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Cal. Civil Code § 2920.5 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a)“Mortgage servicer” means a person or entity who directly services a loan, or who is responsible for interacting with the borrower, managing the loan account on a daily basis including collecting and crediting periodic loan payments, managing any escrow account, or enforcing the note and security instrument, either as the current owner of the promissory note or as the current owner’s authorized agent. “Mortgage servicer” also means a subservicing agent to a master servicer by contract. “Mortgage servicer” shall not include a trustee, or a trustee’s authorized agent, acting under a power of sale pursuant to a deed of trust.

(b)“Foreclosure prevention alternative” means a first lien loan modification or another available loss mitigation option.

(c)(1)Unless otherwise provided and for purposes of Sections 2923.4, 2923.5, 2923.55, 2923.6, 2923.7, 2924.9, 2924.10, 2924.11, 2924.18, and 2924.19, “borrower” means any natural person who is a mortgagor or trustor and who is potentially eligible for any federal, state, or proprietary foreclosure prevention alternative program offered by, or through, his or her mortgage servicer.

(2)For purposes of the sections listed in paragraph (1), “borrower” shall not include any of the following:

(A)An individual who has surrendered the secured property as evidenced by either a letter confirming the surrender or delivery of the keys to the property to the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent.

(B)An individual who has contracted with an organization, person, or entity whose primary business is advising people who have decided to leave their homes on how to extend the foreclosure process and avoid their contractual obligations to mortgagees or beneficiaries.

(C)An individual who has filed a case under Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 of Title 11 of the United States Code and the bankruptcy court has not entered an order closing or dismissing the bankruptcy case, or granting relief from a stay of foreclosure.

(d)“First lien” means the most senior mortgage or deed of trust on the property that is the subject of the notice of default or notice of sale.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (17 in the last 5 years), 2015–2025 · leading case: Green v. Cent. Mortg. Co., 148 F. Supp. 3d 852 (N.D. Cal. 2015).
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Green v. Cent. Mortg. Co., 148 F. Supp. 3d 852 (N.D. Cal. 2015). “limitations of California Civil Code § 2920.5,” but section 2920.”
Valbuena v. Ocwen Loan Servicing CA4/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 4× “STANDING Plaintiff’s first cause of action alleged Ocwen and Law Offices of Les Zieve violated the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights (Civ. Code, § 2920.5 et seq.), specifically Civil Code section 2924.”
Marasigan v. MidFirst Bank (S.D. Cal. 2023). · cites it 4× “Where an individual does 3 not meet the definition of “borrower” under subdivision (c) of California Civil Code § 4 2920.5, no contact is required prior to the recording of a notice of default.”
Gieser v. Freedom Mortg. Corp. (N.D. Cal. 2024). · cites it 2× “” Cal. Civ. Code § 2920.5 . 27 Section 2923.”
Mattos v. Nationstar Mortg. LLC (E.D. Cal. 2025). · cites it 2× “See Cal. Civ. Code § 2920.5 (c)(1). 1 prevention alternative program offered by, or through, his or her mortgage servicer.”
Chau v. Citibank CA4/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “); (7) violation of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights (Civ. Code, § 2920.5 et seq.); (8) quiet title; and (9) breach of oral contract.”
Rucker v. Bank of Am. CA2/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “Disposition of plaintiff’s claims Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (FAC) asserting claims for: (1) violations of the Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) (Civ. Code, § 2920.5 et seq.) and violations of the 2012 federal Consent Judgment (Consent Judgment) between the United…”
Leonard Tyson v. Td Servs. Co., 690 F. App'x 530 (9th Cir. 2017). “3d 437, 446 (2013); see also Cal. Civ. Code §§ 2920.5 (a) (a trustee is not a mortgage servicer), 2924.”
Robert Travis v. Nationstar Mortg., LLC (9th Cir. 2018). “” Cal. Civ. Code § 2920.5 (d). The adjective “first” modifies the noun “lien,” not the noun “modification”; in mortgage parlance, a “first lien” is one with priority over all others.”
Vernon Deck v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (9th Cir. 2018). “” Cal. Civ. Code § 2920.5 (repealed Jan. 1, 2018).”
Nationstar Mortg. v. Abalkhad CA2/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021). “He asserted causes of action against the defendants for violations of the Homeowners Bill of Rights (Civ. Code, §§ 2920.5 et sq.), negligence, and violations of 1 At the time of the trial in this action in November 2018, Abalkhad owed mortgage payments from May 2012 forward, a…”
Gutierrez v. SN Servicing Corp. CA1/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022). “” (Civ. Code, § 2920.5, subd. (a).) Appellants offer no argument or authority that supports application of this statutory definition here, let alone how it would lead to SN Servicing’s liability for the alleged breach of the reconveyance provision in the deed of trust.”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— Cal. Civil Code § 2920.5(c) — 1 case
Marasigan v. MidFirst Bank (S.D. Cal. 2023). “Where an individual does 3 not meet the definition of “borrower” under subdivision (c) of California Civil Code § 4 2920.5, no contact is required prior to the recording of a notice of default.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 2920.5(c)(1) — 1 case
Vera (N.D. Cal. 2025).
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