How Long Do I Have to Answer a Foreclosure Summons in New York?

The most common question after getting served with foreclosure papers is: how long do I have to answer a foreclosure summons in New York? Generally 20 days if you were personally handed the papers inside New York, or 30 days if served any other way. Your formal written Answer is how you fight back — you admit or deny the lender's allegations and, critically, list your affirmative defenses. Filing one is the single most important step to stay in the case. The alternative — saying nothing — leads to a default judgment.

The deadline: 20 or 30 days

Your time to answer depends on how you were served (CPLR 320). If the summons and complaint were personally handed to you inside New York, you generally have 20 days to answer. If they were served any other way — left with someone else, posted and mailed ('nail and mail'), or mailed to you — you generally have 30 days from when service was complete. When in doubt, calculate from the shorter window and respond early.

Miss the deadline and the lender can ask the court for a default judgment, after which your defenses may never be heard. If you have already defaulted, a default can sometimes be undone — see our guide on vacating a default judgment — but answering on time is far safer.

What an Answer actually does

Filing an Answer does three things at once. First, it prevents a default — you have appeared and joined the case. Second, it preserves your affirmative defenses: in New York, certain defenses (notably lack of personal jurisdiction from improper service) can be waived forever if they are not raised in your first response, so they must go in the Answer. Third, it forces the lender to actually prove its case rather than win by your silence.

The affirmative defenses to consider raising

Your Answer should deny the allegations you dispute and then list every defense that may apply. The strongest New York foreclosure defenses include:

• Failure to send a proper RPAPL § 1304 notice — the 90-day pre-foreclosure notice, with its exact required language, sent separately by first-class mail and also by registered or certified mail. A defect here is treated as a failure of a condition precedent and is frequently case-ending.
• Failure to file under RPAPL § 1306 — within three business days of mailing the § 1304 notice, the lender must electronically file the required pre-foreclosure information with the New York Department of Financial Services.
• Lack of standing — the plaintiff did not own or hold the note when it filed suit. Raise it as a defense (or by motion); for a residential home loan, RPAPL § 1302-a means it is not waived even if you do not raise it in your answer, though asserting it early is still best. (Note: 1302-a preserves the defense for a homeowner who litigates but omits it — it does not revive standing for someone who never appears and lets a default be entered.) Not sure whether your bank actually owns your note? See our self-help mortgage audit guide for exactly which documents to pull and what to check.
• Improper service — you were not validly served, defeating the court's personal jurisdiction. Raise it in the Answer or you can waive it.
• The amount claimed is wrong — inflated arrears, junk fees, or force-placed insurance.
• Statute of limitations — the six-year clock had already run, an argument strengthened for homeowners by the 2022 Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA).

How to put the Answer together

1. Respond paragraph by paragraph to the complaint: admit, deny, or state you lack knowledge sufficient to admit or deny. Denying does not make you 'wrong' — it puts the lender to its proof.
2. Add a numbered list of affirmative defenses — include every one that may apply; it is harder to add a defense later than to plead it now.
3. Sign and (where applicable) verify the Answer as your court requires.
4. Serve a copy on the lender's attorney and file the original with the court, keeping proof of service and a date-stamped copy for yourself.
5. Calendar your settlement conference — filing an Answer does not excuse you from attending it.

What happens after you file

Once your Answer is in, your owner-occupied home loan case moves toward the mandatory CPLR § 3408 settlement conference, where you can pursue loss mitigation such as a loan modification. The case is now contested, which means the lender must move for summary judgment or take the case to trial — and you can serve discovery demands to test the lender's standing and the amount claimed. Answering converts a one-sided default track into a real, defendable lawsuit.

If you are out of time

If your deadline has already passed, do not give up — but do act today. A homeowner can sometimes stipulate with the lender's counsel for more time to answer, or move to vacate a default by Order to Show Cause once a default judgment is entered. The longer you wait, the harder both paths become.