This page covers New York law. Time limits can decide a New York foreclosure, because a case can sit for years, be discontinued, and be filed again; in one case the Court of Appeals decided in 2025, a foreclosure filed in 2009 was still pending more than a dozen years later. The rules changed in December 2022 and were confirmed by the state's highest court in November 2025. KOR Law LLP's foreclosure defense practice includes quiet title actions, the kind of suit an owner brings to clear an expired mortgage from title. For the stages of a case once it is filed, see what happens after you are served with a foreclosure summons in New York.
When does the six-year clock start?
CPLR 213(4) sets a six-year period for an action on a bond or note secured by a mortgage on real property, or on the mortgage itself. When the clock starts depends on whether the loan was accelerated. The Court of Appeals summarized the rule in Van Dyke v U.S. Bank (2025): before the lender accelerates a defaulted loan, "the six-year limitations period runs separately as to each installment payment missed by the borrower," but once the lender accelerates, the period "starts running as to the entire amount due under the loan as of the date of the acceleration." The court added that a lender can accelerate in several ways, including by filing a verified foreclosure complaint demanding repayment of the whole debt. Acceleration, the lender's demand for the entire balance at once, must be made by an "unequivocal overt act" unless the loan agreement says otherwise. Suits on unsecured notes and personal guaranties follow a related set of rules, set out in how long a lender has to sue on a note or guaranty in New York.
That is why the first foreclosure case can matter most. If a lender filed a case years ago demanding the full balance, the six years on the whole debt may have started on that date, even if that case was later dropped.
What did FAPA change?
Before FAPA, the Court of Appeals had held in Freedom Mortgage Corp. v Engel (2021) that when a lender voluntarily discontinued a foreclosure it had filed, the discontinuance de-accelerated the loan as a matter of law and reset the six-year period, unless the lender said otherwise at the time. The Van Dyke court describes FAPA, signed by the Governor in December 2022, as a response to Engel and other developments. In Article 13, the court traced the background: after the 2007 mortgage crisis, note holders often filed successive foreclosures and argued that earlier cases were "null" because the party that filed them did not hold the note, or could not prove it. That is the same question raised by the defense that the lender lacked standing. FAPA's key provisions now sit in the CPLR:
| Where it is now | What it says |
|---|---|
| CPLR 203(h) | Once a claim on a note and mortgage has accrued, no party may unilaterally waive, postpone, cancel, toll, revive or reset it, or otherwise extend the limitations period, unless a statute expressly allows it. |
| CPLR 3217(e) | Voluntarily discontinuing a case on a note and mortgage, by motion, order, stipulation or notice, does not waive, postpone, cancel, toll, extend, revive or reset the limitations period. |
| CPLR 213(4)(a) | If the borrower raises the statute of limitations and the loan was accelerated before or by an earlier case, the lender cannot claim that acceleration was invalid, unless the earlier case was dismissed on an express court ruling, on a timely defense, that it was not validly accelerated. |
| CPLR 213(4)(b) | The same bar applies in an owner's suit to cancel and discharge an expired mortgage under RPAPL 1501(4). |
| Effective date (FAPA section 10) | Effective immediately and applies to all actions in which a final judgment of foreclosure and sale has not been enforced. |
What did the Court of Appeals decide in November 2025?
Two decisions issued the same day settled whether FAPA reaches older loans and older cases.
- Article 13 LLC v Ponce De Leon Fed. Bank. Answering questions sent by the federal Second Circuit, the court held that, as the Legislature expressly stated, FAPA applies to all foreclosure actions in which a final judgment of foreclosure and sale has not been enforced, and that applying it retroactively does not violate due process under the New York Constitution. The property was a house in Brooklyn: the loan servicer filed a foreclosure in 2007, discontinued it in 2017, and the holder of a junior mortgage later sued to cancel the senior mortgage as time-barred.
- Van Dyke v U.S. Bank, N.A. A Bronx borrower who defaulted in 2009 sued to cancel her mortgage after a 2009 foreclosure filed by the lender's predecessor had remained pending for more than a dozen years. The court held that FAPA sections 4, 7 and 8 apply retroactively and rejected the lender's as-applied challenges under the Due Process and Contract Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The court observed that it was the six-year statute of limitations, not FAPA itself, that extinguished the lender's interest. It also rejected the lender's argument that orders in the 2009 case denying it summary judgment on standing counted as an "expressed judicial determination" that the loan was never validly accelerated: a denial of summary judgment, the court explained, establishes only that summary judgment is not warranted at that time.
How do common events affect the clock?
| Event | Effect | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Missed installments, no acceleration | Six years runs separately on each missed installment | CPLR 213(4); Van Dyke |
| Lender accelerates, for example by a verified complaint demanding the full balance | Six years starts on the entire amount due from that date | CPLR 213(4); Van Dyke |
| Lender voluntarily discontinues its case | Does not reset or extend the period | CPLR 3217(e) |
| Lender tries on its own to de-accelerate or reset | Not allowed unless a statute expressly provides for it | CPLR 203(h) |
| Lender argues an earlier acceleration was invalid | Barred, unless the earlier case was dismissed on an express ruling on a timely defense that it was invalid | CPLR 213(4)(a) |
| Earlier case dismissed for neglect, default, missed conferences or no personal jurisdiction | No six-month extension to refile | CPLR 205-a(a) |
| Earlier timely case ended another way (other than on the merits) | Original plaintiff may refile once, within six months, if the first case was timely and service is completed within that window | CPLR 205-a(a) |
| Six years have run | Owner may sue to cancel and discharge the mortgage of record | RPAPL 1501(4) |
Two details in CPLR 205-a are easy to miss. A successor or assignee of the original lender may not use the six-month refiling window unless it pleads and proves that it is acting on behalf of the original plaintiff. And if you served an answer in the earlier case, any defense you timely raised there remains timely in the new case (CPLR 205-a(b)).
What can an owner do once the six years have run?
RPAPL 1501(4) lets any person with an estate or interest in the property sue to cancel and discharge a mortgage of record once the period to foreclose has expired, and to have the property declared free of it. The statute makes it immaterial whether the underlying debt was ever paid. One limit: the action is not available if the lender or its successor is in possession of the property when the case is filed. And under CPLR 213(4)(b), the lender in that case faces the same bar on arguing that its earlier acceleration was invalid. We explain this kind of case in what a quiet title action is in New York and when owners need one.
What changes the answer for your case?
These facts move the result, each under its own rule:
- Whether and when the loan was accelerated. Before acceleration, each missed payment has its own six years; after it, the whole balance does (CPLR 213(4); Van Dyke).
- How an earlier case ended. A voluntary discontinuance does not reset the clock (CPLR 3217(e)). A lender may argue that an earlier acceleration was invalid only if the earlier case was dismissed on an express court ruling, made on a timely defense, that it was invalid (CPLR 213(4)(a)).
- Whether the earlier case was dismissed for neglect. A case the lender let sit can be dismissed as abandoned when no judgment is sought within a year after the default (CPLR 3215(c)), and dismissals for neglect, for violating court rules or for the plaintiff's missed conferences carry no six-month refiling window (CPLR 205-a(a)). In Brooklyn, a court rule also dismisses a case automatically if the plaintiff does not apply for judgment within a year after the order of reference; see what to expect at Kings County Supreme Court in a foreclosure case.
- A signed writing after default. A written waiver of the time limit, or a written promise to pay the mortgage debt, signed after the right to foreclose accrued, makes the time run again from the date of that writing (General Obligations Law 17-105(1)). An acknowledgment or promise that is not made that way does not extend the time (GOL 17-105(4)).
- A payment after default. A payment that is effective to revive or extend the time to sue on the debt also restarts the foreclosure clock from the payment date, unless it comes with a written disclaimer (GOL 17-107(1)).
- Who holds the property. The action to cancel an expired mortgage is not available if the lender or its successor is in possession of the property when the case is filed (RPAPL 1501(4)).
- Whether a judgment of sale has been enforced. FAPA applies to every case in which a final judgment of foreclosure and sale has not been enforced (FAPA section 10; Article 13).
For example: a case filed, dropped and filed again
For example, imagine a homeowner in the Bronx who misses her February 2012 payment and never catches up. (This is a made-up illustration, not a real client or result.) In June 2012 the lender files a verified foreclosure complaint demanding the entire balance. The case sits for years, and in 2019 the lender voluntarily discontinues it. In 2025 the current note holder files a second foreclosure.
Applying the rules on this page: the June 2012 complaint accelerated the loan, so the six years on the whole debt ran to June 2018. The 2019 discontinuance did not reset the clock (CPLR 3217(e)), and because the first case was not dismissed on a ruling that the acceleration was invalid, the lender is barred from arguing that it was (CPLR 213(4)(a)). She raises the statute of limitations in her answer, since it is waived if left out (CPLR 3211(e)). Before relying on it, she checks her files for any letter she signed after 2012 promising to pay the mortgage debt and for any payment she made, because either could restart the clock under GOL 17-105 or 17-107.
Common mistakes about the foreclosure time limit
- Leaving the defense out of the answer. The statute of limitations is waived if it is not raised in the answer or a pre-answer motion to dismiss (CPLR 3211(e)).
- Counting from the wrong date. Once a loan is accelerated, the six years on the whole balance run from the acceleration, which may be the date of the first complaint, not from the latest notice or the latest case.
- Assuming a dropped case erased the acceleration. Under CPLR 3217(e), a voluntary discontinuance does not reset the period, and Van Dyke held that the discontinued 2009 case did not nullify the lender's acceleration.
- Signing papers after default without reading them. A signed written promise to pay the mortgage debt can restart the clock (GOL 17-105(1)). Read any forbearance or modification document before signing; our page on getting a loan modification after a New York foreclosure starts covers that process.
- Expecting an expired mortgage to vanish on its own. It stays on the property records until it is cancelled and discharged, for example through an RPAPL 1501(4) action.
What to do this week
- Find the date of your first missed payment and any letter that demanded the full balance.
- List every foreclosure case filed on the loan, with its index number, filing date and how it ended.
- Pull any forbearance, modification or repayment papers you signed after default, and your payment history.
- If a new case has been served, mark your answer deadline and make sure the statute of limitations defense goes in the answer.
- Note whether anyone other than you is in possession of the property.
- Bring it all, organized by date, using our foreclosure defense consultation checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Does a timeliness defense have to be raised in the answer?
Yes. The statute of limitations is one of the defenses CPLR 3211(e) treats as waived if it is not raised in the answer or in a pre-answer motion to dismiss. Unlike lack of standing in a home loan case, there is no special rule that preserves it. See how long you have to answer a foreclosure complaint in New York, and what has to go in the answer.
What if I already missed the answer deadline?
In a home loan case where you live in the home, a defendant who appears at the settlement conference after missing the deadline may serve an answer within 30 days of that first appearance, with no substantive defenses treated as waived (CPLR 3408(m)). Other options are covered in what happens if you missed the deadline to answer a foreclosure in New York.
Does FAPA apply to commercial mortgages?
The FAPA provisions in CPLR 203(h), 213(4) and 3217(e) refer to any bond, note or mortgage on real property described in CPLR 213(4), with no home loan limit in their text. That differs from protections such as the 90-day notice, which apply only to home loans. We compare the tracks in commercial or residential foreclosure in New York.
Who can sue to cancel an expired mortgage?
RPAPL 1501(4) allows "any person having an estate or interest" in the property to bring the action, not only the owner. In Article 13, the plaintiff was the holder of a junior mortgage on the Brooklyn house, suing to cancel the senior mortgage.
My loan is paid off but the mortgage still shows on record. Is that the same problem?
No. After a mortgage is paid, the lender must sign a satisfaction and arrange within 30 days to have it presented for recording (RPAPL 1921). That route is explained in what to do when a paid-off mortgage's satisfaction was never recorded.
Does FAPA help if my home was already sold at auction?
By its terms, FAPA applies to actions in which a final judgment of foreclosure and sale has not been enforced. If a judgment of sale has been entered but not yet carried out, the options are timing-sensitive; see whether you can appeal or reargue a foreclosure judgment in New York.
Is there a separate time limit once a money judgment is entered?
Yes. A money judgment is presumed paid 20 years after the creditor was first entitled to enforce it (CPLR 211(b)), and a docketed judgment is a lien on real property for ten years after the judgment-roll is filed (CPLR 5203(a)). See how long a New York judgment lasts.