Forbearance can pause or shrink your mortgage payment during a temporary hardship, but the money is not forgiven. Here is how it works and what you owe when it ends.
If you lose a job or face a large medical bill, the mortgage payment does not stop being due. Forbearance lets your servicer pause or shrink that payment for a while, buying time until the hardship passes. The catch: the money is not forgiven. This guide explains how it works, what it costs, and what you owe when it ends.
Forbearance in One Sentence
Forbearance is an agreement with your mortgage servicer to pause or reduce payments for a set period during a hardship, with the missed amounts repaid afterward. It is not forgiveness: every skipped or reduced dollar remains your debt and comes due once payments restart.
Working under an agreement rather than simply skipping payments can help you avoid late fees and lower the risk of foreclosure.
Who Qualifies and What You Have to Show
Common triggers include job loss, unexpected medical costs and disaster damage to your home. The word temporary matters: forbearance carries you through a rough stretch; it is not designed to permanently lower a payment you can no longer afford. That is a different tool, covered below.
You request it from your servicer, the company you send payments to each month. Call as soon as you think you might miss a payment and describe your situation plainly. Some servicers set a deadline for requesting hardship help after a disaster or similar event, so do not put off the call.
Your options also depend on who backs your loan. FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each set their own rules, and most homeowners have loans that qualify for some form of assistance. FHA, for example, offers home retention options through its loss mitigation program, which generally requires current financial information and possibly a trial payment plan first. Our guide to conventional, FHA, VA and USDA loans explains how these loan types differ.
How Payments Are Paused or Reduced
Servicers structure forbearance a few ways:
- Full pause, repaid at once. You stop paying for a set number of months, then repay the whole amount when payments restart.
- Full pause, repaid at the end. Missed amounts are added to the end of your loan, which can extend your term, or repaid with a separate new loan.
- Reduced payments. You pay less for a set period, then your payment rises temporarily while the shortfall is spread over a set number of months.
A forbearance typically lasts no longer than a year; three to six months is common. Before agreeing, keep asking questions until three things are clear: how much you will owe each month and how many months the arrangement runs, whether interest keeps building meanwhile, and what repayment looks like when it ends.
Interest Still Accrues: What That Means in Dollars
Interest on the paused or reduced amounts can keep building until you repay them. That is the quiet cost of forbearance.
As an illustration, suppose your servicer pauses six months of payments. When payments restart, six full payments come due. Repaying them over twelve months adds the equivalent of half a payment to each monthly bill for that year. If that is unaffordable, ask to spread the shortfall over a longer period or move it to the end of the loan.
Your own numbers depend on your interest rate and your servicer’s rules, so get the total repayment amount and schedule in writing. Forbearance could also affect your credit score, depending on how your servicer reports it.
What Happens When the Forbearance Ends
Contact your servicer before the forbearance ends to plan the exit. The main paths:
| If you can… | Common option | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Pay extra each month for a while | Repayment plan | Past-due amounts are spread over a set period and added to your regular payment |
| Resume regular payments but not more | Deferral or partial claim | Missed payments move to the end of the loan or into a subordinate lien repaid when you sell or refinance |
| No longer afford the payment | Loan modification | Loan terms are permanently changed and missed payments are added to the balance, which can lower the payment but lengthen the loan |
| Pay everything at once | Reinstatement | You repay all missed payments in a single lump sum |
Careful
On most loans backed by the federal government, servicers generally cannot force a single lump-sum repayment. If reinstatement is the only option offered, ask about the others.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not require a lump sum when forbearance ends. FHA’s partial claim places past-due amounts in an interest-free subordinate lien, repaid only when you sell, transfer the property, pay off the mortgage, or do certain refinances. FHA’s Payment Supplement uses a partial claim to reduce your monthly payment for up to three years.
How to Ask Your Servicer and Where to Get Free Help
The servicer’s phone number is on your monthly statement. If you are unsure who services your loan, the servicer must tell you who owns, insures or backs it. Ask for a mortgage assistance specialist, and be ready to describe the hardship and what you can afford now.
HUD-approved housing counseling agencies offer free help understanding your options and working through the paperwork with your servicer. FHA borrowers can contact the FHA Resource Center, and VA borrowers can reach a VA loan technician.
A forbearance ends with a bill, not necessarily a crisis. Call early, ask how repayment works, and get the plan in writing.
Related guides
- What’s Inside a Monthly Mortgage Payment: a refresher on principal, interest, taxes and insurance.
- When Refinancing Your Mortgage Makes Sense: why a subordinate lien such as a partial claim must be resolved when you refinance or sell.
- What Is a Mortgage Escrow Account?: how taxes and insurance are collected in your payment.
The short version
- Forbearance is an agreement with your servicer to pause or reduce mortgage payments during a temporary hardship such as job loss, medical bills or disaster damage.
- It is not forgiveness: you still owe every missed or reduced dollar, and interest on those amounts can keep accruing until you repay them.
- Forbearance typically lasts no longer than a year, and shorter arrangements of three to six months are common.
- When it ends, you can repay through a lump sum, a repayment plan, a deferral to the end of the loan, or a modification that changes your loan terms.
- On most loans backed by the federal government, servicers cannot require a single lump-sum repayment at the end, so ask about other options if that is all you are offered.
Readers also ask
Does mortgage forbearance hurt your credit?
It can, depending on how your servicer reports the arrangement. The impact may be less severe than missing payments with no plan in place or going through foreclosure.
Do you have to pay back forbearance all at once?
Not necessarily. Depending on your loan, you may repay in a lump sum, through higher payments for a set period, or by moving the amount to the end of the loan.
Who qualifies for mortgage forbearance?
Homeowners facing a temporary hardship, such as job loss, unexpected medical costs or disaster damage, can request it from their servicer. Requirements and options vary by servicer and loan type.
Is forbearance the same as deferment?
No. Forbearance pauses or reduces payments while the hardship lasts. Deferment is typically used after forbearance ends, moving past-due amounts to the end of the loan without changing your regular payment.
This guide is general information about U.S. mortgages, not financial, tax or legal advice. Loan terms depend on the lender and on your credit, income and property, so confirm the details with your lender, and see consumerfinance.gov for official guidance.
