On July 8, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 11371 (“SB 1137”), also known as the “Perata Mortgage Relief Bill” in honor of its principal author, Senator John Perata of Oakland, California. The statute, with exceptions, became effective immediately as urgency legislation upon signature by the Governor.

The Perata Bill implements three categories of “protections” for borrowers and tenants in foreclosure:

First, it imposes a mandatory notification, meeting and consultation process that must be made available to the borrower by the foreclosing lender prior to filing a notice of default under Civil Code § 2924.