§ 205-a.Termination of certain actions related to real property.

Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 21, 2026

In one sentenceA narrower savings statute for actions on mortgages, bonds, and notes under CPLR 213(4), giving the original plaintiff six months to refile after a qualifying termination, but only once, and only if the plaintiff itself refiles.

Full Text of CPLR 205-a

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(a) If an action upon an instrument described under subdivision four of section two hundred thirteen of this article is timely commenced and is terminated in any manner other than a voluntary discontinuance, a failure to obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant, a dismissal of the complaint for any form of neglect, including, but not limited to those specified in subdivision three of section thirty-one hundred twenty-six, section thirty-two hundred fifteen, rule thirty-two hundred sixteen and rule thirty-four hundred four of this chapter, for violation of any court rules or individual part rules, for failure to comply with any court scheduling orders, or by default due to nonappearance for conference or at a calendar call, or by failure to timely submit any order or judgment, or upon a final judgment upon the merits, the original plaintiff, or, if the original plaintiff dies and the cause of action survives, his or her executor or administrator, may commence a new action upon the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences within six months following the termination, provided that the new action would have been timely commenced within the applicable limitations period prescribed by law at the time of the commencement of the prior action and that service upon the original defendant is completed within such six-month period. For purposes of this subdivision:

1. a successor in interest or an assignee of the original plaintiff shall not be permitted to commence the new action, unless pleading and proving that such assignee is acting on behalf of the original plaintiff; and

2. in no event shall the original plaintiff receive more than one six-month extension.

(b) Where the defendant has served an answer and the action upon an instrument described under subdivision four of section two hundred thirteen of this article is terminated in any manner, and a new action upon the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences is commenced by the original plaintiff, or a successor in interest or assignee of the original plaintiff, the assertion of any cause of action or defense by the defendant in the new action shall be timely if such cause of action or defense was timely asserted in the prior action.

End

Plain-English Summary

CPLR 205-a does for foreclosure and other mortgage-related actions what CPLR 205 does more broadly, with tighter guardrails. If a timely action on an instrument covered by CPLR 213(4) — a bond, note, or mortgage on real property — ends for reasons other than voluntary discontinuance, failure to get jurisdiction, or a merits judgment, the original plaintiff gets six months to bring a new action on the same transaction, as long as the new filing would have been timely when the first one began and the defendant is served within that window.

The section defines qualifying “neglect” broadly enough to cover a long list of dismissal grounds — noncompliance with disclosure orders, court rules, individual part rules, and scheduling orders, defaults for nonappearance, and late submission of orders or judgments — reflecting how often mortgage foreclosure cases had been dismissed on exactly these grounds. But two limits set this section apart from its general counterpart: a successor or assignee of the original plaintiff can't invoke the extension unless it pleads and proves it's acting on the original plaintiff's behalf, and no plaintiff gets more than one six-month extension, ever, on the same claim.

Subdivision (b) mirrors CPLR 205(b): if the defendant answered in the earlier action and the case is refiled, the defendant's timely-raised defenses and counterclaims stay timely in the new action. Added in 2022, this section responds to years of litigation over repeated foreclosure filings and narrows the savings statute specifically where mortgage debt is involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is CPLR 205-a different from CPLR 205?

CPLR 205-a applies only to actions on mortgages, bonds, and notes covered by CPLR 213(4), limits the six-month refiling right to the original plaintiff, and allows only one such extension per case, whereas CPLR 205's general savings rule applies more broadly and carries no one-extension limit.

Can a company that bought a defaulted mortgage loan use CPLR 205-a to refile a foreclosure case?

Only if it pleads and proves it's acting on behalf of the original plaintiff — CPLR 205-a otherwise reserves the six-month extension for the original plaintiff, not a later successor or assignee.

How many times can a plaintiff use the six-month extension under CPLR 205-a?

Once. CPLR 205-a states that the original plaintiff may not receive more than one six-month extension under this section.

Does CPLR 205-a apply to any dismissal of a foreclosure case?

It applies to a termination for reasons other than voluntary discontinuance, failure to obtain personal jurisdiction, or a final judgment on the merits, and it defines qualifying neglect broadly to include a range of procedural and scheduling failures.

Does CPLR 205-a apply to any type of real property action?

No. It applies specifically to actions on the instruments described in CPLR 213(4) — bonds, notes, and mortgages secured by real property — not to real property actions generally.

Amendment History

L 2022, ch 821, § 6, effective December 30, 2022.

Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York. Last verified July 21, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: refile foreclosure case New Yorkmortgage foreclosure statute of limitations New York savings clauseone time extension foreclosure New York