In 2008 Congress passed legislation which extended the
protection from foreclosure actions for active duty servicemembers
for up to 9 months after the end of a servicemember's military
service. In 2012, Congress extended that time to 12 months
after the end of the military service. When the prior
legislation expired at the end of 2015, the protection for
servicemembers reverted to a period of 90 days after the end of the
military service period.
Senate Bill 2393, the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for
Servicemembers Act of 2015, has been adopted by Congress and was
signed in to law by President Obama on March 31, 2016. The
bill was sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode
Island. The law as currently adopted extends the protections
for 12 months after the end of military service. In addition,
the Act is retroactive to January 1, 2016 and has a sunset
provision of December 31, 2017.
