N.J. Admin. Code § 11:5-7.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 11:5-7.2 - Prohibition against kickbacks for related business referrals

(a) Any real estate licensee who solicits or accepts any fee, kickback, compensation or thing of value merely for referring a customer or client to a lender, mortgage broker, or other provider of related services, shall be subject to sanction by the Commission for engaging in conduct demonstrating unworthiness, bad faith and dishonesty. Any compensation received by a real estate licensee, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 11:5-7.1(e), for services in related transactions must be for services actually performed by the licensee beyond mere referral. Compliance with the anti-kickback provisions of the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. § 2607, the regulations thereunder, or any opinion regarding RESPA issued by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development will be considered to be in compliance with this subsection.

(b) Any compensation paid by a real estate broker to a referral agent shall be limited to compensation for referring prospective consumers of real estate brokerage services to the broker. Real estate brokers are prohibited from offering incentives to the referral agents, salespersons or broker-salespersons licensed under them for merely referring clients or customers to a particular lender, mortgage broker or other provider of related services. Any compensation paid by a real estate broker to a salesperson or broker-salesperson for services in transactions related to a sale or rental transaction must be for services actually performed by the salesperson beyond mere referral to a mortgage lender, mortgage broker or other provider of related services. For example, a real estate broker who provides in-house mortgage services may compensate a salesperson licensed with that broker who performs actual mortgage services. However, the broker is prohibited from offering bonuses or any extra consideration of any kind to licensees of his or her firm for merely referring buyers to the in-house mortgage service or any particular lender or mortgage broker. For example, a real estate broker shall not offer or pay a salesperson a higher commission rate on a real estate transaction because the mortgage is placed through the in-house mortgage service or affiliated lender. A broker shall not award prizes or bonuses to salespersons based upon the number of customer referrals made to the in-house mortgage service or to a particular lender.

New Rule, R.1992 d.232, effective 6/1/1992.
See: 23 N.J.R. 3424(b), 24 N.J.R. 2058(b).
Amended by R.1998 d.497, effective 10/5/1998.
See: 30 N.J.R. 2333(a), 30 N.J.R. 3646(a).
In (a), changed N.J.A.C. reference.
Amended by R.2012 d.006, effective 1/3/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 1791(a), 44 N.J.R. 86(b).
In (b), inserted the first sentence, inserted "referral agents," "or broker-salesperson" and "to a mortgage lender, mortgage broker or other provider of related services"; and substituted "licensees of his or her firm" for "salespersons" following "kind to".