Know your rights
Your rights as a homeowner, in plain words — from the U.S. Constitution, federal law and your state's law — with every statute, regulation and court case behind them.
General information about the law, not legal advice. A right applying on paper does not predict how a case will turn out. Free legal aid can look at your situation.
Ask Techy about your rights
Ask in your own words. Techy answers only from Techoclaro's rights library and shows the law behind every sentence. If the library does not cover it, Techy says so.
Do not type names, account numbers or other private details. Questions are not saved with your identity.
Browse by situation
Start from what is happening to you.
- Dealing with your mortgage servicerErrors, information requests, payments and statements.18 rights
- Asking for help: modification & forbearanceApplying for a modification, forbearance or repayment plan.34 rights
- Notices, the sale and your chance to catch upThe notices you must get, the sale, and reinstatement.134 rights
- After a foreclosure saleSurplus money, redemption, deficiency and move-out.90 rights
- Property taxes & tax salesDelinquent taxes, tax sales and your equity.80 rights
- HOA liens & HOA foreclosureHOA assessments, liens and foreclosure.8 rights
- Debt collectorsValidation, harassment and what collectors may not do.96 rights
- Bankruptcy (education only)The automatic stay, exemptions and discharge — explained, not advised.53 rights
- Your credit reportDisputing mistakes on your credit report.15 rights
- Servicemembers & veteransExtra protections for people in military service.4 rights
- Renters in a home being foreclosedYour rights if you rent a home that is being foreclosed.6 rights
- Fair housing & fair lendingDiscrimination in lending, servicing or housing.2 rights
- FHA, VA and USDA loansExtra servicing rules for government-backed loans.4 rights
- Homestead protectionProtection for the home you live in.53 rights
- Notice and a fair hearing (due process)The Constitution’s promise of notice and a chance to be heard.8 rights
- Going to court on your ownRepresenting yourself, interpreters and fee waivers.37 rights
Browse by level of law
The Constitution protects everyone, federal law applies in every state, and your state adds its own rights.
The Constitution
3 rights
Due process, fair notice and just compensation — limits on what the government may do.
- The right to real notice before the government takes or sells your home
- The government cannot keep your home equity beyond the tax debt
- The right to be heard in court, and to speak for yourself
Federal law
55 rights
Rules for servicers, debt collectors, bankruptcy, servicemembers, renters and government-backed loans.
- Make your servicer fix mistakes (notice of error)
- Get information from your servicer (request for information)
- Protection from surprise "force-placed" insurance charges
- Fair handling of your escrow account
- Notice when your loan moves to a new servicer
Your state
317 rights
Choose your state to see its own rights.
- California: debt buyers must show their records on request
- North Carolina: debt buyers need proof before collecting or suing
- Maryland: no debt-buyer lawsuit without the documents
- Minnesota: proof required before a default judgment on bought debt
- Washington: a debt buyer's lawsuit must attach the signed agreement
How we verify
- Every right is written from its official source — the Constitution, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations or your state's own statutes — and cited down to the paragraph.
- A right is marked verified only after someone fetched the official text, recorded the date and the web address, and copied a short passage word for word.
- Anything not checked that way is labelled “not yet verified”, so you know to double-check it.
- Court cases come from Techoclaro's case library, each linked to the court's opinion. Techy never invents a citation; any it cannot back up is removed.
What the labels mean
Verified — checked against the official text on the date shown.
Not yet verified — written from the law but not yet re-checked word for word. Confirm it before relying on it.
360 of 375 rights verified