Homeowners, Property Tax & Repairs · Surprise rank #144
Old NY Foreclosure Restarted? FAPA Can Make a Refiled Case Too Late—Even After an Earlier Voluntary Discontinuance
New York's Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act changed how the six-year mortgage-foreclosure limitations period works and blocks many attempts to reset it through earlier discontinued foreclosure cases.
Who
New York homeowners or property owners facing a foreclosure after an earlier acceleration or prior foreclosure action.
What to do
Start here: Get the full docket and complaints from every prior foreclosure and have a foreclosure-defense lawyer calculate the limitations period under current FAPA case law.
Eligibility: The result depends on acceleration history, prior foreclosure actions, dismissals, tolling and other case-specific facts. New York's Court of Appeals has confirmed important FAPA provisions apply retroactively to covered actions.
What you get
FAPA can support dismissal of a foreclosure that is time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations.
Benefit: A limitations defense that can defeat a stale foreclosure claim when the specific case history meets the law.
Possible value: Potentially the amount at issue in the foreclosure, but this is a legal defense rather than debt forgiveness.
Good to know
Important: An old loan is not automatically time-barred. Written tolling agreements, prior court determinations and other facts can change the result. Do not stop responding to a foreclosure because this defense might apply.
Availability: Active legal defense; retroactivity clarified by 2025–2026 appellate decisions
Why people miss it: Borrowers may assume a lender can restart the foreclosure clock simply by discontinuing and refiling an old case, an approach FAPA specifically restricted.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026