12 U.S.C. § 2607
No person shall give and no person shall accept any fee, kickback, or thing of value pursuant to any agreement or understanding, oral or otherwise, that business incident to or a part of a real estate settlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan shall be referred to any person.
No person shall give and no person shall accept any portion, split, or percentage of any charge made or received for the rendering of a real estate settlement service in connection with a transaction involving a federally related mortgage loan other than for services actually performed.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting (1) the payment of a fee (A) to attorneys at law for services actually rendered or (B) by a title company to its duly appointed agent for services actually performed in the issuance of a policy of title insurance or (C) by a lender to its duly appointed agent for services actually performed in the making of a loan, (2) the payment to any person of a bona fide salary or compensation or other payment for goods or facilities actually furnished or for services actually performed, (3) payments pursuant to cooperative brokerage and referral arrangements or agreements between real estate agents and brokers, (4) affiliated business arrangements so long as (A) a disclosure is made of the existence of such an arrangement to the person being referred and, in connection with such referral, such person is provided a written estimate of the charge or range of charges generally made by the provider to which the person is referred (i) in the case of a face-to-face referral or a referral made in writing or by electronic media, at or before the time of the referral (and compliance with this requirement in such case may be evidenced by a notation in a written, electronic, or similar system of records maintained in the regular course of business); (ii) in the case of a referral made by telephone, within 3 business days after the referral by telephone,1 (and in such case an abbreviated verbal disclosure of the existence of the arrangement and the fact that a written disclosure will be provided within 3 business days shall be made to the person being referred during the telephone referral); or (iii) in the case of a referral by a lender (including a referral by a lender to an affiliated lender), at the time the estimates required under section 2604(c) of this title are provided (notwithstanding clause (i) or (ii)); and any required written receipt of such disclosure (without regard to the manner of the disclosure under clause (i), (ii), or (iii)) may be obtained at the closing or settlement (except that a person making a face-to-face referral who provides the written disclosure at or before the time of the referral shall attempt to obtain any required written receipt of such disclosure at such time and if the person being referred chooses not to acknowledge the receipt of the disclosure at that time, that fact shall be noted in the written, electronic, or similar system of records maintained in the regular course of business by the person making the referral), (B) such person is not required to use any particular provider of settlement services, and (C) the only thing of value that is received from the arrangement, other than the payments permitted under this subsection, is a return on the ownership interest or franchise relationship, or (5) such other payments or classes of payments or other transfers as are specified in regulations prescribed by the Bureau, after consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Secretary of Agriculture. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the following shall not be considered a violation of clause (4)(B):
1 So in original.
12 U.S.C. § 2607
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, referred to in subsec. (d)(4), is title X of Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1955. Subtitle B of the Act is classified generally to part B (§5511 et seq.) of subchapter V of chapter 53 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS2010-Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 111-203, §1098(6), which directed substituting "Bureau" for "Secretary", was executed by making the substitution for "Secretary" the first time appearing, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111-203, §1098(7)(A), inserted "Bureau and" before "Secretary" in heading that had been supplied editorially. Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 111-203, §1098(7)(B), added par. (4) and struck out former par. (4) which read as follows: "The Secretary, the Attorney General of any State, or the insurance commissioner of any State may bring an action to enjoin violations of this section." 1996-Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 104-208, §2103(c)(2), substituted "affiliated business arrangements" for "controlled business arrangements".Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 104-208, §2103(d), amended subcl. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subcl. (A) read as follows: "at or prior to the time of the referral a disclosure is made of the existence of such an arrangement to the person being referred and, in connection with the referral, such person is provided a written estimate of the charge or range of charges generally made by the provider to which the person is referred, except that where a lender makes the referral, this requirement may be satisfied as part of and at the time that the estimates of settlement charges required under section 2604(c) of this title are provided,".Subsec. (d)(6). Pub. L. 104-208, §2103(c)(2), substituted "affiliated business arrangements" for "controlled business arrangements". 1991-Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 102-54 substituted "Secretary of Veterans Affairs" for "Administrator of Veterans' Affairs".1988-Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 100-242 substituted "clause (4)(B)" for "clause 4(B)". 1983-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98-181, §461(b), redesignated cl. (4) as (5), added cl. (4) and provisions following cl. (5), as so redesignated, relating to arrangements which shall not be considered a violation of cl. (4)(B).Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 98-181, §461(c), substituted provisions setting forth the liability of persons violating the prohibitions or limitations of this section for provisions setting forth liability, in addition to penalties provided in par. (1), of persons violating subsecs. (a) and (b) of this section, plus costs and attorney's fees.Subsec. (d)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 98-181, §461(c), added pars. (3) to (6).1976-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94-205 added cls. (3) and (4).
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111-203 effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1100H of Pub. L. 111-203 set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1983 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98-181 effective Jan. 1, 1984, see section 461(f) of Pub. L. 98-181 set out as a note under section 2602 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94-205 effective Jan. 2, 1976, see section 12 of Pub. L. 94-205 set out as a note under section 2602 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATESection effective 180 days after Dec. 22, 1974, see section 20 of Pub. L. 93-533 set out as a note under section 2601 of this title.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONSFederal Home Loan Bank Board abolished and functions transferred, see sections 401 to 406 of Pub. L. 101-73 set out as a note under section 1437 of this title.
- Bureau
- The term "Bureau" means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
- State
- The term "State" means any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the United States Virgin Islands or any federally recognized Indian tribe, as defined by the Secretary of the Interior under section 5131(a) of title 25.
- consumer
- The term "consumer" means an individual or an agent, trustee, or representative acting on behalf of an individual.
- credit
- The term "credit" means the right granted by a person to a consumer to defer payment of a debt, incur debt and defer its payment, or purchase property or services and defer payment for such purchase.
- designated transfer date
- The term "designated transfer date" means the date established under section 5582 of this title.
- person
- The term "person" means an individual, partnership, company, corporation, association (incorporated or unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative organization, or other entity.
- Secretary
- the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
- Settlement services
- the term "Settlement services" includes any service provided in connection with a real estate settlement including, but not limited to, the following: title searches, title examinations, the provision of title certificates, title insurance, services rendered by an attorney, the preparation of documents, property surveys, the rendering of credit reports or appraisals, pest and fungus inspections, services rendered by a real estate agent or broker, the origination of a federally related mortgage loan (including, but not limited to, the taking of loan applications, loan processing, and the underwriting and funding of loans), and the handling of the processing, and closing or settlement;
- thing of value
- the term "thing of value" includes any payment, advance, funds, loan, service, or other consideration;
- title company
- the term "title company" means any institution which is qualified to issue title insurance, directly or through its agents, and also refers to any duly authorized agent of a title company;