Foreclosure Mediation

The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) is an independent state agency where an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hears cases when a party disagrees with the action of another State agency. In addition to hearing cases, all ALJs are certified mediators, who regularly conduct mediations in many cases.

Maryland’s new Foreclosure Mediation Law, which applies to foreclosures filed in the court on or after July 1, 2010, offers homeowners facing foreclosure an opportunity to meet with the lender and an ALJ, who will assist the parties in an attempt to find an alternative to foreclosure.

Once the homeowner files a mediation request with the Circuit Court and pays the $50.00 fee, the Circuit Court will refer the request to OAH. OAH will conduct the mediation within 60 days after it receives the request from the Circuit Court. OAH will send the parties a Notice of Mediation that will inform them of the time, date and location of the mediation and all of the documents they will be required to produce no later than 20 days before the mediation.

If a borrower fails to appear for a scheduled mediation, the ALJ will send the case back to the Circuit Court and the foreclosure sale shall proceed. Should this occur, the borrower has 15 days from the scheduled mediation to file a motion to stay the foreclosure sale with the Circuit Court.

If the lender does not come to the mediation, the ALJ will send the case back to Circuit Court on the day of the scheduled mediation and the Circuit Court may dismiss the foreclosure action.

Mediations will be conducted in the following locations:

Postponement Request

A party may request a postponement for good cause. Requests must be in writing and received at OAH no later than 5 business days before the mediation. Include the case name and number, the original date of the mediation, the reason for the request, and any documentation that you have to show why you need a postponement.

Also include 3 dates within the next 30 days when you would be available for a rescheduled mediation and a telephone number where you can be reached Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Requests for postponements should be mailed to:

Office of Administrative Hearings
11101 Gilroy Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031-1301

or faxed to (410) 229-4266, with a copy mailed to each party in your case. If an emergency arises within 5 days of the mediation; you may telephone OAH at (410) 229-4274.