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Foreclosure sale date set in Rhode Island: what you can still do

Once a Rhode Island sale date is set, your time is short and no judge is watching the process, so you have to act yourself. A sale stops only if the debt is paid, the lender agrees to postpone, a court orders it stopped, or a bankruptcy is filed. Start by confirming the date with the foreclosure lawyer named in your notice. None of these options is guaranteed.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

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

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Options still open before a sale in Rhode Island

  • Confirm the sale is still on

    Today, and again the day before the sale

    Check your certified mail notice and the weekly newspaper ad for the date, time and place. Call the foreclosure lawyer named in them. If the sale is postponed past that week, the ads must keep running weekly with a notice of the postponement.

    R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-27-4(a), 34-11-22

  • Ask the lender to postpone

    As early as possible before the sale

    The power of sale lets the lender adjourn the sale from time to time. Send the servicer and its lawyer a written request with proof of a pending application, refinance or buyer. Get any agreement in writing.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-22

  • Pay off the loan

    Before the auction

    Ask the foreclosure lawyer for a written payoff good through the sale date. There is no right to redeem after the auction.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-22

  • Ask a court to stop the sale

    Before the auction

    If the mediation, mailing or ad rules were not followed, a lawyer can ask the Superior Court to stop the sale. Bring the mediation notice, any certificate, the certified mail notice and copies of the ads.

    R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-27-4(b), 34-27-9(m)

  • Give servicemember notice

    Before the sale

    If you are on active duty, or finished within the last 9 months, send written notice to the servicer or the foreclosure lawyer. The sale is then barred for that 9-month period unless a court approves it.

    R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-4(d)(3)

  • File bankruptcy

    Before the auction

    A bankruptcy filing triggers a federal stay of the sale. Send proof to the foreclosure lawyer before the auction starts. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer or Rhode Island Legal Services first.

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 Rhode Island.

Common questions in Rhode Island

How close to the sale is the last Rhode Island newspaper ad?

Under § 34-27-4(a), the third weekly ad must run no fewer than 7 and no more than 14 days before the original sale date. The sale must be held no more than 14 days after that third ad. If the dates in your ads do not fit these rules, show them to a lawyer.

Can I stop a Rhode Island foreclosure on the day of the auction?

Only in narrow ways: paying the full debt, getting the lender to postpone, a court order, or a bankruptcy filed before the bidding. Each is hard to arrange in a few hours, so start as soon as you get the certified mail notice. Call Rhode Island Legal Services at 401-274-2652.

My Rhode Island sale was postponed. Will I get a new notice?

The law requires the newspaper ads to keep running weekly with a notice of the postponement, unless the new date is in the same week. It does not clearly require a new certified letter for a postponement. Watch the paper and call the foreclosure lawyer each week to get the new date.

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.

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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