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Maryland · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Maryland

Maryland gives you several chances to stop or slow a foreclosure, but each one has its own deadline. The most common are a full loss mitigation application, court-ordered mediation, a motion to stay the sale, and the right to catch up up to 1 business day before the sale. Nothing here promises a result, so get free help early.

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

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Maryland

  • Send a complete loss mitigation application

    As soon as the Notice of Intent to Foreclose arrives

    Use the application and envelope that come with the notice. The lender must review you before it can file a final loss mitigation affidavit, and it must explain any denial in that affidavit.

    Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(a)(3), (c)(5)

  • Ask for foreclosure mediation

    Within 25 days after the final loss mitigation affidavit

    File the Request for Foreclosure Mediation with the circuit court and pay $50, or ask for a waiver. The lender's representative must attend with authority to settle. If you miss the 25 days, the People's Law Library warns you will not get another chance.

    Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(j), (l)

  • File a motion to stay the sale and dismiss the case

    Generally within 15 days after mediation or after the mediation report is filed

    If you have a real defense, such as the lender not having the right to foreclose, you can ask the court to stop the sale. After mediation, the motion must give specific reasons why you should have been offered loss mitigation. A late motion must explain why it was late, and the court can deny it without a hearing.

    Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(m)(2); Md. Rule 14-211

  • Raise problems with the required notices

    Before the sale, in a motion to stay

    Maryland requires a correct Notice of Intent to Foreclose, the right affidavits, and proper service. If the lender skipped a step, a lawyer can tell you whether to raise it. A lawsuit over these rules must be brought within 3 years after the sale is ratified.

    Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(c), (e), (h), (q)

  • Cure the default and reinstate

    Up to 1 business day before the sale

    Pay all past due payments, penalties and fees to reinstate the loan. The lender must give you or your lawyer the amount and payment instructions within a reasonable time when you ask.

    Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(p)

  • Bankruptcy

    Before the auction starts

    Filing a bankruptcy case stops the sale under the federal automatic stay. Talk to a lawyer first, because it affects all your debts.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

What Maryland law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Right to reinstate

You have a right under state law to cure the default by paying all past due payments, penalties and fees, and to reinstate the loan, at any time up to one business day before the foreclosure sale. If you ask, the lender or its agent must tell you the amount needed and how to deliver the payment within a reasonable time.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(p)

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

Maryland offers foreclosure mediation for owner-occupied homes. After you receive the final loss mitigation affidavit, file the Request for Foreclosure Mediation form with your county circuit court within 25 days and pay the $50 fee, or ask for a waiver. The Office of Administrative Hearings then holds a session with an administrative law judge within 60 days. If no agreement is reached, the sale can be scheduled, and you have 15 days to file a motion to stay the sale.

Notice of Intent to Foreclose with a 45-day wait

The lender must send a Notice of Intent to Foreclose at least 45 days before filing. It must give the amount needed to reinstate, the name and phone number of someone who can modify the loan, and a recommendation to get housing counseling.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(c)

No filing until 90 days after default

A foreclosure on a home generally cannot be filed until 90 days after the default and 45 days after the notice of intent, whichever is later.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(b)

Pause for furloughed government workers

A court must pause a foreclosure case for a federal, state or local government employee who is furloughed without pay because of a government shutdown. The pause generally cannot run more than 30 days past the end of the shutdown.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(b-1)

Loss mitigation affidavits

The lender must file an affidavit showing whether it has finished reviewing you for alternatives. The clock for mediation and for the sale runs from the final affidavit.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(e), (n)

Three years to sue over violations

A claim that the lender failed to follow these foreclosure rules must be brought within three years after the order ratifying the sale.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-105.1(q)

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Maryland

What happens if I miss the 25-day deadline for mediation in Maryland?

You lose the chance at mediation the lender must attend. The People's Law Library says this is the only time you will be offered it. You can still keep working with your servicer, file a motion to stay if you have a defense, or cure the default up to 1 business day before the sale.

What do I need to send before a Maryland foreclosure mediation?

The Office of Administrative Hearings notice lists the papers. The People's Law Library says they usually include a borrower information worksheet, your last two federal tax returns, any earlier loan modifications, statements for other loans on the home, and proof of property tax and insurance payments. Send them at least 20 days before the session.

Can I stop a Maryland foreclosure by paying what I owe?

Yes. Maryland law gives you the right to pay all past due payments, penalties and fees and reinstate the loan up to 1 business day before the sale. Ask the lender's attorney in writing for the exact amount and how to pay it.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Maryland

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

  1. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.4 (notice of sale to record owner; postponement)
  2. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.3 (notice of sale to county)
  3. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.8 (tenants after foreclosure)
  4. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.11 (occupant and eviction notices)
  5. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-113 (no lockouts or utility shutoffs)
  6. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-314 (foreclosure surplus acquisition contracts)
  7. Maryland Office of Financial Regulation, Foreclosure Surplus Acquisitions
  8. The Maryland People's Law Library, Foreclosure Mediation
  9. The Maryland People's Law Library, Foreclosure of Residential Property
  10. Appellate Court of Maryland, unreported opinion No. 2404, Sept. Term 2018 (Rule 14-211 timing)
  11. Appellate Court of Maryland, Wonder City, LLC v. Ward, unreported opinion No. 0056, Sept. Term 2024 (Rule 14-216 surplus)
  12. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.1
  13. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.2
  14. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-305
  15. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-307
  16. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-320
  17. Maryland Office of Financial Regulation, Maryland's Mortgage Foreclosure Process
  18. Maryland Office of Financial Regulation, Foreclosure Help for Homeowners
  19. Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation, Advisory: Termination of the Homeowner Assistance Fund (October 25, 2023)
  20. Maryland DHCD, Foreclosure Prevention
  21. The Maryland People's Law Library, Foreclosure Steps and Timeline