Guide to California Mortgage Help and Foreclosure Prevention Programs.
California homeowners facing mortgage trouble have more tools available to them than most people realize — and more legal protections built into the process than exist almost anywhere else in the country. This page covers the key programs and rights that apply to California homeowners, from free housing counseling to the state's disaster mortgage grant program to the laws that govern how and when a foreclosure can proceed.
All legitimate mortgage assistance, housing counseling, and foreclosure prevention services in California are free to homeowners. California law prohibits charging upfront fees for foreclosure prevention or loan modification help. Anyone asking for payment before providing services is almost certainly running a scam.
Free housing counseling — the right place to start
If you are struggling to make mortgage payments or have received a notice from your servicer, a HUD-approved housing counselor is the most effective first call. Counselors are trained, independent of your lender, and free. They review your financial situation, explain every option your servicer is required to offer, help you prepare documentation for hardship applications, and can work directly with lenders on your behalf.
California has a large statewide network of HUD-certified counseling agencies funded in part through CalHFA's National Mortgage Settlement Housing Counseling Program. Many agencies offer services in multiple languages. You can find an agency near you through the CFPB's housing counselor locator at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor/, or through the HUD national directory at https://www.hud.gov/states/california. The general HUD housing counseling line is 800-569-4287.
California Homeowner Bill of Rights — your legal protections
California's Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) is one of the strongest sets of borrower protections in the country. It became permanent law in 2018 and has been strengthened since. Key protections include:
Before recording a notice of default — the official start of foreclosure — the servicer must personally contact you (or satisfy legal contact requirements) at least 30 days before doing so, to assess your financial situation and discuss options to avoid foreclosure. The servicer must give you a single point of contact throughout the process.
- No dual tracking: if you submit a complete loan modification application, your servicer generally cannot proceed with foreclosure while it is reviewing that application, until it issues a written denial and any appeal period has passed.
- If your modification is denied, the servicer must explain why in writing, identify other options, and give you the chance to appeal. You cannot be charged fees for applying for a loan modification, and late fees cannot accrue while a completed modification application is under review.
California's Assembly Bill 2424, effective January 1, 2025, added several protections. Servicers must inform you at origination that a family member, attorney, or HUD-approved counselor can request to receive copies of foreclosure notices. If you list the home with a licensed broker at least five business days before a scheduled foreclosure sale, the sale can be postponed up to 45 days. The bill also requires that the opening bid at a trustee's sale be no less than 67 percent of the property's fair market value.
Assembly Bill 130, signed in June 2025, adds protections against foreclosure on "zombie" second mortgages — dormant second loans that some servicers were attempting to revive after years of silence. Before initiating foreclosure on a subordinate lien, servicers must now certify under penalty of perjury that they have met ongoing communication requirements.
If you believe your servicer has violated California foreclosure law, you have the right to file for an injunction to stop the sale. The California Attorney General's office (website: https://oag.ca.gov/hbor) has detailed information on your rights under HBOR.
How nonjudicial foreclosure works in California
Most California foreclosures proceed outside of court through a nonjudicial process. Understanding the timeline helps you know how much time you have to act.
Federal law generally requires servicers to wait until you are more than 120 days delinquent before starting foreclosure. After that, the servicer must attempt to contact you at least 30 days before recording a notice of default. Once the notice of default is recorded, you have 90 days to reinstate the loan — meaning bring it fully current. After that 90-day period, the servicer can schedule an auction, with at least 21 days' notice. You have the right to reinstate the loan until five business days before the scheduled sale.
Two important protections distinguish California from many other states: after a nonjudicial foreclosure, the lender generally cannot pursue a deficiency judgment against you for the remaining loan balance. And California law gives tenants who purchase the foreclosed property the right to match the auction bid within 45 days under SB 1079.
The California Courts Self-Help Center at https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/foreclosures has plain-language guides to both the process and your rights at each stage.
CalAssist Mortgage Fund — active disaster relief grants
The CalAssist Mortgage Fund is currently open and accepting applications. Administered by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), it provides mortgage relief grants — money paid directly to your servicer that does not have to be repaid — for homeowners whose primary residence was destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by a qualifying California disaster.
The program was launched in June 2025 and significantly expanded in February 2026. Eligible homeowners can now receive up to 12 months of mortgage payments, with a maximum of $100,000 total, as a grant. Income limits vary by county and have been broadened — in Los Angeles County, for example, households earning up to $281,400 may qualify.
Eligible disasters are those that received a state of emergency or federal major disaster declaration between January 1, 2023, and January 8, 2025. This includes the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires (Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire) and the 2024 Park Fire in Northern California, among others. Eligible properties include single-family homes, condominiums, and permanently affixed manufactured homes of up to four units. Applicants must own and be on the mortgage of the eligible property. Applying is free and entirely online. Funds are paid directly to the mortgage servicer. To apply or check eligibility: https://www.calassistmortgagefund.org/ or call 800-501-0019, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CalHFA hardship assistance for CalHFA-serviced loans
If your mortgage is serviced directly by CalHFA (this applies to CalHFA subordinate loans — seconds, thirds — not all mortgages), the agency has a dedicated hardship assistance process. You can reach CalHFA at 877-922-5432, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or through the hardship page at https://calhfa.ca.gov/myaccount/hardship/. CalHFA can direct CalHFA-loan borrowers to approved servicers for loan modification, as well as to HUD-certified counselors and legal services organizations.
Free legal aid for foreclosure
Several nonprofit organizations provide free legal help to California homeowners facing foreclosure, including those who cannot afford an attorney:
- California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) serves rural communities across the state, providing foreclosure defense and help identifying and applying for assistance programs. Information at https://crla.org/.
- Bet Tzedek Legal Services is based in Los Angeles and offers pro bono representation statewide on foreclosure prevention, home loan disputes, and housing fraud. Information at https://bettzedek.org/.
Additional statewide legal aid organizations and free legal services are listed through the California Courts Self-Help Center and through the CA Mortgage Relief program's legal services directory (available at https://camortgagerelief.org/). See also California free legal aid.
CalHome Program — local government and nonprofit grants
The CalHome Program, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, distributes grants to local governments and nonprofits, which in turn provide down payment loans, home rehabilitation financing, and homeowner counseling to individual households. This money does not flow directly from a statewide application — it is administered locally and eligibility, amounts, and timing vary by agency.
If you are looking for local homeownership assistance that may include help with rehabilitation or deferred-payment purchase loans, contact your city or county housing department to ask whether CalHome funds are active in your area. Program information at https://www.hcd.ca.gov/.
Dream For All — first-generation buyer down payment assistance
The California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan Program provides down payment and closing cost assistance of up to 20 percent of a home's purchase price, capped at $150,000, for first-time, first-generation California homebuyers. The program uses a lottery system because demand consistently exceeds funding.
Applications after the current, revolving window closes will not be entered in the lottery, but future rounds are planned as prior recipients repay their shared appreciation loans. This is a homebuyer program, not a foreclosure prevention program. Borrowers repay the original assistance plus a share of the home's appreciation when the property is sold or the mortgage is paid off. Information and future registration windows at https://calhfa.ca.gov/dream/..
Local programs in California
Most cities and counties in California have additional resources through nonprofit housing counselors, community action agencies, and local government programs. These range from emergency mortgage payment assistance for households in short-term hardship to legal aid clinics and renter-to-homeowner transition programs.
- In the Los Angeles area, several nonprofit and HUD-certified agencies serve homeowners in the greater LA region. See Los Angeles mortgage assistance programs.
- In San Diego, multiple organizations offer foreclosure prevention counseling, legal aid, and refinancing resources. See San Diego foreclosure prevention.
- The Fair Housing of Northern California (FHANC) at 851 Irwin St, Suite 218, San Rafael, provides free bilingual foreclosure prevention counseling across Northern California — (415) 457-5025.
- The 211 system connects California residents to local housing programs, counseling agencies, and emergency assistance statewide by phone, text, or online.
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