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Texas · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Texas

Texas gives you fewer built-in delays than many states, so the time to act is before the notice of sale. You can still apply for help, cure the default, answer a Rule 736 case on a home equity loan, challenge notices that broke the rules, or file bankruptcy. None of these is guaranteed to work in your case. A HUD-approved counselor or a Texas legal aid office can help you choose.

Ask for help in Texas Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Texas law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Texas

  • Send your servicer a complete loss mitigation application

    As early as possible; more than 37 days before the sale for federal review protection

    Ask for a loan modification, repayment plan or forbearance and send every document it asks for. TexasLawHelp says that if the lender forecloses after you sent a complete application in time, you have a right to sue to stop the sale. Keep proof that your application was received.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g)

  • Cure the default

    Within the cure period in your notice of default (at least 20 days)

    Paying everything past due within the cure period stops a notice of sale from being given. After that, any right to catch up depends on your loan papers and your servicer, so ask in writing for the exact reinstatement amount and deadline.

    Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d)

  • File a response in a Rule 736 case (home equity loans)

    By the first Monday after 38 days from the mailing date on the citation

    Your response can deny that you signed a document or owe the debt, say the default months or payoff figures are materially wrong, say an attached copy is not true, or prove you paid. Filing it means the court must hold a hearing before it can sign an order.

    Tex. R. Civ. P. 736.5, 736.6

  • File your own lawsuit about a home equity loan

    Before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the scheduled sale

    A separate lawsuit that raises any issue about how the loan was made, serviced or enforced automatically stays the Rule 736 case. You must quickly tell the lender's attorney and the trustee and, within 10 days, file a motion to dismiss in the Rule 736 case. Talk to legal aid or a licensed attorney first.

    Tex. R. Civ. P. 736.11

  • Check every notice for mistakes

    As soon as each notice arrives, and before the sale

    Texas requires a certified mail notice of default with at least 20 days to cure, a notice of sale mailed, posted and filed at least 21 days ahead, the trustee's name and street address, and a military service statement. If something was missed, a lawyer may be able to use it to challenge the sale.

    Tex. Prop. Code §§ 51.002, 51.0075(e)

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the trustee's sale

    Filing bankruptcy generally stops the sale for now, and if a Rule 736 case is pending, it must be paused once you show the clerk proof of filing. TexasLawHelp notes that bankruptcy does not remove the lien. Talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid before filing.

    Tex. R. Civ. P. 736.10

What Texas law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

Texas law gives you at least 20 days after the default notice to cure by paying what is past due, before a notice of sale can be given. After that, any right to catch up and stop the sale depends on your loan papers and your servicer, not on a Texas statute. Ask your servicer in writing for the exact reinstatement amount and deadline.

Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d)

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

We did not find a statewide foreclosure mediation or settlement conference program in Texas. If your case is in court, for example an expedited foreclosure on a home equity loan, ask the court clerk whether that court offers mediation.

Written default notice and 20 days to cure

For a home you live in, the servicer must send a certified mail notice of default and give you at least 20 days to cure before it can give notice of sale. This applies no matter what your loan papers say.

Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d)

Court order needed for home equity loans

A lender on a home equity loan, home equity line of credit or reverse mortgage must get a court order before it can sell. If you file your own separate lawsuit about the loan before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the sale, the expedited case is automatically stayed.

Tex. R. Civ. P. 735, 736.11

Fair market value credit on a deficiency

If you are sued for a deficiency, you can ask the court to credit you with the home's fair market value instead of a low auction price.

Tex. Prop. Code § 51.003(b), (c)

Military service notice

Every foreclosure notice sent to you must include a bold statement about the rights of active duty service members and their spouses. If this applies to you, send written notice of the military service to the sender right away.

Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(i)

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Texas

Does Texas have a foreclosure mediation program?

We did not find a statewide one. Texas has no state program that pauses a power of sale foreclosure for mediation. If your home equity case is in court under Rule 736, ask the court clerk whether that court offers mediation, and work with a HUD-approved counselor on your servicer application.

Can I stop a Texas foreclosure by paying after the cure period ends?

Possibly, but Texas law does not guarantee it. The 20-day cure right in Property Code § 51.002(d) ends before the notice of sale. After that, whether your servicer must accept a full catch-up payment depends on your deed of trust, so get the reinstatement figure and deadline in writing.

Can I appeal a Texas Rule 736 foreclosure order?

No. A Rule 736 order cannot be appealed, reheard or challenged with a motion for new trial (Tex. R. Civ. P. 736.8(c)). The only way to challenge it is a separate lawsuit in another court. The order also has no effect on other court cases, so you can still raise your claims there (Rule 736.9).

I am in the military. Does Texas give me extra foreclosure protection?

Every Texas foreclosure notice must tell you, in bold or underlined type, to send written notice to the sender right away if you or your spouse are on active duty (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(i)). Do that, and keep a copy. Federal law also limits foreclosure on a loan taken out before your service.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Texas

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. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (current, Supreme Court of Texas), Rules 735 and 736
  2. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 22 (public sale of residential real property under power of sale)
  3. S.B. 62, 88th Legislature (2023), enrolled: county website posting of notices of sale
  4. TexasLawHelp: Foreclosure Fact Sheet
  5. Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation: Foreclosure Prevention
  6. Texas Property Code Chapter 51 (liens and foreclosure sales)
  7. Texas Property Code Chapter 24 (forcible entry and detainer)
  8. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 21 (foreclosure consulting services)
  9. Supreme Court of Texas, Misc. Docket No. 11-9256, final approval of Rules 735 and 736
  10. Texas State Law Library: Foreclosure guide
  11. Texas State Law Library: Foreclosure, Before the Sale
  12. Texas State Law Library: Foreclosure, After the Sale
  13. TDHCA: Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) Program