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Free foreclosure help in New Jersey

Free help for New Jersey homeowners is available at every stage, and who you call first depends on where you are. Free housing counseling runs through NJHMFA's network, the courts' mediation program is free, and Legal Services of New Jersey offers free legal help if you qualify. You never have to pay a company to talk to your servicer, request mediation, or claim surplus money. If a deadline is running, such as the 35 days to answer, call the same day.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

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

Ask for help in New Jersey

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

Free, and there is nothing to buy. A person reads your message and replies by email, or by phone if you leave a number. We never ask for a fee and we do not sell your details. See the privacy policy.

Who to call first, by situation

  • You are not behind yet but expect trouble

    Before you miss a payment

    Call your servicer and ask about hardship options. NJHMFA: Foreclosure Prevention (Foreclosure Mediation Assistance Program) offers free counseling to owner-occupants whose mortgage is at risk of default, and NJHMFA: Find a Counselor lists agencies in your county.

  • You are behind or got a Notice of Intention

    Within days of the notice; the cure date is at least 30 days out

    Contact a counselor through NJHMFA: Find a Counselor to prepare an application to your servicer. Ask about the courts' free pre-foreclosure mediation, described on New Jersey Courts: Foreclosure Self-Help. The state's NJ Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance (ERMA) program is closed.

    N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56

  • You were served with a foreclosure complaint

    Immediately; 35 days to answer and 60 days to request mediation

    Call the Legal Services of New Jersey: LSNJLAW Hotline at 1-888-576-5529 or apply online. If you do not qualify, use New Jersey State Bar Association: County Bar Lawyer Referral Services. New Jersey Courts: Foreclosure Self-Help has the answer and mediation forms, and the Office of Foreclosure (609-421-6100) can answer procedure questions.

  • A sheriff's sale date is set

    The same day you learn of it

    Ask the county sheriff for one of your 2 adjournments and confirm the date. Call the LSNJLAW Hotline or a lawyer about a motion to stay the sale, and tell your servicer and counselor about any pending application.

    N.J.S.A. 2A:17-36

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    As soon as the problem happens

    Keep a written record and send your servicer a written complaint. File a complaint with the state regulator through NJ Department of Banking and Insurance: Home Mortgage Foreclosures (Consumer Hotline 1-800-446-7467). A legal aid lawyer can tell you whether the problem is a defense in your case.

  • A foreclosure rescue company contacted you

    Before you sign or pay anything

    In New Jersey a foreclosure consultant must be licensed, cannot take any money until all promised work is finished, and cannot guarantee you will keep your home. Check a license through NJ Department of Banking and Insurance: Foreclosure Consultants, and report scams through New Jersey Office of Attorney General: File a Complaint. Do not sign over your deed.

    N.J.S.A. 46:10B-55, 46:10B-58

Official and nonprofit help in New Jersey

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

New Jersey Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance (ERMA), the state's Homeowner Assistance Fund program

ERMA is closed. Its NJHMFA page says it is no longer accepting applications, and the U.S. Treasury says the federal HAF period ended on September 30, 2026, so HAF money can no longer pay new assistance. What is still open: NJHMFA's Foreclosure Mediation Assistance Program gives free counseling through HUD-certified agencies in every county, both before a foreclosure and for court mediation, and the Judiciary's mediation programs are free.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in New Jersey

Where can I get a free foreclosure lawyer in New Jersey?

Legal Services of New Jersey runs the LSNJLAW Hotline at 1-888-576-5529, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and takes online applications any time. It helps financially eligible residents with civil legal problems. If you do not qualify, your county bar association's lawyer referral service can connect you with a private lawyer.

Is New Jersey's ERMA mortgage assistance program still open?

No. The NJHMFA page for NJ Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance says it is no longer accepting applications, and the U.S. Treasury says the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund period ended on September 30, 2026. Free counseling through NJHMFA and the courts' free mediation programs are still available.

How do I find a free housing counselor for New Jersey foreclosure mediation?

NJHMFA's Find a Counselor page lists HUD-certified agencies in all 21 counties with phone numbers. Mediation requires a trained foreclosure prevention counselor to sign your certification, and the law says you pay no fee to take part in the program.

How much can a New Jersey foreclosure consultant charge?

Nothing until every promised service is finished. Even then, the Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act caps the fee at 2 monthly principal and interest payments or the latest quarterly property tax bill, whichever is less. You can cancel the contract until the work is fully done.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in New Jersey

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 New Jersey overview

Free, official, nationwide

Free help anywhere in the country

Sources for this page

  1. New Jersey Courts: Notice to Residential Tenants of Rights During Foreclosure (CN 11351)
  2. Legal Services of New Jersey: Free LSNJLAW Hotline
  3. NJHMFA: Find a Counselor
  4. P.L.2019, c.64, New Jersey Foreclosure Mediation Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:50-74 to 2A:50-80)
  5. P.L.2019, c.69, amending N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56 (Notice of Intention, 30 to 180 days)
  6. P.L.2019, c.70, further amending N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56
  7. P.L.2019, c.71, amending N.J.S.A. 2A:50-64 and 2A:17-36 (sheriff's sale within 150 days; adjournments)
  8. P.L.2006, c.13, amending N.J.S.A. 2A:50-58 (14-day notice before final judgment)
  9. P.L.2023, c.255, Community Wealth Preservation Program (approved January 12, 2024)
  10. P.L.2011, c.146, Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (N.J.S.A. 46:10B-53 et seq.)
  11. New Jersey Courts: Foreclosure self-help
  12. New Jersey Courts, Superior Court Clerk's Office: Foreclosure
  13. New Jersey Courts: How to Apply for Foreclosure Mediation (CN 11270, revised September 1, 2021)
  14. New Jersey Courts: Stay of Sheriff's Sale Notice of Motion Instructions (CN 11277, revised September 19, 2022)
  15. New Jersey Courts: How to File for a Writ of Possession in a Foreclosure Case (CN 11978)
  16. New Jersey Courts press release: courts help residents at risk of foreclosure (October 2023, pre-foreclosure mediation)
  17. Bayview Loan Servicing v. Rauch, App. Div. A-4384-18 (quoting N.J.S.A. 2A:50-57(a): cure up to entry of final judgment)
  18. Newrez LLC v. Inzana, App. Div. A-3866-24 (decided February 19, 2026; quoting R. 4:65-5)
  19. West Pleasant-CPGT, Inc. v. U.S. Home Corp., N.J. Supreme Court A-1-19 (July 8, 2020; N.J.S.A. 2A:50-2, 2A:50-3)
  20. Wells Fargo Bank v. Khorami, Ch. Div. F-11387-22 (August 20, 2024; surplus under N.J.S.A. 2A:50-37 and R. 4:64-3)
  21. NJHMFA: Foreclosure Prevention
  22. NJHMFA: NJ Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance (no longer accepting applications)
  23. U.S. Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund (period of performance ended September 30, 2026)
  24. NJ Department of Banking and Insurance: Home Mortgage Foreclosures
  25. NJ Department of Banking and Insurance: Foreclosure Consultants