with a regular lawsuit to answer. To fight it, you must ask the court for an injunction or file a special appeal.

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

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

Louisiana at a glance
Type of foreclosure
Judicial (through the courts)
Catch up to stop the sale
Limited
Buy back after the sale
No
Owe money after the sale
Limited
Foreclosure mediation
No statewide program

How foreclosure works in Louisiana, step by step

How long it takes: At the very least, about six months from the first missed payment to a sheriff's sale: the federal 120-day wait, plus a first sale date that cannot be set sooner than 60 days after the judge signs the order. This is a minimum, not a prediction, and many cases take longer.

  1. Missed payments and the federal waiting period

    Your servicer generally cannot start a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Use this time to apply for help from your servicer and talk to a free housing counselor.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

  2. The lender files a petition for executory process

    The lender files a petition in district court asking for seizure and sale of the home. If the paperwork is in order, the judge signs an order for a writ of seizure and sale. No citation is served on you and there is no hearing first.

    La. C.C.P. arts. 2634, 2638, 2640

  3. The sheriff serves a notice of seizure

    The sheriff seizes the property on paper and serves you a written notice of seizure in person or at your home. The notice gives the date, time and place of the sheriff's sale and tells you that free housing counseling is available. The first sale date cannot be sooner than 60 days after the judge signed the order.

    La. C.C.P. art. 2721; La. R.S. 13:3852

  4. Your short window to object in court

    You can ask the court for an injunction to stop the sale, or file a suspensive appeal within 15 days of being served with the notice of seizure. The appeal requires a bond of one and a half times the balance owed, so most homeowners who fight use an injunction. Talk to a lawyer right away.

    La. C.C.P. arts. 2642, 2751 to 2753

  5. The sale is advertised

    The sheriff cannot order the sale advertised until three days, not counting holidays, after you are served. The sale of a home must be advertised twice: once at least 30 days before the sale and again in the last week before it.

    La. C.C.P. art. 2331; La. R.S. 43:203

  6. The sheriff's sale

    The sheriff sells the home at public auction, in person or online. If the home was appraised, it cannot sell at the first offering for less than two-thirds of the appraised value. Money left after the debts and costs are paid goes to you.

    La. C.C.P. arts. 2336, 2344, 2373

  7. After the sale

    The buyer becomes the owner and can go to court to have occupants removed. We did not confirm the exact eviction steps and time limits, so get legal help quickly if you are still in the home.

Louisiana foreclosure deadlines to know

WhatHow long
Earliest first sale date after the court orderLa. R.S. 13:3852(A)At least 60 days
Suspensive appeal of the order for seizure and saleLa. C.C.P. art. 2642(B)Within 15 days of service of the notice of seizure
First newspaper advertisement of the saleLa. R.S. 43:203(2)At least 30 days before the sale
Second newspaper advertisementLa. R.S. 43:203(2)Within the 7 days before the sale
Notice of an online sale, if not in the notice of seizureLa. C.C.P. art. 2721(B)At least 3 days before the sale

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 Louisiana

Can I stop a foreclosure in Louisiana by catching up on what I owe?

Limited right

We did not find a Louisiana statute that gives every homeowner a right to catch up on missed payments and stop the sale. The official notice of seizure says you may be able to bring the account current through a loss mitigation agreement or by paying all past due amounts and allowed costs within the time permitted by law for reinstatement. In practice your right to reinstate comes from your mortgage and your loan type, so ask your servicer in writing for a reinstatement quote and deadline.

La. R.S. 13:3852(B)

Can I get my home back after a foreclosure sale in Louisiana?

No redemption after sale

We did not find any Louisiana law that lets a homeowner buy the home back after a mortgage foreclosure sheriff's sale. Plan on the sale being final and do everything you can before the sale date.

Can the lender come after me for the remaining balance in Louisiana?

Limited

The lender can get a judgment for the shortfall only if the home was sold after an appraisal. If the lender used a waiver of appraisal and sold the home without one, the rest of the debt is treated as paid and the lender cannot come after you or your other property for it.

La. C.C.P. arts. 2771, 2723; La. R.S. 13:4106

Is there foreclosure mediation in Louisiana?

No statewide program

We did not find a statewide foreclosure mediation or settlement conference program in Louisiana. The notice of seizure points homeowners to free HUD-approved housing counseling through the Louisiana Housing Corporation instead. Ask the clerk of your parish court whether a local program exists.

Other Louisiana protections

  • 60 days before the first sale date

    The sheriff cannot set the first sale date any earlier than 60 days after the judge signs the order for the writ.

    La. R.S. 13:3852(A)

  • Notice of seizure must tell you about free counseling

    For a home, the sheriff's notice must follow a form set by law. It tells you the sale date, your right to object in court, and that free foreclosure prevention counseling is available.

    La. C.C.P. art. 2721(C); La. R.S. 13:3852(B)

  • No bond needed for certain injunctions

    The original borrower does not have to post security to get an injunction when the claim is that the debt is paid or too old, the foreclosure is premature, the mortgage or signature is forged, or the court order was based on paperwork that was not proper.

    La. C.C.P. art. 2753

  • Two-thirds of appraised value at the first offering

    When a home is sold with appraisal, the sheriff cannot sell it at the first offering for a bid below two-thirds of the appraised value. It must be advertised again for a second offering.

    La. C.C.P. art. 2336

Louisiana mortgage assistance programs

Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund

Closed to new applications

The Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund is closed. The state says applications closed on December 21, 2022 and all funds were paid out by the end of 2023. The Louisiana Housing Corporation can still connect you with free HUD-approved housing counseling.

Check the program’s current status

If the home is sold for more than you owe

After the sale the sheriff pays the costs, then the foreclosing lender, then lower-ranking mortgages and liens. Whatever is left must be paid to you. Contact the civil division of the parish sheriff's office that held the sale to ask about a surplus.

La. C.C.P. art. 2373

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 Louisiana as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

Step by step

Louisiana foreclosure guides, step by step

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.

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Sources for this page

Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Laws and programs change. If you find something out of date, tell us.

  1. La. C.C.P. art. 2721, Seizure of property; notice
  2. La. C.C.P. art. 2642, Assertion of defenses; appeal
  3. La. C.C.P. art. 2640, Citation unnecessary
  4. La. C.C.P. art. 2753, Security not required in certain cases
  5. La. C.C.P. art. 2723, Appraisal of property, unless waived
  6. La. C.C.P. art. 2771, When deficiency judgment obtainable
  7. La. C.C.P. art. 2331, Publication of notice of sale
  8. La. C.C.P. art. 2336, Minimum price; second offering
  9. La. C.C.P. art. 2373, Distribution of proceeds of sale
  10. La. C.C.P. art. 2293, Notice to judgment debtor
  11. La. R.S. 13:3852, Notices of seizure
  12. La. R.S. 13:4106, Deficiency judgment prohibited if sale made without appraisement
  13. La. R.S. 43:203, Judicial advertisements
  14. Louisiana Office of Community Development, Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund
  15. Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, Complaints