Mortgage forbearance: state of emergency: wildfire.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how much help people will get or if there are limits on who can ask for forbearance, leaving these points uncertain.

Wildfire Emergency Mortgage Help

The bill extends the time people can delay making mortgage payments from 12 months to 36 months if they are affected by wildfires declared as emergencies in January 2025.

What This Bill Does

• Extends the period a person can delay making mortgage payments from 12 months to 36 months if they are affected by wildfires declared as emergencies in January 2025.
• Allows people until January 7, 2029, to ask for help with their mortgage payments due to wildfire damage.
• Requires banks and loan companies to tell borrowers that delayed payments must be paid back eventually.
• Gives borrowers the choice to pay back missed mortgage payments at the end of their loan term instead of immediately.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who have mortgages and were affected by wildfires declared as emergencies in January 2025.
• Banks and loan companies that manage mortgage payments.

Terms To Know

Forbearance

A period when a borrower can delay making payments on their mortgage due to financial hardship.

State of Emergency

A declaration by the government that allows special measures during times of crisis, like wildfires.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much help people will get or if there are limits on who can ask for forbearance.
• It is unclear what happens after January 7, 2029, for those affected by the wildfires.

Official Summary Text

AB 1847, as amended, Harabedian.
Mortgage forbearance: state of emergency: wildfire.
Existing law authorizes a borrower to request forbearance on their residential mortgage loan for a period of 12 months if, among other things, the borrower affirms that they are experiencing financial hardship that prevents them from making timely payments on the loan due directly to the wildfire disaster described in the proclamation of a state of emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 7, 2025, or the federally declared disaster, declared on January 8, 2025, related to the Eaton Wildfire, the Palisades Fire, and the Straight-line Winds. Existing law requires that request to be made before the earlier of either 6 months after the date upon which the state of emergency is terminated or January 7, 2027.
This bill would extend the period of mortgage forbearance to 36 months and extend the latest possible deadline for a borrower’s
request for forbearance to January 7, 2029. Because the bill would expand the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires a mortgage servicer to disclose to a borrower to whom a forbearance has been granted that the forborne mortgage payments are required to be repaid. Existing law prohibits requiring a borrower who was current on the residential mortgage loan when they entered forbearance to make a lump sum payment.
This bill would require a mortgage servicer to offer the borrower the option to defer repayment of forborne amounts to the end of the loan term, as specified.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF