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Foreclosure sale date set in Pennsylvania: what you can still do
If your Pennsylvania sheriff's sale is scheduled, you may still be able to stop it. State law lets you cure the default until one hour before bidding begins, and courts can postpone sales for good reasons. Start by confirming the sale is still on, then work through the options below. None of them is guaranteed.
Reviewed against Pennsylvania law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Tell us your sale date
Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.
Options still open before a sale in Pennsylvania
Confirm the sale is still scheduled
Today, and again the day before the sale
Call the county sheriff's real estate office and check your county's sheriff sale listing. In Philadelphia, listings with auction dates are on the Sheriff's Office website and the real estate line is 215-686-3565. A sale can be postponed by announcing a new date at the sale, so ask what was announced.
Pa.R.C.P. 3129.3
Cure the default
Up to one hour before bidding begins
Ask the lender's attorney in writing for the amount to cure, good through the sale date. Paying the past due amount plus allowed fees, costs and late charges stops the sale. You can use this right no more than three times a calendar year.
41 P.S. § 404
Ask the lender to postpone
As early as possible before the sale
If you have a workout application under review, a refinance, or a buyer, tell the servicer and the lender's attorney in writing and ask for a postponement. Get any agreement in writing.
Request a Philadelphia conciliation conference
No later than 10 days before the sale
If you live in the home in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Legal Assistance says you can file the certification of owner occupancy and request for a conciliation conference at least 10 days before a scheduled sale. Call the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at 215-334-HOME first.
Petition the court to postpone the sale
Before the sale, as early as possible
File a petition to postpone or stay the sheriff's sale with the court that handled your case. Reasons courts consider include not being served with the notice of sale, a sale contract, a refinance commitment, or money to cover the arrears. Philadelphia has a form petition, and fees can be waived if you cannot afford them.
File bankruptcy
Before the sale
A bankruptcy filing triggers a federal stay of the sale. Make sure the sheriff and the lender's attorney get proof of the filing before the sale starts. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer or legal aid first.
Ask the court to set the sale aside
After the sale but before the sheriff's deed is delivered
If the sale went ahead despite a real problem, such as missing notice, you can petition the court to set it aside. This is a last resort, so call legal aid right away.
Pa.R.C.P. 3132
Call today, not tomorrow
With a sale on the calendar, every option above has a cutoff. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can call your servicer with you today: (800) 569-4287. For legal aid and court help, see free foreclosure help in Pennsylvania.
Common questions in Pennsylvania
What is the latest I can stop a Pennsylvania sheriff's sale?
Under Act 6, section 404, you can cure the default up to one hour before bidding begins. A bankruptcy filed before the sale also stops it. After the sale, Rule 3132 lets you ask the court to set the sale aside, but only before the sheriff's deed is delivered.
Will I get a new notice if my Pennsylvania sheriff's sale is postponed?
Not always. Under Rule 3129.3, if the new date is within 130 days and is announced to the bidders at the scheduled sale, no new written notice is needed, for up to two postponements. Call the sheriff's office after each scheduled date to find out what was announced.
How much does it cost to file a petition to postpone a Philadelphia sheriff's sale?
Philadelphia Legal Assistance lists the filing cost as $52.68 plus $1.00 per page. If you have low income, you can ask to file without the fee by filing a petition to proceed in forma pauperis with your petition to postpone.
Step by step
More on foreclosure in Pennsylvania
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.
- Free foreclosure help
- A sale date is set (this page)
Back to the Pennsylvania overview
Free, official, nationwide
Free help anywhere in the country
HUD-approved housing counselors
Free foreclosure prevention counseling from agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A counselor can review your budget and deal with your servicer alongside you.
(800) 569-4287CFPB: help for struggling homeowners
Plain-language guides from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a complaint form if your mortgage servicer is not following the rules.
Legal Services Corporation: find legal aid
Find the free civil legal aid office for your county if you have been served with a foreclosure lawsuit or given a sale date and cannot afford a lawyer.
Sources for this page
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 3129.3, Postponement of sale
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 1026, Time for filing responsive pleading
- Philadelphia Legal Assistance: Emergency Measures for Mortgage Foreclosure
- Philadelphia Sheriff's Office
- Philadelphia Courts: Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program materials
- Philadelphia Courts: Ejectment complaint packet and Notice to Defend
- Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network: Local Mortgage Foreclosure Programs in Pennsylvania
- PALawHelp: Preventing Mortgage Foreclosure
- Act 6 of 1974 (Loan Interest and Protection Law), Article IV, sections 403 to 406
- 42 Pa.C.S. § 8103, Deficiency judgments
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 3129.2, Notice of sale
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 3132, Setting aside sale
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 3135, Sheriff's deed
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 3136, Distribution of proceeds
- PHFA: HEMAP, Act 91
- Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund
- Philadelphia Courts: Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program
- 231 Pa. Code Rule 1141, Mortgage foreclosure; conformity to civil action