Existing law authorizes a borrower who is experiencing financial hardship that prevents the borrower from making timely payments on a specified residential mortgage loan due directly to a specified state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, or a specified federally declared disaster, to request forbearance on their residential mortgage loan, as prescribed. Existing law requires a mortgage servicer, except as specified, to offer mortgage payment forbearance for an initial 90-day period that may be extend up to a maximum forbearance period of 12 months and prohibits a mortgage servicer from assessing any late fees to the borrower’s account or charging a default rate of interest during the forbearance period.

This bill would, except as specified, require a mortgage servicer to offer mortgage payment forbearance of a period of up to an initial 180 days, to be extended at the request of the borrower in 90-day increments, up to a maximum forbearance period of 12 months. The bill would provide that the forbearance period includes any period of forbearance related to the emergency that a mortgage servicer has provided to a borrower before the effective date of these provisions. 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.

This bill would require a mortgage servicer to report the credit obligations of borrowers under an emergency-related forbearance plan in compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. For accounts granted emergency-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.

This bill would authorize a borrower to bring a certain civil action to enforce these provisions.