source:
  type: regulation
  id: respa-12usc-2607
  authority: 12 U.S.C. §2607 — Prohibition against kickbacks and unearned fees
  description: '12 U.S.C. §2607 (RESPA Section 8) prohibits referral kickbacks and

    fee-splitting for unearned services, conditions affiliated business

    arrangements on disclosure and choice, and imposes criminal, treble-

    damages, and injunctive remedies.

    '
obligations:
- id: respa-12usc-2607-a
  canonical_id: respa-12usc-2607-a
  section: 12 U.S.C. §2607(a)
  description: '(a): (a) Business referrals 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 refe…'
  type: dont
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - section-complete
  - usc-statute
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: 12 U.S.C. §2607(a)
    source_class: respa-statute
    source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/2607
    snapshot_id: 14d95a2c6c276bfa
    fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:55Z'
    content_hash: sha256:af95f9e16296c8a8c24776cc3ecd0b49ae086b29879862880d27b50dc4bd6808
    paragraph_quote: (a) Business referrals 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.
    drafter_attestation: Verbatim subsection of 12 U.S.C. §2607 from Cornell LII snapshot 14d95a2c6c276bfa;
      body isolated between nav and notes; substring-verified.
  judgment: false
- id: respa-12usc-2607-b
  canonical_id: respa-12usc-2607-b
  section: 12 U.S.C. §2607(b)
  description: '(b): (b) Splitting charges 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 p…'
  type: dont
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - section-complete
  - usc-statute
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: 12 U.S.C. §2607(a)
    source_class: respa-statute
    source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/2607
    snapshot_id: 14d95a2c6c276bfa
    fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:55Z'
    content_hash: sha256:af95f9e16296c8a8c24776cc3ecd0b49ae086b29879862880d27b50dc4bd6808
    paragraph_quote: (b) Splitting charges 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.
    drafter_attestation: Verbatim subsection of 12 U.S.C. §2607 from Cornell LII snapshot 14d95a2c6c276bfa;
      body isolated between nav and notes; substring-verified.
  judgment: false
- id: respa-12usc-2607-c
  canonical_id: respa-12usc-2607-c
  section: 12 U.S.C. §2607(c)
  description: '(c): (c) Fees, salaries, compensation, or other payments 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 pol…'
  type: dont
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - section-complete
  - usc-statute
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: 12 U.S.C. §2607(a)
    source_class: respa-statute
    source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/2607
    snapshot_id: 14d95a2c6c276bfa
    fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:55Z'
    content_hash: sha256:af95f9e16296c8a8c24776cc3ecd0b49ae086b29879862880d27b50dc4bd6808
    paragraph_quote: '(c) Fees, salaries, compensation, or other payments 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): (i)
      any arrangement that requires a buyer, borrower, or seller to pay for the services of an attorney,
      credit reporting agency, or real estate appraiser chosen by the lender to represent the lender’s
      interest in a real estate transaction, or (ii) any arrangement where an attorney or law firm represents
      a client in a real estate transaction and issues or arranges for the issuance of a policy of title
      insurance in the transaction directly as agent or through a separate corporate title insurance agency
      that may be established by that attorney or law firm and operated as an adjunct to his or its law
      practice.'
    drafter_attestation: Verbatim subsection of 12 U.S.C. §2607 from Cornell LII snapshot 14d95a2c6c276bfa;
      body isolated between nav and notes; substring-verified.
  judgment: false
- id: respa-12usc-2607-d
  canonical_id: respa-12usc-2607-d
  section: 12 U.S.C. §2607(d)
  description: '(d): (d) Penalties for violations; joint and several liability; treble damages; actions
    for injunction by Bureau and Secretary and by State officials; costs and attorney fees; construction
    of State laws (1) Any person or persons who violate the provisions of this section shall be fined
    not more than $10,…'
  type: dont
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - section-complete
  - usc-statute
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: 12 U.S.C. §2607(a)
    source_class: respa-statute
    source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/2607
    snapshot_id: 14d95a2c6c276bfa
    fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:55Z'
    content_hash: sha256:af95f9e16296c8a8c24776cc3ecd0b49ae086b29879862880d27b50dc4bd6808
    paragraph_quote: (d) Penalties for violations; joint and several liability; treble damages; actions
      for injunction by Bureau and Secretary and by State officials; costs and attorney fees; construction
      of State laws (1) Any person or persons who violate the provisions of this section shall be fined
      not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. (2) Any person or persons
      who violate the prohibitions or limitations of this section shall be jointly and severally liable
      to the person or persons charged for the settlement service involved in the violation in an amount
      equal to three times the amount of any charge paid for such settlement service. (3) No person or
      persons shall be liable for a violation of the provisions of subsection (c)(4)(A) if such person
      or persons proves by a preponderance of the evidence that such violation was not intentional and
      resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding maintenance of procedures that are reasonably adapted
      to avoid such error. (4) The Bureau , the Secretary , or the attorney general or the insurance commissioner
      of any State may bring an action to enjoin violations of this section. Except, to the extent that
      a person is subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau, the Secretary , or the attorney general or
      the insurance commissioner of any State, the Bureau shall have primary authority to enforce or administer
      this section, subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 [ 12 U.S.C.
      5511 et seq.]. (5) In any private action brought pursuant to this subsection, the court may award
      to the prevailing party the court costs of the action together with reasonable attorneys fees. (6)
      No provision of State law or regulation that imposes more stringent limitations on affiliated business
      arrangements shall be construed as being inconsistent with this section. ( Pub. L. 93–533, § 8 ,
      Dec. 22, 1974 , 88 Stat. 1727 ; Pub. L. 94–205, § 7 , Jan. 2, 1976 , 89 Stat. 1158 ; Pub. L. 98–181,
      title I [title IV, § 461(b), (c)], Nov. 30, 1983 , 97 Stat. 1231 ; Pub. L. 100–242, title V, § 570(g)
      , Feb. 5, 1988 , 101 Stat. 1950 ; Pub. L. 102–54, § 13(d)(4) , June 13, 1991 , 105 Stat. 275 ; Pub.
      L. 104–208, div. A, title II, § 2103(c)(2) , (d), Sept. 30, 1996 , 110 Stat. 3009–400 ; Pub. L.
      111–203, title X, § 1098(6) , (7), July 21, 2010 , 124 Stat. 2104 .) [1] So in original.
    drafter_attestation: Verbatim subsection of 12 U.S.C. §2607 from Cornell LII snapshot 14d95a2c6c276bfa;
      body isolated between nav and notes; substring-verified.
  judgment: false
