How to avoid foreclosure in New York

How foreclosure works in New York, step by step

1. Missed payments and the 90-day notice

   Under federal rules, your servicer generally cannot start a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. New York adds its own rule: at least 90 days before suing, the lender must mail you a notice headed 'YOU MAY BE AT RISK OF FORECLOSURE' with a list of at least five housing counseling agencies near you. Call one of them right away.

   N.Y. RPAPL § 1304; 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. The lender files a lawsuit

   The lender files a summons and complaint in Supreme Court and a notice of pendency (lis pendens) on your property. With the papers you must get a separate colored notice called 'Help for Homeowners in Foreclosure.' It tells you that you can stay in your home until a sale and warns you about rescue scams.

   N.Y. RPAPL §§ 1303, 1320

3. Answer the complaint in 20 or 30 days

   You have 20 days to answer if the papers were handed to you, or 30 days if they were served another way. Your written answer lists your defenses, such as a missing or defective 90-day notice. The courts' free Foreclosure Answer Program can help you make one.

   N.Y. CPLR 320(a)

4. Mandatory settlement conference

   If the home is your residence and has 1 to 4 units, the court must hold a settlement conference within 60 days after the lender files proof of service. Both sides must negotiate in good faith about options like a loan modification. If you missed the answer deadline but go to the first conference, you get 30 more days to answer.

   N.Y. CPLR 3408

5. Judgment of foreclosure and sale

   If the case does not settle, the lender can win by default, on a summary judgment motion, or at trial. A referee first adds up what you owe, and then the judge signs a judgment of foreclosure and sale. The judgment must list the servicer's name and phone number.

   N.Y. RPAPL § 1351

6. Notice of sale and the auction

   The sale must be held within 90 days of the judgment. Notice is published in a local newspaper, usually once a week for 4 weeks. A referee or the sheriff sells the home at the courthouse to the highest bidder. You can still stop the sale by paying what is owed before the auction.

   N.Y. RPAPL §§ 231, 1351

7. Moving out

   Once the deed is delivered to the buyer, you no longer own the home. If you are still there, the new owner must show you the deed, serve a 10-day notice to quit, and win an eviction case in court. An officer must give at least 14 days' written notice before carrying out the eviction warrant. Ask the court about surplus money from the sale.

   N.Y. RPAPL §§ 713(5), 749

New York foreclosure deadlines to know

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 New York

Other New York protections

• 90-day pre-foreclosure notice

  The lender must mail you a notice by certified or registered mail and by first-class mail at least 90 days before suing, in its own envelope, listing at least five local housing counseling agencies. The courts list a missing or faulty notice as a common defense that can get a case dismissed.

  N.Y. RPAPL § 1304

• Good faith settlement conference

  At the conference both sides must negotiate in good faith. If the lender does not, the court must at least stop interest, costs and fees from building up during the delay, and it can impose a civil penalty of up to $25,000. Neither side may charge the other for taking part.

  N.Y. CPLR 3408

• Standing defense is not lost by leaving it out

  In a home loan foreclosure, a defense that the lender lacks the right (standing) to sue is not waived just because it was missing from your answer. It generally cannot be raised after the sale, unless the judgment was entered on your default.

  N.Y. RPAPL § 1302-a

• Lenders cannot reset the 6-year time limit

  A foreclosure must be brought within 6 years after the loan is accelerated. The Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act of 2022 stops a lender from restarting that clock by dropping an earlier case or reversing its demand for the full balance. New York's highest court held in November 2025 that the law applies to older cases where the sale has not yet happened.

  N.Y. CPLR 203(h), 213(4), 3217(e)

• Deed theft protections

  If someone claims to own your home through a stolen or fraudulent deed, a court must pause foreclosure or eviction cases while a government investigation or prosecution is pending, and a housing court judge must pause an eviction for 90 days when there is a real dispute over who owns the home. A 2024 state law also made deed theft a crime under the larceny law.

  N.Y. RPAPL § 756-a

New York mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

If the home sells for more than what is owed plus costs, the referee or sheriff who ran the sale must pay the extra money into court within 5 days. Lienholders and the former owner can claim it. File a written notice of claim with the clerk where the report of sale is filed, stating what you claim and your address, before the report of sale is confirmed. The court then decides who gets paid and in what order. You can apply yourself, and free legal services groups help with surplus claims.

N.Y. RPAPL §§ 1354(4), 1361

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

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy