Right to pay what is due and end or pause the case
N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 1341
In plain words
When only part of the loan is due, you can pay the court the past-due principal and interest plus the costs. If you pay before the judgment of sale, the court must dismiss the case. If you pay after judgment but before the sale, the court must stay (pause) the case.
Who is protected
Defendants in a New York mortgage foreclosure where the rest of the loan is not yet due.
When it applies
- Only in New York.
- Only after a notice of default or once a sale date is set.
What you can do
Ask for a reinstatement figure
Request in writing the exact past-due amount and costs.
Deadline: Before the judgment of sale (to end the case) or before the sale (to pause it)
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Honest limits
- If the lender has accelerated the loan (declared all of it due), this section may not help unless the acceleration is undone.
- A later default lets the lender ask the court to move forward again.
- This is general education, not legal advice. Laws change and details matter — check the current official text or talk to a legal aid lawyer or HUD-approved housing counselor.
The law
- State lawRPAPL 1341 — payment into court
N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 1341
What it says: Paying the amount due plus costs before judgment dismisses the case; after judgment but before sale, it stays the case.
Read the official texthttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/1341
Court cases
- Homeowner lostSame topicFreedom Mortgage Corp. v. Engel
Freedom Mortg. Corp. v. Engel, 37 N.Y.3d 1 (2021)
a noteholder's voluntary discontinuance of a foreclosure action that accelerated the debt revokes the acceleration
- Homeowner wonSame topicBank of New York v. Silverberg
Bank of N.Y. v. Silverberg, 86 A.D.3d 274 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011)
a plaintiff whose only claim to the loan is an assignment from MERS, which never held the note, lacks standing to foreclose in New York
- 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 topicAurora Loan Services, LLC v. Taylor
Aurora Loan Servs., LLC v. Taylor, 25 N.Y.3d 355 (2015)
in New York the note, not the mortgage, is the instrument that gives standing to foreclose, and a plaintiff holding the note before suing has standing
- 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
Related rights
Right to answer the foreclosure lawsuit and be heard
N.Y. C.P.L.R. 320(a)
New York foreclosures go through court. After you are served, you must appear (usually by filing an answer) within 20 days if the papers were handed to you, or 30 days if served another way. Answering lets you raise defenses such as a missing 90-day notice or the lender’s lack of standing.
Read this rightRight to a mandatory settlement conference
N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3408(a)
If you live in the home and the loan is a home loan, the court must hold a settlement conference within 60 days after the lender files proof that you were served. The goal is to look for a solution such as a loan modification. Both sides must negotiate in good faith.
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