Research Note · Published 2026-06-04
Pennsylvania's Act 6 + Act 91 Pre-Foreclosure Notices Explained
Authored by Carson Nordmann, Founder of Keystone Court Data. See our editorial standards.
Pennsylvania has two pre-foreclosure homeowner-protection statutes that materially shape the foreclosure timeline and the investor outreach window. Anyone investing in PA distressed property should understand exactly when each notice fires and what the homeowner's options are at each stage.
Act 6 of 1974: the 30-day cure-default notice
Act 6 (officially 41 P.S. § 403) requires the lender to send a 30-day pre-foreclosure notice to the homeowner before filing a foreclosure complaint. The notice must:
- Explicitly state that the homeowner is in default
- Disclose the exact amount required to cure the default (back payments + late fees + reasonable attorney costs)
- Give the homeowner 30 days to cure
- Be sent by first-class mail
The Act 6 cure period applies to owner-occupied 1-to-4-family residential property. Investment property is not protected by Act 6.
If the homeowner cures the default within the 30-day window, foreclosure cannot proceed. If they don't, the lender's next step is filing the foreclosure complaint in the Court of Common Pleas — which is the moment the case becomes public court record.
Act 91 of 1983: HEMAP loan assistance notice
Act 91 (35 P.S. §§ 1680.401c–1680.412c) created the Pennsylvania Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP). Before filing foreclosure on owner-occupied 1-to-2-family residential property, the lender must send an Act 91 Notice giving the homeowner the right to apply for HEMAP loan assistance.
HEMAP is a state-funded mortgage assistance program that can provide up to 24 months of mortgage payments for homeowners experiencing temporary financial hardship beyond their control. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).
The Act 91 Notice must precede the foreclosure complaint by at least 30 days. Homeowners have 33 days from receiving the Act 91 Notice to apply for HEMAP.
How the two notices stack in practice
For investors, the Act 6/91 notice phase is largely invisible — those notices are mailed to the homeowner, not filed publicly. The first public-record signal is the foreclosure complaint filed at the courthouse. That's the entry point Keystone Court Data tracks.
What it means for the investor window
- By the time the case hits the court docket, the homeowner has already missed Act 6's 30-day cure window AND Act 91's HEMAP application deadline. They are unambiguously in foreclosure now. The earliest court-record signal is also the earliest moment the homeowner has exhausted cure options.
- HEMAP-eligible homeowners may still be working through assistance after the court filing. Some cases resolve through HEMAP funding mid-case. Investors who reach out should be aware that the homeowner may be exploring this path; pressuring an exit when assistance is in process is bad form and bad business.
- Pennsylvania's protections add to the operator opportunity, not subtract from it. A jurisdiction with strong homeowner protections produces homeowners who feel less cornered and are easier to engage in calm transactional conversation. The opposite of a foreclosure-rescue scam target.
Pennsylvania foreclosure timeline (combined)
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Federal pre-filing delinquency (RESPA 120-day) | 120 days |
| Act 6 Notice + 30-day cure window | 30 days |
| Act 91 Notice + 33-day HEMAP application window | 33 days (overlaps Act 6) |
| Foreclosure complaint filed in Court of Common Pleas | — (public-record signal) |
| Defendant answer period | 20 days |
| Motion practice + judgment | 6-12 months (county-dependent) |
| Sheriff sale advertisement + sale | 60-90 days post-judgment |
County calendar backlog (notably Philadelphia and Allegheny) can extend the post-complaint phase significantly.
Where investor activity is concentrated in PA
Based on Keystone Court Data's verified PA foreclosure filings, the highest-volume counties are Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks (Philadelphia metro), and Lackawanna (Scranton). See the Pennsylvania state intelligence report for the full breakdown.