Connecticut Counties

Investor Guides

How foreclosure works in Connecticut

Connecticut is a judicial foreclosure state, and the statute treats strict foreclosure as the starting form: a court may order a foreclosure by sale “instead of a strict foreclosure”, at its discretion, on the written motion of any party, or, on a first mortgage with the owner’s consent, a foreclosure by market sale (CGS § 49-24). In a strict foreclosure the court sets law days, and if no one redeems by them, title becomes absolute in the foreclosing lender (or in a junior lienholder who redeems first), with no auction. When the court decrees a sale, it appoints a person to make the sale, fixes the sale day and appoints a disinterested appraiser (CGS § 49-25).

Connecticut has no fixed foreclosure length; mediation, the court and the law days or sale it sets drive the pace. If an owner-occupant of a 1-to-4 family home that is the owner’s primary residence (the borrower or a permitted successor, CGS § 49-31k(1)) files for mediation within 15 days of the return date, most motions are paused for up to 8 months from the return date, and the mediation period ends after the third session or 7 months after the return date, whichever is earlier, unless the court extends it (CGS §§ 49-31l(f), 49-31n(a)).

Day counts below are estimates from the first missed payment, not set by law.

1. Default (estimated Day 0): The borrower falls behind on mortgage payments. For a principal residence, federal servicing rules generally bar a foreclosure filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent (12 CFR 1024.41(f)).
2. Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program notice (estimated Day 30–90): For a qualifying mortgage, before starting foreclosure the lender mails each homeowner-mortgagor a notice by registered or certified mail; the homeowner has sixty days from the notice to meet or confer with the lender or a consumer credit counseling agency and to contact the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority about emergency mortgage assistance (CGS § 8-265ee(a)). Any default notice the mortgage itself requires is also sent.
3. Complaint filed (estimated Day 120+): The lender serves a writ, summons and complaint and returns them to the Superior Court; the papers served on the owner carry the court’s mediation notice and forms (CGS § 49-31l(a)). A lis pendens is recorded with the town clerk (Connecticut land records are kept by towns, not counties).
4. Service of process (estimated Day 135–165): The borrower and other interested parties are served.
5. Mediation notice and request (estimated Day 135–180): The court mails a notice of the Foreclosure Mediation Program. An owner-occupant of a 1-to-4 family home that is the owner’s primary residence (the borrower or a permitted successor, CGS § 49-31k(1)) who files an appearance and mediation certificate within 15 days of the return date is assigned to mediation; otherwise the case is not assigned (CGS § 49-31l(c)-(d)). The court can also refer a case later for good cause if the owner has filed an appearance (CGS § 49-31l(e)).
6. Mediation sessions (estimated Day 180–360): Sessions are held with a Judicial Branch foreclosure mediator; the mediation period ends after the third session or 7 months after the return date, whichever is earlier, unless the court extends or shortens it (CGS §§ 49-31m, 49-31n(a)).
7. Motion for judgment (estimated Day 240–420): The lender moves for a judgment of strict foreclosure, or the court may order a foreclosure by sale on any party’s written motion (CGS § 49-24).
8. Judgment entered (estimated Day 270–480): The court enters judgment and sets law days (strict foreclosure) or orders a sale.
9. Law days (estimated Day 330–570): In a strict foreclosure, if no one redeems by the assigned law day, title becomes absolute in the foreclosing lender (or in a junior lienholder who redeems first). No auction occurs.
10. Possession (estimated Day 340–600): If the former owner remains, the court can issue an execution of ejectment in the foreclosure case; it is carried out no fewer than 5 business days after service (CGS § 49-22).

Redemption: The owner can redeem by paying the debt by the law day the court sets. Before title becomes absolute, the court may open and modify a strict foreclosure judgment, and courts can extend law days. After title becomes absolute, the judgment can be reopened only in narrow cases, by agreement of the appearing parties within set time limits (CGS § 49-15).

Deficiency judgments: Strict foreclosure: any party may move for a deficiency judgment within 30 days after the redemption period ends, and the court sets the property’s value and enters judgment for the difference between that value and the lender’s claim (CGS § 49-14). Foreclosure by sale: the deficiency is figured from the sale proceeds; if the property sold below its court appraisal, half the gap between appraisal and price is credited first against the debt of the party who asked for the sale (not in a market sale) (CGS § 49-28).

Reinstatement: This guide found no Connecticut statute giving a general right to reinstate by paying only the arrears; reinstatement can be negotiated, including in the court mediation program, which addresses “reinstatement of the mortgage” (CGS § 49-31m), and qualifying homeowners may apply for state emergency mortgage assistance (CGS § 8-265ee).

Mediation: Owner-occupants of 1-to-4 family homes that are their primary residence (the borrower or a permitted successor, CGS § 49-31k(1)) can enter the court’s Ezequiel Santiago Foreclosure Mediation Program (CGS §§ 49-31k to 49-31o) by filing an appearance and mediation certificate within 15 days of the return date (§ 49-31l(c)); the program covers cases with return dates through June 30, 2029. Mediators are Judicial Branch employees, and the mediation period ends after the third session or 7 months after the return date unless the court extends it (§§ 49-31m, 49-31n(a)).

Full guide: How foreclosure works in Connecticut. Federal servicing rules: the CFPB 120-day pre-foreclosure rule (12 CFR 1024.41(f)).

General information about Connecticut law, checked October 2026. Day ranges are estimates and may not match a specific case. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Talk to an attorney licensed in Connecticut before relying on it.

Read more: Connecticut foreclosure timeline and the foreclosure timeline by state.

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