The automatic stay: filing bankruptcy pauses most collection
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
In plain words
When a bankruptcy case is filed, an "automatic stay" goes into effect right away. It generally stops lawsuits, foreclosure steps, and other collection against you and your property, without anyone needing to ask a judge. Creditors who knowingly violate it can owe damages.
Who is protected
People who file a bankruptcy case, and their property.
When it applies
- Only after a notice of default or once a sale date is set.
- Only if you are in a bankruptcy case.
- If you had another bankruptcy case dismissed in the past year, the stay may last only 30 days; with two or more dismissed cases, it may not start at all.
What you can do
Learn how bankruptcy can affect a sale date
Read the plain-language guide, then talk to a bankruptcy lawyer well before the sale date.
Open the toolPrepare questions for a bankruptcy lawyer
Use the consultation checklist to gather your debts, income, and sale dates before you meet a lawyer.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- The stay is temporary. A creditor can ask the court to lift it, and it ends when the case is dismissed or closed.
- Some actions are not stopped (listed in § 362(b)). Repeat filings within a year weaken or remove the stay.
- Simply keeping property taken before the filing does not violate the stay (City of Chicago v. Fulton).
- Filing bankruptcy has serious long-term effects on credit and property. It is not right for everyone.
- Bankruptcy information here is education only. Whether and how to file is a legal decision — talk to a bankruptcy attorney or legal aid office. Many offer free consultations.
- This is general legal information, not legal advice, and it does not promise any result. A HUD-approved housing counselor or a lawyer can look at your facts.
The law
- Federal lawBankruptcy Code — automatic stay
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
Exact part: (a)
What it says: A bankruptcy petition operates as a stay of most actions to collect from the debtor or to take property of the estate.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section362&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy Code — repeat filings
11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3)–(4)
Exact part: (c)(3)–(4)
What it says: For repeat filers, the stay may end after 30 days or not start at all unless the court orders otherwise.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section362&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy Code — relief from stay
11 U.S.C. § 362(d)
Exact part: (d)
What it says: A creditor can ask the court to lift the stay, for example if its interest is not adequately protected.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section362&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy Code — damages for willful violations
11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1)
Exact part: (k)(1)
What it says: An individual hurt by a willful stay violation recovers actual damages, costs and attorney's fees, and sometimes punitive damages.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section362&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawBankruptcy petition preparers may not give legal advice
11 U.S.C. § 110(e)(2)
Exact part: (e)(2)
What it says: Non-lawyer bankruptcy petition preparers may not advise a debtor whether to file or which chapter to use.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section110&num=0&edition=prelim
Court cases
- Homeowner lostCited for this rightCity of Chicago v. Fulton
City of Chicago v. Fulton, 592 U.S. 154 (2021)
merely retaining estate property seized before the bankruptcy filing does not violate the automatic stay under § 362(a)(3)
- Homeowner wonSame topicBartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n
Bartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n (In re Bartee), 212 F.3d 277 (5th Cir. 2000)
Chapter 13's anti-modification rule does not protect a junior lienholder whose lien is not supported by any value in the debtor's home
- Homeowner lostSame topicBoren v. U.S. National Bank Ass'n
Boren v. U.S. Nat'l Bank Ass'n, 807 F.3d 99 (5th Cir. 2015)
a lender may abandon a prior acceleration by giving notice that it seeks less than the full accelerated balance, which restarts the four-year limitations period
- Homeowner lostSame topicMartins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P.
Martins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P., 722 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2013)
a mortgage servicer acting for a properly assigned mortgagee may foreclose in Texas without possessing the original note, and an oral promise to modify a large loan is not enforceable
- Homeowner lostSame topicNobelman v. American Savings Bank
Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324 (1993)
a Chapter 13 debtor may not reduce a mortgage secured only by the principal residence to the fair market value of the home
- Partial winSame topicTaggart v. Lorenzen
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order when there is no fair ground of doubt that the order barred its conduct
- Partial winSame topicReinagel v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.
Reinagel v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co., 735 F.3d 220 (5th Cir. 2013)
a Texas borrower may challenge an assignment of the loan on any ground that renders it void, though not on grounds that make it merely voidable
Related rights
Chapter 13: catch up on missed mortgage payments over time
11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5)
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a plan can let you catch up on missed mortgage payments over a reasonable time (often 3 to 5 years) while you keep paying the regular monthly payment. For your main home, you can use this cure until the home is sold at a foreclosure sale held under state law.
Read this rightProtect equity in your home with a bankruptcy exemption
11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(1)–(3)
In bankruptcy, you can keep ("exempt") certain property from creditors. For your home, the federal exemption protects equity up to a set dollar amount, but many states make you use the state's own list instead. Some state homestead exemptions are much larger than the federal one; some are smaller.
Read this rightAfter a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Read this rightThe right to be heard in court, and to speak for yourself
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause
Due process means that before the government, through a court, takes your property, you must get a meaningful chance to be heard. In federal court, you have a legal right to present your own case without a lawyer. Most state courts also let people represent themselves, under state rules.
Read this rightThe right to real notice before the government takes or sells your home
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause
Before a state or county sells your property — for example at a tax sale, or through a court foreclosure — the Constitution requires notice that is reasonably likely to actually reach you. If the government knows your address, publishing a notice in the newspaper is not enough. If a mailed notice comes back unclaimed, the government must take extra reasonable steps to reach you, if it practicably can.
Read this rightNo lies or misleading claims by debt collectors
15 U.S.C. § 1692e
A debt collector may not lie or mislead you. It cannot misstate how much you owe, pretend to be a lawyer or government official, or threaten something it cannot legally do or does not intend to do. It also cannot report credit information it knows is false, or fail to say a debt is disputed.
Read this right