Updated: Chester County Sheriff Sales in Pennsylvania Could be Postponed for up to 90 days

Thursday, July 2 Update: The Chester County Sheriff’s Office has announced another postponement of sheriff sales due to staffing changes and for the training of a new Real Estate Coordinator. The updated schedule is:

• May 2026 → September 2026
• June 2026 → October 2026
• July 2026 → November 2026
• August 2026 → November 2026

The Sheriff’s Office has indicated that the regularly scheduled September, October, and November 2026 sales will proceed as planned in addition to the postponed sales. This is an important development for lenders, servicers, foreclosure counsel, and title professionals with matters pending in Chester County. For more, visit the Chester County official website. 

Wednesday, May 20 Update: The Chester County Sheriff’s Emergency Petition to Postpone Chester County Sheriff Sales (“Petition”) was denied (read the Court's order here). The Judge cited to the procedural impropriety of the filing of the Petition as jurisdictional leaving the Court without the ability to rule substantively on the Petition. Basically, the court determined that the Sheriff did not use the proper procedure for bringing the issues raised in the Petition before the Court to allow it to take action by postponing the Sheriff sales.

This leaves the Sheriff with the ability to properly commence an action either by praecipe for writ of summons, or a complaint as allowed under Pennsylvania law. However, according to the Sheriff’s website, the May, June and July 2026 sales are postponed. We are continuing to monitor this situation closely as new updates become available.

Monday, May 18 Original Post: The Chester County Sheriff in Pennsylvania filed an Emergency Petition to Postpone Chester County Sheriff Sales (the “Petition”) seeking to postpone the sales scheduled for May 21, 2026, June 18, 2026, and July 16, 2026, due to staffing shortages and operational concerns. No hearing has been scheduled at this time, the upcoming sale is Thursday May 21, 2026, and a decision is imminent.

Padgett's Pennsylvania legal team anticipates an emergency hearing will occur before the upcoming sale with the assigned judge. Notice was provided by the Sheriff of the filing of this Petition by telephone to the law firms handling the properties potentially impacted by a decision. Based on a review of the Petition, the Chester County Sheriff seeks to postpone the sale of the May 21, 2026, properties to August 20, 2026, date; to postpone the June 18, 2026, sale properties to September 17, 2026, date, and to postpone the July 16, 2026, properties scheduled for sale to the October 15, 2026, date.

If granted, the postponement could significantly impact lenders, borrowers, investors, attorneys, and others involved in the foreclosure and sheriff sale process throughout Chester County. Padgett Law Group will monitor the situation closely and provide updates as soon as they are available.