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Free foreclosure help in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's free help centers on RIHousing, the state housing agency, which runs the HelpCenter and also serves as a foreclosure mediation coordinator. Rhode Island Legal Services can help eligible homeowners with legal problems. You never have to pay a company to take part in mediation, apply for a modification or ask for surplus money.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

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

Ask for help in Rhode Island

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 about hardship options. RIHousing: Homeowner Assistance and HelpCenter at 401-457-1130 gives free, confidential counseling and can review your budget with you.

  • You are behind or got the mediation notice

    Within days; the conference must happen within 60 days of the notice

    Call the mediation coordinator named in your notice. If it is RIHousing, the page for RIHousing: Homeowner Assistance and HelpCenter lists the Mediation Coordinator at 401-457-1213. RIHousing: HAF-RI closing notice confirms HAF-RI closed to new applications, and HAF money ended September 30, 2026.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-9(f)

  • You got a notice of sale or court papers

    Immediately

    Call Rhode Island Legal Services at 401-274-2652 to see if you qualify for free help. HelpRILaw: Home Purchase, Improvement and Foreclosure has legal information and referrals. If you were sued, the Rhode Island Judiciary site has court information.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-4(b)

  • A sale date has been set

    The same day you learn of it

    Call Rhode Island Legal Services and your HelpCenter counselor. If you need a private lawyer, the Rhode Island Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service can refer you. Send the servicer and the foreclosure lawyer named in the notice a written request to postpone, with proof of any application or buyer.

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    As soon as the problem happens

    Keep notes of dates, names and calls. If it happens during mediation, tell the mediation coordinator, because the law asks whether the lender acted in good faith. Rhode Island Legal Services can check whether mediation or notice rules were broken.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-9(c)(3)

  • A rescue company contacted you

    Before you sign or pay anything

    A Rhode Island foreclosure consultant cannot take any money until every promised service is done. It cannot take a lien, a deed or an interest in your home, and you can cancel until midnight of the third business day. Never sign over your deed. Call Rhode Island Legal Services before you sign.

    R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-79-3, 5-79-4

Official and nonprofit help in Rhode Island

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

Homeowner Assistance Fund Rhode Island (HAF-RI)

RIHousing announced that HAF-RI is closed to new applications. Its announcement points struggling homeowners to the RIHousing HelpCenter, a HUD-approved counseling agency that gives free foreclosure prevention counseling and can refer you to Rhode Island Legal Services.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in Rhode Island

Where can I get a free foreclosure lawyer in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island Legal Services gives free civil legal help, including foreclosure defense, to eligible homeowners. RIHousing lists its number as 401-274-2652. HelpRILaw also has legal information and referrals.

Is RIHousing's foreclosure counseling free?

Yes. RIHousing says its HelpCenter is a HUD-approved counseling agency that gives free, confidential help to Rhode Island homeowners who are behind. To start, you fill out its Financial Information Package. Call 401-457-1130.

Is HAF-RI still taking applications?

No. RIHousing's release dated December 2, 2025 says HAF-RI closed to new applications. The U.S. Treasury says HAF money could not be used after September 30, 2026. RIHousing now points homeowners to its HelpCenter.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Rhode Island

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 Rhode Island overview

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Sources for this page

  1. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-3.2 (repealed by P.L. 2024, ch. 403, effective June 26, 2024)
  2. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-1, Complaint to foreclose
  3. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-38.2, Just cause needed for eviction of foreclosed residential property tenants
  4. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-37, Termination of periodic tenancy
  5. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-9, Mediation conference
  6. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-4, Publication of notice under power of sale
  7. R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 34-27, index (shows §§ 34-27-3.1 and 34-27-3.2 repealed in 2024)
  8. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-22, Statutory power of sale
  9. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-7, Notice to tenants
  10. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-79-3, Foreclosure consultant contract
  11. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-79-4, Foreclosure consultant violations
  12. RIHousing: HAF-RI closing to new applications
  13. RIHousing: Homeowner assistance programs