The 24-month number includes time already used
California signed AB 1847 on September 15, 2026. The amendment is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027, and raises the maximum mortgage forbearance tied to the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires and related windstorm from 12 months to 24 months. The trap in the headline is the word total: the statute counts disaster-related forbearance a servicer gave you before the amendment takes effect. A homeowner who has already paused payments for nine months could have up to 15 months remaining under the new ceiling, subject to the law's conditions and the investor's rules.
This is a planning guide for people still paying a mortgage on a home they cannot inhabit. AB 1847 does not erase missed payments. It also does not create a new 24-month period for each borrower on January 1. California's chaptered law says prior forbearance related to this wildfire disaster counts toward its cap. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains the broader rule: a payment pause leaves the amount owed to be repaid later.
Which fire and which borrower?
AB 1847 amends the existing California relief enacted for the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. It is tied to the Eaton Fire, Palisades Fire and straight-line winds covered by the emergency and federal disaster declarations. California also signed AB 1842 in September 2026 to create a broader statewide disaster mortgage relief framework. The two laws address different groups. Do not apply the LA-specific 24-month AB 1847 cap to an unrelated future wildfire.
A borrower requesting relief under AB 1847 must affirm that the wildfire caused financial hardship preventing timely mortgage payments and that the property securing the loan is uninhabitable because of the disaster. The amendment starts with up to 90 days of forbearance and permits extensions requested by the borrower in 90-day increments, subject to a 24-month total ceiling. Once an extension would take the total beyond 12 months, an investor, guarantor, insurer or loan holder may require specific documents about hardship, habitability or efforts to restore the home. The servicer's request must come from a written request by one of those parties; you can ask for a copy.
The date to request relief is also conditional. The statute uses the earlier of January 7, 2029 or six months after the Governor's January 2025 state of emergency ends. January 7 is the outside deadline, not a guaranteed filing window if the emergency ends earlier. Ask your servicer which deadline applies to your loan and keep your request confirmation.
What nine months already used means
Maya's mortgage payment is $2,600 per month. Her Altadena house remains uninhabitable, and her servicer has already granted nine months of disaster-related forbearance. Under the current 12-month cap, three months remain. Once AB 1847 takes effect, the new 24-month total cap leaves at most 15 further months, if Maya continues to qualify and her servicer approves the extensions.
Maya's remaining statutory ceiling after nine months already used
The chart is a statutory ceiling example, not a promised approval. It treats Maya's earlier pause as nine whole months for planning; her servicer must use the actual start and end dates when applying 90-day extensions and the 24-month calendar cap. Maya will need to ask for extensions as her existing period expires. The 90-day extension structure means she should not wait until the final day of her current pause. The amended law directs the servicer to give notice before a period ends explaining required documents and the next deadline. She should save every notice and ask for an extension in writing.
Maya's scheduled payments over three months add to $7,800. Fifteen months at $2,600 add to $39,000. The difference, $31,200, is cash flow she might be able to keep available while rebuilding under the longer maximum. She would still owe the forborne amounts later, and interest treatment depends on her loan and repayment arrangement. Calling the $39,000 a grant or a saving would mislead her. Our AB 1847 forbearance planner subtracts servicer-counted prior months from the 24-month total and illustrates the payments paused but still owed.
Scheduled payments during Maya's possible remaining pause
A borrower who already used 12 months has no further time under the existing cap. Under AB 1847 the mathematical ceiling could be 12 more months, but an extension beyond 12 months can involve investor-required documentation. The servicer must disclose specific investor grounds if it denies a request under the statute. A spreadsheet cannot decide those facts.
January 1 is the operative date to watch
The bill was signed in September, but the California Secretary of State’s bill-chapter guidance sets January 1, 2027 as the ordinary start for a 2026 law without an urgency or later-date clause. The chaptered AB 1847 has no urgency clause. The September 23 servicing analysis from TENA independently identifies the same effective date. Until the amendment takes effect, borrowers should work with their servicers using the relief and lender commitments already available. A family whose current pause ends in October 2026 should contact the servicer now rather than assume the signed bill has already extended it.
The Governor's September 15 announcement and Los Angeles Council District 11's September update confirm that the new LA-fire maximum is 24 months in total. Earlier descriptions of the bill proposed a 36-month maximum. Those describe drafts, not the law that was signed. Use the chaptered text for the number that governs this guide.
The amended law allows a servicer up to 21 days to notify the borrower whether a request is approved, with a possible agreed extension when more documentation or investor approval is needed. It also requires notice of a correctable defect and a chance to fix it. Keep dates and copies of communications, especially if you are crossing the 12-month threshold. A delay or denial may turn on facts a calculator cannot know.
How the missed payments can be repaid
AB 1847 says the paused payments must be repaid. If Maya was current when she entered forbearance, her servicer cannot require the whole amount in one lump sum at the end of the pause. The amendment also directs a servicer to offer an end-of-loan deferral or comparable option unless the investor contract or servicing guidelines prohibit it. That condition matters. Ask who owns or guarantees your loan and get the servicer's repayment offer in writing.
A deferral can make the first resumed payment manageable, but it moves debt into the future. It may affect the payoff amount when you sell or refinance. The CFPB says interest can continue to accrue during a forbearance depending on the arrangement, so this article does not estimate Maya's final balance. Her $39,000 example is the sum of the scheduled payments she entered, before any changes to loan interest, escrow, insurance or repayment terms.
If an extension is denied on investor grounds, the California amendment requires the notice to identify the specific provision and include its text. That gives the borrower something concrete to examine with a housing counselor or legal aid provider. It does not mean every denial is wrongful or that every investor must allow a 24-month pause.
Your next call to the servicer
Start with four facts: the date your disaster-related forbearance began, the total months already used, whether your home is still uninhabitable, and the payment shown on your latest statement. Then ask the servicer to confirm the amount of disaster-related forbearance it has counted, your next renewal date, whether investor approval or documentation will be needed after month 12, and how missed payments would be handled when regular payments restart.
If the servicer describes a balloon payment, ask how AB 1847's protection for borrowers who were current on entry applies to your account, and whether an end-of-loan deferral is allowed by the investor. Record the representative's answer and request written terms. The CFPB's current forbearance guidance recommends asking about interest and repayment options before agreeing to a pause.
For a VA-backed mortgage, a separate VA partial claim estimator on this site illustrates one possible way certain arrears can be handled under VA rules. It is a different program with its own eligibility requirements; it does not calculate AB 1847 rights. The California question is narrower: how much of the 24-month total ceiling remains after counting the time you already used, and what will your servicer and loan investor approve once the amendment takes effect.
