Free foreclosure help in North Dakota

Who to call first, by situation

• You are current but expect to miss a payment

  Before the first missed payment

  Call your servicer to ask what options it offers before you fall behind. A counselor from the NDHFA list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies can review your budget for free. If property taxes are part of the strain, see North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner: Primary Residence Credit.

• You are behind but have no notice yet

  This week

  Apply to your servicer for a workout and get a counselor's help with the paperwork. If your loan is with the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, call its servicing team at 701-328-8080 to discuss your situation.

• You received a notice before foreclosure

  Within the 30 days in the notice

  Call your servicer to confirm the exact amount to cure, and apply to Legal Services of North Dakota at 1-800-634-5263, or 1-866-621-9886 if you are 60 or older. Paying within 30 days reinstates the loan.

  N.D.C.C. § 32-19-28

• You were served with a summons and complaint

  Within 21 days of service

  Apply to Legal Services of North Dakota or Dakota Plains Legal Services and say you have a court deadline. North Dakota Legal Self Help Center: Answering a Summons and Complaint explains how to serve an answer. If you can pay for a lawyer, the State Bar Association of North Dakota Lawyer Referral Service at 866-450-9579 can match you.

  N.D.R.Civ.P. 12(a)

• A sheriff's sale date is set

  The day you learn of it

  Call Legal Services of North Dakota or a licensed attorney, then your servicer and the lender's attorney. Call the county sheriff's office to confirm the date. A lawyer can tell you whether a postponement, bankruptcy or the 60 day redemption is realistic.

  N.D.C.C. § 32-19-18

• Your servicer is not following the rules

  As soon as it happens

  File with North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions: File a Complaint if the company is a state-chartered bank or credit union or is licensed in North Dakota; the page explains who handles the rest. You can also complain to North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. A complaint does not pause your court deadlines.

• Someone offered to save your home for a fee

  Before you sign or pay anything

  Report it to North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division at 701-328-3404 or 1-800-472-2600. State consumer fraud law bans deceptive promises in selling services or real estate. Have Legal Services of North Dakota review any deed or contract before you sign.

  N.D.C.C. § 51-15-02

Official and nonprofit help in North Dakota

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

• North Dakota Housing Finance Agency

  The state housing finance agency; its loan customers who are struggling can call its servicing team, and the page links to its list of HUD-approved housing counselors.

  701-328-8080

• NDHFA list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies

  The agency's May 2025 list of HUD-approved counselors serving North Dakota, which names Community Action Partnership in Minot (701-839-7221).

• North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division

  Takes consumer complaints online or by mail and tries to mediate a resolution, including about mortgage companies and rescue offers; 1-800-472-2600 within North Dakota.

  701-328-3404

• Legal Services of North Dakota

  Free civil legal help for eligible low-income and older North Dakotans; apply online or by phone (1-866-621-9886 if you are 60 or older).

  1-800-634-5263

• Dakota Plains Legal Services

  Free legal help with housing and consumer problems for low-income people, older Americans and veterans in parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, including tribal nations.

• North Dakota Legal Self Help Center: Answering a Summons and Complaint

  The courts' guide to serving a written answer within 21 days, with forms and an explanation of why your papers may have no case number.

• North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions: File a Complaint

  Takes complaints about state-chartered banks and credit unions and companies licensed in North Dakota, and tells you who regulates the rest.

  701-328-9933

• State Bar Association of North Dakota Lawyer Referral Service

  Matches paying clients with a lawyer for a consultation of up to 30 minutes for a $30 referral charge, as described on the courts' Finding a Lawyer page.

  866-450-9579

• North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner: Primary Residence Credit

  Up to $1,600 off the property tax on the home you live in, applied for online from January 1 to April 1 each year.

  701-328-7988

ND Help for Homeowners (North Dakota Homeowner Assistance Fund)

Closed. North Dakota Health and Human Services, which ran the program, said in May 2026 that applications were due by August 15, 2026 and that the program would end in August 2026. The U.S. Treasury says all Homeowner Assistance Fund awards ended on September 30, 2026, so no new help can be paid. The housing agency's older program page has not been updated. Other state help that is open: the Primary Residence Credit gives homeowners up to $1,600 off the property tax on the home they live in, with no age or income limit, applied for online from January 1 to April 1 each year. The Homestead Property Tax Credit helps owners 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled with household income up to $70,000; apply to your local assessor before March 31. These lower a tax bill but do not pay a mortgage.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in North Dakota