Homeowners
Behind on your VA mortgage: options in 2026
Short answer
If you are behind on a VA-backed mortgage, call your loan servicer and ask to be reviewed for VA home retention options. Since June 15, 2026, those include the VA Partial Claim Program, which brings the loan current without raising your monthly payment. Every servicer must be able to offer it by November 28, 2026. You can also call VA's regional loan center for free help.
How the VA Partial Claim works
- Your servicer reviews you using VA’s loss-mitigation order of options (the waterfall). You cannot choose a partial claim on your own.
- If it fits, you make three trial payments.
- VA pays the servicer to cover your missed payments, generally up to 25% of the unpaid balance.
- That amount becomes a second lien with no monthly payments, repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the loan.
Other VA home retention options
- Repayment plans and forbearance
- Traditional loan modification
- 30-year and 40-year loan modifications
- VA disaster modifications
- Short sale or deed in lieu, if keeping the home is not possible
Key dates
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| July 30, 2025 | VA Home Loan Program Reform Act signed into law |
| June 1, 2026 | VA finalizes the partial claim and updated waterfall |
| June 15, 2026 | Servicers may begin offering partial claims |
| Nov. 28, 2026 | Deadline for all servicers to comply |
| July 2030 | Partial claim authority runs five years from enactment unless extended |
Called to active duty with a VA mortgage?
If your VA loan closed before you entered military service, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps its interest at 6% a year during service and for one year after, and a foreclosure sale in that period is not valid without a court order or a waiver agreement. Send your servicer written notice and a copy of your orders no later than 180 days after you leave service. How the SCRA 6% mortgage cap works in Illinois.
Common questions
What is the VA Partial Claim Program?
A foreclosure-prevention option launched June 15, 2026. VA advances your missed payments to the servicer, and you repay that amount, with no monthly payments, when you sell, refinance or pay off the loan.
Is a VA partial claim forgiven?
No. It is a second lien repaid at payoff, sale or refinance. It cures past-due payments but does not lower your monthly payment.
Who do I call if I am behind on my VA loan?
Start with your loan servicer. VA's regional loan center technicians can also help at no cost.
Sources
- VA launches Partial Claim Program, VA (June 15, 2026)
- VA launches new partial claim program, National Association of Realtors
- Pennymac rolls out VA partial claims, The Close (Aug. 10, 2026)
- VA help to avoid foreclosure, VA.gov
- 50 U.S.C. 3937, SCRA maximum rate of interest
- 50 U.S.C. 3953, SCRA mortgages and trust deeds
What will your VA funding fee be?
Enter a price and down payment to see the 2026 fee, or check whether you are exempt.
An independent guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and not a lender. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.