Allegheny County Updates Its Save Your Home Program

Allegheny County’s Residential Mortgage Program, commonly known as the Save Your Home Program (the “SYH Program”), is undergoing meaningful changes intended to improve efficiency, increase borrower accountability, and reduce delays in the foreclosure conciliation process. The program was established on January 12, 2009, by President Judge James, who modeled it after a prior county initiative from the 1980s created by County Commissioner Pete Flaherty and Sheriff Gene Coon during the decline of the steel industry. The SYH Program remains an opt-in program: borrowers must contact the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development to participate, and eligible properties must be owner-occupied residential properties with fewer than four units. Commercial properties are not eligible.

In 2026, Judge Nicola Henry-Taylor became the assigned judge for the SYH Program. Before scheduling cases under her oversight, her staff convened foreclosure counsel and housing counselors to discuss best practices, identify current obstacles, and consider practical program modifications.

‍

New Structure and Procedures

Since assuming responsibility for the SYH Program, Judge Henry-Taylor has drawn on her experience presiding over Family Court matters to bring additional structure and formality to the conciliation process. Several changes have already been implemented to make meetings more productive and to keep cases moving forward, including:

• Firm deadlines for borrowers or housing counselors to return documents to the lender; and

• Scheduling orders issued with increased lead time, allowing foreclosure counsel to provide notice of the conciliation date to the borrower and file a certificate of service confirming that notice was mailed.

After several rounds of conciliations this year, Judge Henry-Taylor’s staff met with Lisa Jordan, who coordinates the conciliation program in Philadelphia County. A follow-up meeting with Judge Henry-Taylor was held in July to discuss recurring challenges within the SYH Program and identify potential solutions to reduce administrative delays.

‍

Addressing Housing Counselor Capacity

Two of the most significant challenges facing the SYH Program are reduced funding for housing assistance and the limited availability of housing counselors to help borrowers complete loss mitigation documents. Currently, only two housing counseling agencies—WAVE and the Urban League—participate in the program, creating a waiting list for new participants. Without counselor support, borrowers may be unfamiliar with the steps required to pursue loss mitigation or may struggle to complete the necessary forms accurately and on time.

At the July meeting, Judge Henry-Taylor proposed several measures to address the housing counselor shortage:

• The SYH Program will work with law students from Pitt and Duquesne to provide intake and administrative support, allowing housing counselors to focus on substantive assistance during the loss mitigation process; and

• As a longer-term strategy, the program may utilize legal interns to help offset the reduction in housing counseling agencies, with oversight from “Legacy Lawyers”—retired attorneys and judges—to help ensure appropriate guidance and support.

‍

Changes to Case Management and Conciliations

The July meeting also addressed the interaction between foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. Going forward, when a bankruptcy case is filed for a matter pending in the SYH Program, the foreclosure case will be placed in deferred status. Foreclosure counsel will be responsible for providing Judge Henry-Taylor’s staff with a courtesy copy of the suggestion of bankruptcy so that conciliations are not scheduled unnecessarily. Once the bankruptcy concludes, counsel must provide the Court with documentation evidencing relief so the matter can be returned to the scheduling list.

Judge Henry-Taylor has also evaluated the use of remote technology for conciliations. Since taking over the program, she has used both Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Although in-person meetings were the norm before COVID-19, the Court recognizes that remote appearances reduce travel, traffic, and parking burdens for participants. While some borrowers may find the technology challenging, the Court has determined that the overall benefits support continued remote proceedings. Going forward, conciliations will be conducted by Zoom only.

After conferring with foreclosure counsel, the Court will include clearer deadlines in orders continuing conciliation conferences. These deadlines are intended to create a shared understanding of what is required for continued participation in the program and to reduce avoidable delays. From a practical standpoint, reducing delay is important for all parties: the longer a loan remains in default, the fewer resolution options are typically available.

Judge Henry-Taylor has also implemented a process for continuance requests. Historically, parties did not have a clear mechanism to continue a conciliation in advance. This was particularly inefficient when a borrower was performing under a trial modification plan, and an appearance by both parties was unlikely to advance the case. Under the new process, if the parties agree to a continuance, they may submit a consent order signed by all parties to the judge’s staff before the scheduled conciliation, excusing the appearance of both parties. If all necessary signatures cannot be obtained, a motion will be required.

Although Judge Henry-Taylor’s tenure with the SYH Program is still relatively new, the early changes reflect a clear effort to make the process more structured, efficient, and outcome-focused. For clients, the most important takeaways are the increased emphasis on deadlines, improved procedures for bankruptcy-related deferrals and continuance requests, and the Court’s efforts to address housing counselor capacity through additional support resources. These changes should help reduce backlog, promote more meaningful conciliations, and move eligible matters toward resolution with greater predictability.