Early contact and help information when you fall behind
12 C.F.R. § 1024.39(a)
In plain words
When you miss a mortgage payment, your servicer must try to reach you live (by phone or in person) by the 36th day of the delinquency and tell you about options to avoid foreclosure. By the 45th day it must send you a written notice explaining loss-mitigation options and how to get help, including housing counselors.
Who is protected
Delinquent borrowers on a mortgage loan secured by their principal residence.
When it applies
- Only while you are behind but have no foreclosure notice yet or after a notice of default.
- Only for conventional, FHA, VA, USDA or home-equity loans.
- Only if the home is your primary residence.
- Only for a loan on the home you live in as your main home. Small servicers and reverse mortgages are mostly exempt.
What you can do
Ask for the loss-mitigation application
Call the servicer, ask what options exist, and ask them to send the full application. Write down the date, the name of the person, and what they said.
Open the toolMap your options
Use the strategy planner to compare keeping the home, selling, or other paths.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- These rules require contact and information; they do not require the servicer to offer you any particular option.
- Special rules apply if you are in bankruptcy or have told a debt collector to stop contacting you.
- Only for a loan on the home you live in as your main home. Small servicers and reverse mortgages are mostly exempt.
- 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 regulationRegulation X — live contact by day 36
12 C.F.R. § 1024.39(a)
Exact part: (a)
What it says: The servicer must make good-faith efforts to reach a delinquent borrower live by the 36th day of delinquency and tell them about loss-mitigation options.
Read the official texthttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/part-1024/section-1024.39#p-1024.39(a) - Federal regulationRegulation X — written notice by day 45
12 C.F.R. § 1024.39(b)
Exact part: (b)
What it says: The servicer must send a written early-intervention notice by the 45th day of delinquency.
Read the official texthttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/part-1024/section-1024.39#p-1024.39(b)
Court cases
- Homeowner lostSame topicLage v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC
Lage v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, 839 F.3d 1003 (11th Cir. 2016)
a servicer's duty to evaluate a loss-mitigation application depends on its being submitted more than 37 days before the sale date scheduled at that time
- Homeowner lostSame topicGresham v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Gresham v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 642 F. App'x 355 (5th Cir. 2016) (per curiam) (unpublished)
the federal dual-tracking bar applies only when the servicer receives a complete loss-mitigation application more than 37 days before the foreclosure sale
- Homeowner wonSame topicRenfroe v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC
Renfroe v. Nationstar Mortg., LLC, 822 F.3d 1241 (11th Cir. 2016)
a servicer that answers a borrower's written request without a reasonable investigation may be liable under RESPA when the borrower alleges resulting damages
- Homeowner wonSame topicJesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 574 U.S. 259 (2015)
a borrower exercises the Truth in Lending right to rescind by notifying the lender in writing within three years, without needing to sue within that period
- Homeowner wonSame topicMarais v. Chase Home Finance LLC
Marais v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 736 F.3d 711 (6th Cir. 2013)
a borrower who alleges actual damages, such as added interest, caused by a servicer's deficient response to a qualified written request states a RESPA claim
- Homeowner lostSame topicWhittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C.
Whittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C., 594 F. App'x 833 (5th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (unpublished)
a RESPA claim against a servicer fails without evidence of actual damages caused by the violation
Related rights
A servicer team assigned to you
12 C.F.R. § 1024.40(a)
By the 45th day after you fall behind, your servicer must assign staff to help you. Those people must be reachable by phone and must be able to tell you your options, what documents are missing, the status of your application, and the deadlines that apply.
Read this rightA fair, on-time review of your application for help
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(b)(1)
When you apply for help (like a loan modification), your servicer must tell you within 5 business days whether your application is complete and what is missing, if you applied 45 days or more before a sale. If your complete application arrives more than 37 days before a sale, the servicer must review you for every option it has and tell you its decision in writing within 30 days.
Read this rightNo foreclosure filing until you are more than 120 days behind
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)(1)
Your servicer cannot make the first notice or filing to start a foreclosure until your loan is more than 120 days delinquent. This gives you time to apply for help. There are narrow exceptions, such as a due-on-sale violation.
Read this rightNo discrimination in housing or home loans (Fair Housing Act)
42 U.S.C. § 3604(a)–(b)
It is illegal to discriminate in selling, renting, or financing a home because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status (having children), or national origin. This covers mortgage lenders and servicers too — for example, in who gets offered a loan modification and on what terms. You can file a complaint with HUD within 1 year or go to court within 2 years.
Read this rightRights when you inherit or receive a home with a mortgage
12 C.F.R. § 1024.36(i)
If you got an ownership interest in a home from a family member — for example after a death or divorce — you can ask the servicer to confirm you as a "successor in interest." The servicer must tell you in writing what documents it needs. Once confirmed, you are treated as a borrower for servicing rules, so you can get information and apply for help.
Read this rightGet information from your servicer (request for information)
12 C.F.R. § 1024.36(a)
You can ask your servicer in writing for information about your loan — for example your payment history, who owns your loan, or how your escrow was figured. The servicer must confirm it got your request within 5 business days and answer within 30 business days. If you ask who owns your loan, it must tell you within 10 business days.
Read this right