- Who sends it
- The buyer at the auction, often the lender, or its attorney or property manager
- What it starts
- A notice period, then a court case with an answer deadline and a first court date on the summons
- Do this first
- Write down every date on the papers and call legal aid the same day
What these papers are in Massachusetts
M.G.L. c. 239, § 1 lets a person who bought land at a foreclosure sale recover possession through summary process, the state's eviction case. The Trial Court Law Libraries note that the Supreme Judicial Court held, in Attorney General v. Dime Savings Bank (1992), that a foreclosing lender may not use a trespass case against a former owner or tenant in possession; summary process is the proper way.
A notice to quit is the letter that ends your right to stay and sets a date to leave. A Summary Process Summons and Complaint is the court paper that starts the case.
How long the notice to quit must be
- No statute sets a single notice period for a former owner after foreclosure, and courts have not agreed.
- The Trial Court Law Libraries describe a 2017 Southeast Housing Court decision, Lenders Commercial Finance LLC v. Pestilli, that held a 30-day notice was not enough for former owners with no rent agreement, and required a 90-day notice to quit under M.G.L. c. 186, § 12.
- Section 12 says a tenancy at will can be ended by 3 months' written notice, or, where rent is paid more often, by the time between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer.
- If your notice gives fewer days than you think it should, raise it in your written answer and with a lawyer.
Your answer deadline in the court case
- Uniform Summary Process Rule 3 says your written "Summary Process Answer" is due no later than the first Monday after the Monday entry day shown on the summons, and filing or service by mail counts only when received.
- Trial Court Administrative Order 21-2 suspends parts of the rules that conflict with current Housing Court, District Court and Boston Municipal Court standing orders. Follow the dates printed on your summons, and ask the clerk's office or legal aid to confirm them.
- In your answer you can deny the new owner's claims and list defenses, such as problems with the foreclosure or the notice to quit.
- If you miss your court date, the court can enter a default judgment against you.
If you rent the home
Tenants have more protection. Under M.G.L. c. 186A, § 2, a foreclosing owner may not evict a tenant except for just cause, or when it has signed an agreement to sell to an outside buyer. The lender must also notify residential tenants within 30 days after it takes possession or conveys title (M.G.L. c. 244, § 15A). Tell legal aid you are a tenant.
What to do this week
- Do not ignore the papers, and do not leave important deadlines to the last day. Write down the entry date, answer date and court date.
- Call free legal aid through Massachusetts Legal Services' Find Legal Aid tool, or the Mass Bar Lawyer Referral Service at (617) 654-0400, which the Attorney General lists for help after an auction.
- Ask the new owner for any cash for keys offer in writing before you agree to move.
- Ask the lender in writing for the itemized accounting of the sale and any surplus. See Massachusetts foreclosure surplus funds.
- Read after a Massachusetts foreclosure sale and our national notice to vacate page.
The rest of the Massachusetts process
See how foreclosure works in Massachusetts, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Massachusetts, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
Can the new owner change the locks after a Massachusetts foreclosure?
No. The new owner must win a summary process case in court first. Massachusetts law makes summary process the way to recover possession after a foreclosure sale.
How many days' notice does a former owner get after a Massachusetts foreclosure?
No statute sets one number for former owners, and courts have disagreed. One Housing Court decision required a 90-day notice to quit for former owners with no rent agreement. Ask legal aid whether the notice you got was long enough.
When is my answer due in a Massachusetts summary process case?
Uniform Summary Process Rule 3 says the first Monday after the Monday entry day, but current court standing orders can change the schedule. Use the dates on your summons and confirm them with the clerk or legal aid.
Other Massachusetts letters
- Right to Cure Notice (90-day notice)Before a Massachusetts lender can call your whole loan due or start a foreclosure for missed payments, it must send you this notice and wait at least 90 days. If you pay the past-due amount by the cure date, the lender cannot speed up the loan for that default. You get this right once in any 5-year period.
- Right to Request a Modified Mortgage Loan NoticeIf your loan has certain higher-risk features, Massachusetts law makes the lender try to avoid foreclosure before it can advertise a sale. This notice tells you that you can ask for a modified loan. You have 30 days after it is delivered to send back your choice.
- Servicemembers Complaint and Order of NoticeA Servicemembers case is a short court case a lender files, usually in the Land Court, before it forecloses. It decides only whether an owner has military protections under federal law. It is not the foreclosure itself, but it is a sign that a sale notice may come soon.
- Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency After Foreclosure of MortgageThis registered-mail notice warns that you may owe money if the foreclosure sale brings in less than the debt. A Massachusetts lender can sue you for that shortfall only if it mailed this notice at least 21 days before the sale. It also tells you a sale is close.
- Mortgagee's Sale of Real Estate (notice of sale)This is the notice of the foreclosure auction. It must run in a local newspaper once a week for 3 weeks, the first at least 21 days before the sale, and be mailed to you by registered mail at least 14 days before. In Massachusetts the auction itself ends your right to redeem.
Sources
- M.G.L. c. 239, § 1, Persons entitled to summary process (Massachusetts General Laws)
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 12, Notice to determine estates at will (Massachusetts General Laws)
- M.G.L. c. 186A, § 2, Tenant protections in foreclosed properties (Massachusetts General Laws)
- M.G.L. c. 244, § 15A, Notice to tenants after possession or conveyance (Massachusetts General Laws)
- Massachusetts Trial Court: Uniform Summary Process Rule 3, Answer
- Trial Court Law Libraries: Massachusetts law about tenants in foreclosed buildings
- Massachusetts Attorney General: Frequently asked questions about mortgages and foreclosure