This section defines key terms for understanding borrower rights and loan services in the context of disaster-related relief in California. A 'borrower' is someone with a mortgage, but not someone who has given up their property or has a notice of default unless rescinded. A 'federally backed loan' is one tied to federal agencies. 'Disaster-related forbearance relief' involves relief methods set by these agencies. A 'mortgage servicer' is responsible for loan account management but doesn't include trustees selling homes. 'Residential mortgage loan' refers to loans on small residential properties. 'Wildfire disaster' refers to emergencies declared by the state or federal government concerning specific natural events.

This law states that certain rules apply to banks, financial institutions, and certain licensed financial service providers under specific sections of the Financial Code or Business and Professions Code in California.

This law is about helping homeowners who are struggling to make mortgage payments because of wildfire-related financial difficulties. If a borrower is having trouble due to wildfires, they can ask for their mortgage payments to be paused, which is called forbearance. They need to let their lender know before six months after the state emergency ends or by January 7, 2027, whichever comes first, and confirm their hardship is due to the wildfires. Lenders must offer a 90-day pause period, which can be extended up to a year in 90-day increments if needed. The lender has to respond to these requests within 10 business days and provide reasons if they deny the request. Borrowers can fix application issues within 21 days if there are any, and no late fees or higher interest rates will be charged during the pause period. Finally, credit reports should not show a negative impact due to the forbearance.

If you've been granted a pause (or forbearance) on your mortgage payments, the mortgage service company must tell you at the start that you'll eventually have to pay back those skipped payments. However, they can't make you pay it all back at once if you were up to date with your payments before the forbearance started.

This law states that a person won't be held responsible for not following a particular law section if doing so conflicts with the rules for servicing federally backed loans, like those from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, or USDA. For non-federally backed residential loans, a person is also not liable if there's a conflict with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac's guidelines. 'Conflict' means it's impossible to follow both the law and these guidelines at the same time.

This law requires the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to share specific information on their website. They must include links to guidelines on disaster-related loan relief, a summary of rules from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help borrowers understand their rights, and a phone number for those needing assistance.

This section states that the goal of the law is for mortgage servicers to offer loan forbearance to borrowers when possible, but without breaking any existing contracts with investors who own or insure the mortgage. Additionally, this law does not apply to guidelines that aren't related to forbearance due to disasters.

This law states that if one part of the law is found to be invalid or unenforceable, it doesn't affect the rest of the law. The remaining parts can still be applied and enforced on their own.