My role, fees and transparency
Estate agents and mortgage lead generation: where referral ends and intermediation begins
Estate agencies: where the code draws the line between referring and intermediating in mortgage lending, and the five clauses that make an agreement clear.
Referral ceases the moment the agency does more than provide a name, hand over a promotional document or pass on contact details. Collecting documents, calculating a debt-to-income ratio or commenting on a loan offer constitutes intermediation, which requires registration on the register of intermediaries. The tolerance for ancillary activity provided for by the code expressly excludes residential mortgage lending.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
Key points
- Referring a financial institution to a client, without handing over any document other than promotional material, remains outside the scope of mortgage intermediation.
- As soon as an agency collects documents, calculates a debt-to-income ratio or comments on a loan offer, it is processing an application and moves beyond the role of a referrer.
- The tolerance for ancillary activity provided for by the text expressly excludes residential mortgage lending, regardless of the volume of business generated.
- No mortgage intermediary may receive any sum before the actual disbursement of the loan funds, regardless of the agreement signed.
- A lead generation agreement is only valid by virtue of the actions it describes: what matters is never the label given to a sum paid.
Recommending a credit professional to a purchaser is not acting as an intermediary: only intermediation requires registration on the register. Here is where the boundary lies, and the clauses that make a referral agreement legible. For professionals; see also profession, fees and transparency.
Referrer or intermediary: the boundary
Article R. 519-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code excludes from scope anyone who limits themselves to indicating an establishment or an intermediary, without handing over any documents other than promotional material, or merely transmitting contact details. Beyond that, it is intermediation.
- Nombre maximal d'opérations par année civile 30
- Montant maximal cumulé par année civile 300 000 €
- Le crédit immobilier est exclu du régime oui
- Régime de l'indicateur le 2° laisse hors champ la personne dont le rôle se limite, contre rémunération ou à titre gratuit, à indiquer un établissement de crédit, une société de financement ou un intermédiaire à des personnes intéressées, sans remise de documents autres que publicitaires, ainsi que celle dont le rôle se limite à transmettre à cet établissement ou à cet intermédiaire les coordonnées d’une personne intéressée
Deux mécanismes distincts cohabitent dans le même article : le seuil d'activité accessoire, et le régime de l'indicateur. Le premier exclut expressément le crédit immobilier.
- En vigueur depuis le
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- Article R. 519-2 du code monétaire et financier — Légifrance
- “Limits themselves to”: a name and a number, yes. Collecting payslips, calculating a debt-to-income ratio, commenting on a loan offer: the agency is processing the file.
- “Other than promotional”: a brochure, yes; a named simulation, no.
- “For remuneration or free of charge”: these words describe a role, they do not validate a structure.
The tolerance for ancillary activity excludes residential mortgage credit: doing “a little, on an ancillary basis” is not sufficient.
Can an agency be paid for a referred file?
The answer belongs to your legal counsel, with the agreement in hand. The question to put to them: what does the agency, exactly, do for the purchaser?
Everything hinges on the acts. Within the actions described in the text, the agency remains outside the scope; beyond that, it must be registered. It can also register itself:
- 1° courtiers en opérations de banque et en services de paiement (mandat du client, à l’exclusion de tout mandat d’établissement de crédit)
- 2° mandataires exclusifs
- 3° mandataires non exclusifs
- 4° mandataires d’intermédiaires (MIOBSP)
Une agence qui s'immatricule choisit sa catégorie selon l'origine du mandat qu'elle entend recevoir. Le détail des quatre catégories est expliqué dans l'article qui leur est consacré.
- En vigueur depuis le
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- Article R. 519-4 du code monétaire et financier — Légifrance
Adhésion obligatoire pour les intermédiaires en opérations de banque et en services de paiement et leurs mandataires ; l’obligation ne s’applique pas 1° aux mandataires exclusifs ainsi qu’à leurs mandataires, 2° aux mandataires non exclusifs ainsi qu’à leurs mandataires, 3° aux intermédiaires enregistrés dans un autre État membre pour le crédit immobilier
Le texte confie à l'association la vérification des conditions d'accès et d'exercice de l'activité de ses membres, ainsi que du respect des exigences professionnelles et organisationnelles. Il en dispense en revanche les mandataires exclusifs, les mandataires non exclusifs et leurs propres mandataires : la catégorie visée commande donc la réponse.
- En vigueur depuis le
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- Article L. 519-11 du code monétaire et financier — Légifrance
Identifying the agency at a glance
| Role | What the agency does | Registration |
|---|---|---|
| Indicator | Provides a name, a number, a brochure, contact details | No, within the limits of the text |
| Intermediary | Collects documents, analyses, presents a loan offer, follows up on the file | Yes |
| Separate service provider | Sells a real estate service with no link to the credit | Out of scope here |
Changing the label of a sum does not change what it remunerates: this is what an outside reader will look at.
What is owed to the borrower
Knowing who directed you to whom, and whether anyone is paid for doing so. And no one may receive a sum before the funds are disbursed.
A registered agency displays its details on all its materials:
- nom ou dénomination sociale
- adresse professionnelle ou adresse du siège social
- numéro d’immatriculation d’intermédiaire (ORIAS)
- catégorie d’intermédiaire à laquelle il appartient
« Toute correspondance ou publicité, quel qu'en soit le support » : vitrine, courriel de mise en relation, newsletter, page web de l'agence.
- En vigueur depuis le
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- Article R. 519-24 du code monétaire et financier — Légifrance
Five clauses to check in your agreement
- The subject matter, described by deeds, not by 'referral'.
- What the agency does not do: no documents, no assessment, no document other than promotional material.
- The borrower's data: basis, information, retention period.
- The traceability of the origin: agency, date.
- The termination, and the fate of ongoing files.
On the buyer's side: the links with the lenders.
What I propose to agencies
- A written agreement, covering these five clauses.
- The origin of each file traced: agency, date, channel.
- A feedback on the instruction: file submitted, agreement in principle, loan offer, funds released.
- No sum that the agreement does not describe, reviewed by the agency's counsel; the most legible route remains its registration.
- A proof of financing provided to the buyer.
See the categories of the register and the mandate. Arrange an exchange between professionals or write via contact, agency indicated.
Is your buyer ready? Let them create their file.
Sources
Read next
- Mortgage fees in Lyon
- Intermediary fees: how much, who pays, and when Free pricing, bank commission, nothing to pay before the funds are disbursed, impact on the APRC: what a mortgage intermediary really costs, and when.
- Relationships with lenders: what the law requires you to be told, and what this site publishes Which banks does a mortgage intermediary work with? The four pieces of information the law requires them to provide, and the additional questions to ask.
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