90-day right to cure before your loan is accelerated
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 35A(a)
In plain words
Massachusetts gives homeowners a 90-day right to cure a missed payment by paying the amounts that are due, without the whole loan being called due. The lender must send you a written notice of this right. You can use it once in any five-year period.
Who is protected
Mortgagors of residential property in Massachusetts (1–4 units, owner-occupied principal residence).
When it applies
- Only in Massachusetts.
- Only while you are behind but have no foreclosure notice yet or after a notice of default.
- Only if the home is your primary residence.
What you can do
Put the deadline on your calendar
Mark the date of the notice and the 90-day deadline to pay what is past due.
Deadline: 90 days from the right-to-cure notice
Open the toolAsk in writing
Ask the servicer in writing for the exact cure amount and for a loss-mitigation review.
Open the toolRead the Massachusetts guide
Our Massachusetts page explains the whole process step by step, with its sources and free local help.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- Only once every five years, and only for payment defaults.
- This is general education, not legal advice. Laws change and details depend on your papers and your court; check the current law or ask a lawyer or legal aid.
The law
- State law90-day right to cure
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 35A(a)
Exact part: (a)
What it says: A residential mortgagor has a 90-day right to cure a payment default, once in any 5-year period.
Read the official texthttps://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleIII/Chapter244/Section35A
Court cases
- Homeowner wonCited for this rightPinti v. Emigrant Mortgage Co.
Pinti v. Emigrant Mortg. Co., 472 Mass. 226 (2015)
strict compliance with the mortgage's notice-of-default provisions is a condition of a valid foreclosure sale
- Homeowner wonSame topicU.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Ibanez
U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Ibanez, 458 Mass. 637 (2011)
a foreclosing party must hold the mortgage by valid assignment at the time of the notice of sale and the sale, or the foreclosure is invalid
- 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
- 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
- Partial winSame topicCulhane v. Aurora Loan Services
Culhane v. Aurora Loan Servs., 708 F.3d 282 (1st Cir. 2013)
a mortgagor may contest the validity of a MERS assignment to the foreclosing entity, although the MERS framework itself is lawful
- Partial winSame topicEaton v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n
Eaton v. Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n, 462 Mass. 569 (2012)
a foreclosing mortgagee must either hold the note or act on behalf of the note holder, a rule applied to foreclosures after the decision
Related rights
Right to a mailed notice at least 14 days before a foreclosure auction
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 14
Before a Massachusetts foreclosure auction, the notice of sale must be published once a week for three weeks and mailed by registered mail to the owner at least 14 days before the sale. If the lender may seek a deficiency, it must also mail a separate warning at least 21 days before the sale.
Read this rightRight to challenge a foreclosure that did not strictly follow the law
U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Ibanez, 458 Mass. 637 (2011)
Massachusetts foreclosures usually happen outside court, but the foreclosing party must strictly follow the power of sale. Massachusetts’ highest court has held that a sale is void if the foreclosing party did not hold the mortgage when it gave notice and sold, or if the default notice did not strictly follow the mortgage. You can raise these problems in a lawsuit before the sale or as a defense to an eviction case after it.
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 rightThe automatic stay: filing bankruptcy pauses most collection
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
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.
Read this rightChapter 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 right