Pennsylvania lets you stop it one hour before the hammer.
A written warning has to reach you before anyone can file, and for most homeowners it is the Act 91 notice, which starts a 33-day clock that can hold off the case while the state looks at helping you. Then, right at the end, Pennsylvania lets you cure the default any time up to an hour before bidding starts, even after judgment, and stop the sale. The right survives the judgment, so ask for the figure.
Not sure what date to put in? Tell us which paper you were sent and we will work the timeline out backwards from it.
Each is a different statute.
When you first fell behind.
Local pace is the variable.
Past steps fade out.
FHA and VA add steps.
A tenant gets 90 days under federal law.
Three dates decide a Pennsylvania case. The date printed on the Act 91 notice, because 33 days later the free stay is gone. One hour before the sheriff sale, when the right to cure finally ends. And the day the deed is acknowledged, which is when ownership moves and when the last chance to undo the sale closes.
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Make the call.
Call your mortgage servicer (the number is on your statement) before the next payment is due, or today if you are already behind. Servicers have programs for people who lose a job, get sick or hit a rough patch, but they only start when you ask. A foreclosure costs them money too.
“I’ve had a hardship and I want to keep my home. Please send me a loss mitigation application and tell me every option for my loan.” If your loan is FHA, VA or USDA, ask about that program’s options by name.
Your latest mortgage statement, recent pay stubs or unemployment letter, two months of bank statements, last year’s tax return, and a short hardship letter. Expect a lot of paperwork. Send all of it, because a complete application is what protects you.
Date, time, who you spoke to and what they said. Keep copies and proof of when you sent your papers. A complete application more than 37 days before a sale stops that sale while they decide.
Don’t want to call alone? A free HUD-approved counselor will help: 1-800-569-4287. And if the home is ever sold at auction, ask about surplus funds: money left over after the debt is paid can belong to you, but you usually have to claim it.
What Pennsylvania gives you
Rights that exist because the property is in Pennsylvania, whatever a servicer tells you on the phone.
Where to get real help, free
Regional legal aid programs take foreclosure cases at no cost if you qualify by income. Start at LawHelp.org, which lists free legal aid programs state by state.
HUD-approved housing counselors are free in every state — 1-800-569-4287. Some states, courts and counties run foreclosure mediation or counseling programs; ask your servicer or a HUD-approved counselor whether yours does.
Anyone who contacts you first, guarantees they can stop the sale for a fee paid up front, or asks you to sign the deed over is running a scam. Never sign a deed to someone promising to save your home.
Checked against the statutes cited beside each step. Every legal claim on this page is registered with its citation and was checked against official sources and then reviewed again by an independent checker. Dates marked as estimates are estimates. Appellate case law was not independently verified, and laws change, so have a Pennsylvania foreclosure attorney confirm anything that matters before you act.
Questions people ask about Pennsylvania foreclosure
Short answers, each one sourced to the statute cited on this page.
How long does foreclosure take in Pennsylvania?
With no delays or disputes, a Pennsylvania foreclosure runs roughly 619 days from the first missed payment to the sheriff’s deed in Philadelphia, and nearer 428 days in a faster county. Pennsylvania is a judicial state, so the lender must send a written pre-foreclosure notice (for most owner-occupied homes the Act 91 notice, which replaces the separate Act 6 notice), file a lawsuit, serve you, and take a judgment before the sheriff can sell.
Is Pennsylvania judicial or non-judicial?
Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state. Nobody can sell your home without filing a complaint in the court of common pleas, serving you, and obtaining a judgment in mortgage foreclosure.
How long do I have to respond to a foreclosure complaint in Pennsylvania?
Twenty days from service under Pa.R.C.P. 1026(a). Even if you miss it, a lender cannot take a default judgment without first sending a written notice of intention to take a default judgment and waiting at least ten more days under Pa.R.C.P. 237.1.
Can I stop a sheriff sale in Pennsylvania by paying the arrears?
Yes. On an Act 6 residential mortgage you may cure the default and stop the sale at any time up to one hour before bidding starts, by paying the arrears, permitted costs and reasonable attorney fees rather than the whole accelerated balance. The right may be used three times in any calendar year. 41 P.S. 404(a), (b).
Is there a right of redemption after a foreclosure sale in Pennsylvania?
Not on a mortgage. Pennsylvania gives no right to buy the home back after a mortgage sheriff sale, which is why the one-hour cure right before the sale matters so much. There is one exception in the tax system: a property sold at a tax sheriff sale under the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Act in Philadelphia may be redeemed within nine months of acknowledgment of the deed, if it was continuously occupied as a residence for at least 90 days before the sale and still is. In a city or county of the second class (Pittsburgh and Allegheny County) the period is three months. 53 P.S. 7293(a), (c).
What is an Act 91 notice in Pennsylvania?
For a one or two family home that is your principal residence (not an FHA-insured loan), a notice the lender must send before filing, telling you the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program exists. Meeting a PHFA-approved counselling agency within 33 days of the date on that notice holds off legal action while a HEMAP application is prepared, and the application must be filed within 30 days of the meeting. 35 P.S. 1680.402c, 1680.403c.
What is the Act 6 notice and what is the 2026 threshold?
Act 6 requires a notice of intention to foreclose giving at least 30 days to cure before a residential mortgage foreclosure may be filed. It applies where the original principal was no more than the base figure, which the Department of Banking and Securities adjusts annually and set at $329,411 for 2026. 41 P.S. 403. For a one or two family home that is your principal residence, the Act 91 notice carries this information and replaces the separate Act 6 letter. 35 P.S. 1680.403c.
Last verified: October 18, 2026. Every deadline and citation on this page was checked against Pennsylvania law and the federal rules it cites. Laws change during the year, so if something here looks out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the law.