--- title: "Consumer Review Fairness Act: Real Estate Website Terms" description: "Review standard client and website terms for restrictions on honest reviews. Separate review rights from permission to publish a client testimonial." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/agent-review-contract-clauses-crfa" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # Consumer Review Fairness Act: check your real estate website terms Check your standard client and website terms for review bans, review penalties, and requirements to transfer ownership of feedback. The Consumer Review Fairness Act generally voids those provisions in covered form contracts. [FTC's CRFA overview, checked 2026.10.14](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/consumer-review-fairness-act). For your real estate website, prepare an inventory for your broker and attorney before changing legal wording. Include the terms linked beside seller and buyer inquiry forms. Keep a client's right to review your service separate from permission to feature their words in your advertising. This article is not legal advice. The inventory and website checks below are recommendations for preparing that review. ## Identify the terms a buyer or seller receives The statute defines a form contract through standardized terms used in selling or leasing goods or services. The individual must lack a meaningful opportunity to negotiate them. It excludes employment and independent-contractor contracts from that definition. [15 U.S.C. § 45b(a), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm). Covered communications include written, spoken, and pictorial reviews of the business's goods, services, or conduct by an individual party to that form contract. [15 U.S.C. § 45b(a)(2), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm). Ask counsel which documents in your actual process meet that definition. Include website terms, representation documents, intake acknowledgments, feedback forms, and incorporated documents where used. Keep brokerage employment and contractor agreements in a separate review. For each document, record its version, who supplies it, where the client encounters it, and whether its terms can be negotiated. Give counsel the complete document and the surrounding process. Avoid deciding applicability from a checkbox or document title alone. On your website, inspect the seller form, buyer form, registration flow, and linked terms. Follow each link from the public page. Record wording that appears inside the form as well as in the linked document. ## Flag three kinds of review restriction Use this worksheet to identify passages for counsel. The descriptions are screening categories, not replacement contract language. | Passage to flag | Question for legal review | | --- | --- | | Restrictions on public feedback, negative comments, or reviews without prior approval | Does the provision restrict a covered communication? | | A fee, penalty, or financial consequence tied to publishing feedback | Does the provision penalize a covered communication? | | Assignment or required transfer of ownership in review or feedback content | Does the provision require an intellectual-property transfer prohibited by the Act? | These categories follow the [FTC's CRFA legal-library summary, checked 2026.10.14](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/consumer-review-fairness-act). Search the documents for terms such as review, feedback, public statement, disparagement, approval, penalty, assignment, and intellectual property. Read each result in context. Offering a form contract with a prohibited provision is itself unlawful. The statute treats the prohibited provision as void from the contract's inception. [CRFA, section 2(b)–(c), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5111/text). If you find a passage of concern, send it to the broker and attorney responsible for that document. Ask for instructions covering future use and existing versions. Record the decision and the approved replacement. Leave representation forms under their responsible owner's control. ## Preserve specific privacy protections without treating criticism as confidential The Act preserves legal confidentiality duties and defamation claims. It also permits specified content exclusions, including certain private information, unlawful content, and clearly false or misleading material. [15 U.S.C. § 45b(b)(2)–(3), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm). Ask counsel to distinguish those protections from a broad restriction on discussing your service. Identify the exact information the clause protects. Do not classify an unfavorable opinion as false because you disagree with it. For a buyer or seller complaint, keep transaction documents and personal details in your approved private process. Have the responsible reviewer assess any proposed public response or removal request. Give them the review, relevant evidence, and the proposed action together. ## Separate a publication release from review ownership The statute expressly excepts a nonexclusive license to use review content from its prohibited intellectual-property transfer provision. That exception concerns this CRFA provision; it does not settle every permission needed for advertising. [15 U.S.C. § 45b(b)(1)(C), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm). Prepare a separate publication record when you want to feature a client testimonial. Ask counsel to approve the permission process. Identify the exact words, public attribution, proposed page, and any image or video involved. Confirm platform reuse terms separately if the material comes from another website. Keep that request voluntary and separate from the client's own review. Ask whether the proposed permission leaves them free to describe their experience elsewhere. Retain the approved material and its permitted use. Do not treat this article as a release template. Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, endorsements must reflect honest opinions or experience. Editing must not distort the endorser's meaning. [16 CFR § 255.1(a)–(b), checked 2026.10.14](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-255). Compare the approved testimonial with the preview. Keep a selected endorsement labeled accordingly. Ask counsel to review any implied service or result claim before accepting the page. ## Check the separate FTC review-suppression rule The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule prohibits specified efforts to suppress reviews through groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or knowingly or recklessly false public accusations. It also addresses misleading claims that a review display represents most or all submissions when negative reviews are suppressed. [16 CFR § 465.7, checked 2026.10.14](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465). FTC guidance distinguishes a curated marketing testimonial from a site section receiving and displaying consumer reviews. Selecting favorable feedback for marketing can still raise deception concerns. [FTC rule questions and answers, checked 2026.10.14](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers). Ask your reviewer to assess the display you actually use. For a selected testimonial section, check its label and claims. For a review-submission section, review the moderation policy and actual handling of submissions. Keep that assessment separate from the contract-clause inventory. - [FTC fake reviews rule: audit testimonials on your agent website](/articles/ftc-review-rule-agent-testimonial-audit) ## Accept the website against approved wording and received inquiries Your clause inventory separates counsel's contract review from permission to publish a testimonial. Share approved page wording through [whole website fix: review contract wording](/for/real-estate). The whole website fix establishes acceptance checks in writing. [Published website scope, checked 2026.10.14](https://scalewithsearch.com/work). - [Test the seller inquiry path on your real estate website](/articles/seller-inquiry-path-agent-website) - [Check your real estate website in 30 minutes](/articles/real-estate-website-audit) - [Own your real estate website: domain, hosting, editing, and leads](/articles/own-your-site) ## Related: Real estate - [Test the seller inquiry path on your real estate website](/articles/seller-inquiry-path-agent-website) - [Check your real estate website in 30 minutes](/articles/real-estate-website-audit) - [Own your real estate website: domain, hosting, editing, and leads](/articles/own-your-site) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. Scale With Search 2026 [scalewithsearch.com](https://scalewithsearch.com) ```