12 USC § 2603 - Uniform settlement statement

(a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of Veteran’s Affairs, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, shall develop and prescribe a standard form for the statement of settlement costs which shall be used (with such variations as may be necessary to reflect differences in legal and administrative requirements or practices in different areas of the country) as the standard real estate settlement form in all transactions in the United States which involve federally related mortgage loans. Such form shall conspicuously and clearly itemize all charges imposed upon the borrower and all charges imposed upon the seller in connection with the settlement and shall indicate whether any title insurance premium included in such charges covers or insures the lender’s interest in the property, the borrower’s interest, or both. The Secretary may, by regulation, permit the deletion from the form prescribed under this section of items which are not, under local laws or customs, applicable in any locality, except that such regulation shall require that the numerical code prescribed by the Secretary be retained in forms to be used in all localities. Nothing in this section may be construed to require that that part of the standard form which relates to the borrower’s transaction be furnished to the seller, or to require that that part of the standard form which relates to the seller be furnished to the borrower.

(b) The form prescribed under this section shall be completed and made available for inspection by the borrower at or before settlement by the person conducting the settlement, except that

(1) the Secretary may exempt from the requirements of this section settlements occurring in localities where the final settlement statement is not customarily provided at or before the date of settlement, or settlements where such requirements are impractical and

(2) the borrower may, in accordance with regulations of the Secretary, waive his right to have the form made available at such time. Upon the request of the borrower to inspect the form prescribed under this section during the business day immediately preceding the day of settlement, the person who will conduct the settlement shall permit the borrower to inspect those items which are known to such person during such preceding day.

Source

(Pub. L. 93–533, § 4,Dec. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 1725; Pub. L. 94–205, § 3,Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1157; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title II, § 2103(g)(1),Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–401; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1098(2), title XIV, § 1475,July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2103, 2200.)

Amendment of Section

Pub. L. 111–203, title XIV, §§ 1400(c), 1475,July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2136, 2200, provided that, effective on the date on which final regulations implementing such amendments take effect, or on the date that is 18 months after the designated transfer date if such regulations have not been issued by that date, this section is amended by adding at the end the following: “(c) Disclosure of fees

“The standard form described in subsection (a) may include, in the case of an appraisal coordinated by an appraisal management company (as such term is defined in section 3350 (11) of this title), a clear disclosure of—

“(1) the fee paid directly to the appraiser by such company; and

“(2) the administration fee charged by such company.”

See Effective Date of 2010 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 111–203, title X, §§ 1098(2), 1100H,July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2103, 2113, provided that, effective on the designated transfer date, this section is amended: (1) in subsection (a), by substituting “The Bureau shall publish a single, integrated disclosure for mortgage loan transactions (including real estate settlement cost statements) which includes the disclosure requirements of this section and section 2604 of this title, in conjunction with the disclosure requirements of the Truth in Lending Act that, taken together, may apply to a transaction that is subject to both or either provisions of law. The purpose of such model disclosure shall be to facilitate compliance with the disclosure requirements of this chapter and the Truth in Lending Act, and to aid the borrower or lessee in understanding the transaction by utilizing readily understandable language to simplify the technical nature of the disclosures.” for the first sentence; (2) by substituting “Bureau” for “Secretary” wherever appearing; and (3) by substituting “forms” for “form” wherever appearing. See Effective Date of 2010 Amendment note below.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–208substituted “Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision” for “Federal Home Loan Bank Board”.

1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–205, § 3(1)–(3), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out “minimum” after “with such” and “unavoidable” after “necessary to reflect” in parenthetical provisions covering allowable regional variations in the uniform settlement statement, and substituted provisions authorizing the Secretary to permit deletions from the standard form for provisions requiring that the standard form contain all the information and data required under the Truth in Lending Act.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–205, § 3(4), added subsec. (b).

Change of Name

Reference to Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs deemed to refer to Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 10 ofPub. L. 100–527, set out as a Department of Veterans Affairs Act note under section 301 of Title 38, Veterans’ Benefits.

Effective Date of 2010 Amendment

Amendment by section 1098(2) ofPub. L. 111–203effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1100H ofPub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Amendment by section 1475 ofPub. L. 111–203effective on the date on which final regulations implementing that amendment take effect, or on the date that is 18 months after the designated transfer date if such regulations have not been issued by that date, see section 1400(c) ofPub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 1601 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.

Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 94–205effective Jan. 2, 1976, with the Secretary authorized to suspend for up to 180 days from Jan. 2, 1976, any provision of this section as amended by Pub. L. 94–205, see section 12 ofPub. L. 94–205, set out as a note under section 2602 of this title.