Mortgage forbearance: state of emergency: wildfire.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide information about late fees being higher interest rates, only that no late fees can be charged during forbearance.

Wildfire Disaster Mortgage Forbearance

AB-238 allows homeowners affected by the wildfire disaster in California to request mortgage forbearance for up to a year without facing late fees or foreclosure.

What This Bill Does

• Allows borrowers who are having trouble paying their mortgages due to the wildfire disaster to ask for a break on payments.
• Requires lenders to offer a payment pause of up to 90 days, which can be extended by another 90 days at a time, up to one year total.
• Prohibits lenders from charging late fees or higher interest rates during this period.
• Prevents lenders from starting foreclosure actions while the forbearance is in place.
• Requires lenders to report borrowers' payments as current or delinquent but not as being on a payment plan.

Who It Names or Affects

• Homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments due to financial hardship caused by the wildfire disaster.
• Mortgage servicers and lenders of residential properties with four or fewer units.

Terms To Know

Forbearance

A temporary pause on making mortgage payments when a borrower is facing financial difficulties.

Limits and Unknowns

• Only applies to mortgages on residential properties with four or fewer units.
• Requires borrowers to prove they are experiencing hardship from the wildfires.

Official Summary Text

AB 238, Harabedian.
Mortgage forbearance: state of emergency: wildfire.
Existing law requires a mortgage servicer to comply with applicable federal guidance regarding borrower options following a forbearance relating to the COVID-19 emergency.
This bill would authorize a borrower who is experiencing financial hardship that prevents the borrower from making timely payments on a specified residential mortgage 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, to request forbearance on their residential mortgage loan, as prescribed. The bill would limit eligibility for that forbearance to loans that are secured by residential real property improved by 4 or fewer residential
units. The bill would require the borrower to affirm that they are experiencing a financial hardship due to the wildfire disaster. Because the bill would expand the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would, except as specified, require a mortgage servicer to offer mortgage payment forbearance of a period of up to an initial 90 days, which shall be extended at the request of the borrower in 90-day increments, up to a maximum forbearance period of 12 months. The bill would also prohibit a mortgage servicer from assessing any late fees to the borrower’s account or charging a default rate of interest during the forbearance period. The bill would provide that the forbearance period includes any period of forbearance related to the wildfire disaster that a mortgage servicer has provided to a borrower before the effective date of these provisions. The bill would require a mortgage servicer to report the credit obligations of
borrowers under a disaster-related forbearance plan in compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. For accounts granted disaster-related mortgage payment relief, the bill would prohibit mortgage servicers from furnishing information during the forbearance period indicating that the payments are in forbearance and would require them to report the credit obligation or account as current or delinquent, as specified. The bill would prohibit a mortgage servicer from initiating any judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure process, moving for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or executing a foreclosure-related eviction or foreclosure during the period of forbearance.
This bill would require the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to post specified information on its website including links to the provisions of servicing guidelines pertaining to disaster-related forbearance relief for federally backed loans and a dedicated telephone number for
borrowers seeking assistance.
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

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