Definition
The right of redemption is the legally recognized power of a property owner — or in some cases a junior lienholder — to reclaim encumbered or sold property by paying the outstanding debt, plus interest and costs. In American law the term encompasses two distinct but related concepts that are frequently conflated:
1. Statutory right of redemption: The right, created exclusively by statute, to recover property after a foreclosure or other judicial sale has already occurred. The former owner pays the sale price (or the debt, depending on the jurisdiction) within a fixed statutory window — typically ranging from a few months to a year — and thereby defeats the purchaser's title. This right does not exist at common law; it exists only because a legislature created it.
2. Equitable right of redemption (equity of redemption): The right, originating in courts of equity, to redeem mortgaged property at any time before foreclosure is completed, by paying the full debt owed. This right is inherent in every mortgage relationship and does not depend on statute. It ends — is "foreclosed" — when the court-supervised foreclosure process runs to completion.
The two rights operate at different moments in the foreclosure timeline: equitable redemption applies before the sale; statutory redemption applies after.
Common Confusion
The right of redemption and the equity of redemption are the most persistently confused pair in mortgage law, and historical sources often use the terms interchangeably or imprecisely. Black's 2nd Edition flags the distinction directly: the right of redemption (in its statutory sense) is granted by statute only, while the equity of redemption exists independently of statute. The practical difference is decisive for researchers: if a foreclosure sale has already occurred, only the statutory right is relevant, and it exists only where a legislature has created it. If the property has not yet been sold, the equitable right governs. Many 19th-century cases use "right of redemption" loosely to mean the equitable right — context must be checked carefully.
Core Elements
For the statutory right of redemption to be exercised, the following conditions generally apply:
— A foreclosure or judicial sale must have been completed, vesting title in a purchaser.
— A redemption statute must be in force in the jurisdiction where the property is located.
— The party asserting redemption must have standing under the statute (typically the former owner, and often junior lienholders in a defined order of priority).
— Redemption must occur within the statutory period, which begins running from the date of sale or confirmation of sale depending on the jurisdiction.
— The redeeming party must tender the required amount — generally the sale price plus interest and allowable costs, not merely the underlying debt.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Pre-sale redemption (equitable): The mortgagor's right to pay off the debt and discharge the mortgage before the foreclosure sale closes. Rooted in equity; exists in all mortgage jurisdictions.
Post-sale redemption (statutory): The former owner's right to reclaim title after a completed foreclosure sale by paying the purchaser. Exists only by statute; jurisdictions vary widely in whether they recognize it at all and in the length of the redemption period.
Junior lienholder redemption: Most redemption statutes extend the right to junior lienholders (second mortgagees, judgment creditors) to redeem from a senior foreclosure, thereby protecting their security interest. Priority among multiple redeeming parties is typically fixed by the statute.
Why It Matters in Research
The statutory/equitable divide is the central research trap. Pre-20th-century cases and treatises frequently use "right of redemption" to mean what modern courts call the equity of redemption, not the post-sale statutory right. A researcher citing an 1870 case discussing the "right of redemption" must verify which right the court actually meant before applying the holding to a modern statutory-redemption question.
Jurisdictional variation is substantial and consequential. Roughly half of U.S. states have abolished or significantly curtailed post-sale statutory redemption periods; others retain robust periods. The length, the triggering event (sale vs. confirmation), who may redeem, and what must be paid all vary by state. Research anchored to one state's statutes will not transfer cleanly.
The two Law Mind encyclopedia entries handle these periods separately. For pre-sale equitable issues — including the mortgagor's right to redeem and the doctrine that any clog on the equity of redemption is void — the Property Law Encyclopedia entry is the primary reference. For post-sale statutory mechanics, redemption periods, and the interplay between the redemption window and the purchaser's ability to obtain a deed or possession, the Real Estate Transactions & Construction Encyclopedia entry is the relevant starting point.
In title examination work, an unexpired statutory redemption period is a title defect; a deed issued to a foreclosure purchaser during the redemption window typically conveys defeasible title only. This matters for any research touching title insurance, conveyancing practice, or quiet title actions following foreclosure sales.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's 2nd Edition captures the essential architecture: the right of redemption is the power to free property from the incumbrance of a foreclosure or other judicial sale by paying what is due with interest and costs, and it is granted by statute only. Black's expressly distinguishes this from the equity of redemption, which it identifies as existing independently of statute but as a right that must be exercised before the sale is completed.
What Black's 2nd Edition does not fully develop — reflecting the state of the law at the time — is the emerging complexity around junior lienholder redemption rights and the procedural mechanics of redemption periods across the proliferating state statutory schemes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Researchers using Black's historical entries as a starting point should treat them as framing the conceptual distinction accurately while recognizing that the statutory detail had not yet been systematically harmonized in the secondary literature.
Jurisdictional Note
The post-sale statutory right of redemption is a creature of state law with no federal common-law equivalent outside specific federal statutory contexts (such as IRS tax lien redemption under federal statute). Several states, including New York, have significantly curtailed or replaced traditional redemption periods with accelerated foreclosure procedures. California and many western states retain statutory redemption periods but limit them based on the type of foreclosure used (judicial vs. nonjudicial). Research must be jurisdiction-specific.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Statutory and Equitable Rights of Redemption — Pre-Sale and Post-Sale Redemption Periods (Law Mind Real Estate Transactions & Construction Encyclopedia)
Mortgages — Equity of Redemption and Statutory Redemption (Law Mind Property Law Encyclopedia)