Time window in which a borrower or former owner may still reclaim foreclosed property by paying the required amount under applicable law.
A redemption period is the time window in which a borrower or former owner may still reclaim foreclosed property by paying the amount required under the governing law.
The redemption period matters because it changes how final a foreclosure sale really is. It can preserve a last borrower option, delay certainty for buyers, and affect pricing and risk around foreclosure purchases.
Redemption rights can appear in two different timeframes:
| Redemption type | When it exists | What the borrower must usually do |
| — | — | — |
| Equitable redemption | Before foreclosure sale | Cure or pay off the debt before final sale |
| Statutory redemption | After foreclosure sale, if local law allows | Repay the required redemption amount within the permitted window |
The Right of Redemption is the legal right itself. The redemption period is the time window in which that right can be exercised.
A borrower loses the home at a foreclosure sale in a jurisdiction that allows a six-month statutory redemption period. During that time, the borrower may still reclaim the property by paying the legally required amount, even though the sale has already occurred.
Some jurisdictions provide post-sale redemption rights, some only recognize pre-sale equitable redemption, and some offer no practical post-sale redemption period at all.
It is only the part of the process in which the borrower may still reclaim the property.
Right of Redemption: The legal right exercised during a redemption period.
Foreclosure: The broader process in which redemption rights arise.
Trustee Sale: A sale event after which post-sale redemption may or may not still exist.
Judicial Foreclosure: Court-based path where redemption rules can be especially important.
Equity of Redemption: The older legal concept behind the pre-sale redemption right.