What is right to cure?

How Does the Right to Cure Work?

When a borrower falls behind on mortgage payments, most states require the lender to send a formal notice — often called a "breach letter" or "notice of intent to foreclose" — before starting the foreclosure process. This notice must specify:

• The amount needed to cure: All past-due payments and only fees and costs permitted by applicable law and the loan terms
• The cure deadline: The number of days the borrower has to pay the cure amount
• The consequence of failing to cure: That foreclosure proceedings will begin if the cure amount is not paid by the deadline

If the borrower pays the full cure amount before the deadline, the lender must accept the payment and cannot proceed with foreclosure. The loan returns to current status as if the default never occurred.

How Long Is the Cure Period by State?

Cure periods vary significantly across states:

• Short cure periods (10-30 days): New Jersey (10 days after NOI), Georgia (30-day notice), Virginia (14 days), Tennessee (30 days)
• Pre-foreclosure notice: New York requires at least 90 days of notice for covered home loans.
• Long cure periods (90+ days): Massachusetts (90-day right to cure), Idaho (115 days from recording the notice of default for a nonjudicial trustee sale)

The federal CFPB 120-day waiting period (Regulation X) runs concurrently with state cure periods in some jurisdictions and sequentially in others, depending on when the state cure clock starts.

What Happens If You Cannot Cure in Time?

If the cure deadline passes without payment, the lender can proceed to the next step in the foreclosure process only if applicable federal and state prerequisites are met. However, failing to cure does not eliminate other options:

• Loss mitigation: Under Regulation X, servicers must evaluate complete loss mitigation applications received more than 37 days before a scheduled sale, even after the cure period expires
• Reinstatement: Many states allow reinstatement (paying all arrears) up until a specified deadline before the foreclosure sale — sometimes just days before
• Bankruptcy: Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay and allows the borrower to cure the default through a 3-5 year repayment plan

What Is the Difference Between Cure and Reinstatement?

These terms can overlap in legal usage. Cure can occur after foreclosure formally begins, as in Idaho, where curing the default ends existing proceedings. Reinstatement happens after foreclosure has been initiated — it stops an ongoing foreclosure by bringing the loan current. Reinstatement typically costs more than cure because additional legal fees and foreclosure costs have accrued. Cure and reinstatement can involve the same payment of past-due amounts and permitted fees and costs.