What is RESPA?
RESPA — the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act — is a federal consumer-protection law that governs mortgage servicers and settlement services. For homeowners facing hardship, its most important protections concern loss mitigation and foreclosure. This law is one of the strongest tools in your corner, and most homeowners don't realize it exists until they need it.
Key RESPA protections for struggling homeowners:
- 120-day pre-foreclosure period. For most mortgages, a servicer cannot make the first notice or filing to start foreclosure until you are more than 120 days delinquent.
- Loss mitigation review. Servicers must evaluate a complete loss mitigation application and generally cannot complete a foreclosure sale while the application is under review.
- Single point of contact. You have the right to a designated person or team at the servicer to help you through the process.
- Error and information requests. You can submit a "Notice of Error" or "Request for Information" (often called a QWR) and the servicer must acknowledge and respond within set timeframes.
- Fee restrictions. Servicers cannot charge fees that aren't authorized by the loan documents or applicable law.
To actually use these protections, the trigger is submitting a complete loss mitigation application — see the document checklist. Without it, the foreclosure-sale pause doesn't kick in. The law is on your side, but you have to take the first step.
For a deeper dive, read what RESPA is and how it protects you.
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