Assembly committee advances bill to extend mortgage forbearance for L.A. wildfire survivors

Assemblymember Isaac Harabedian urged the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to advance AB 238, legislation that would allow borrowers affected by recent Los Angeles wildfires to request an initial mortgage forbearance for up to 180 days with the option to extend for up to one year total.

The measure, Harabedian said, is intended to prevent a wave of foreclosures among wildfire survivors who lost homes or were displaced. "Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out," Harabedian said. "More than 16,000 structures have been destroyed, and 50,000 residents have been displaced." He told the committee that without relief, "these mounting financial burdens could trigger a wave of foreclosures, deepening economic instability in communities already reeling from devastation."

The bill would let borrowers request an initial forbearance of up to 180 days and allow extensions so a borrower may receive up to one year of total forbearance, as described by the author. Harabedian noted that more than 400 financial…