Class Action Lawsuit Claims Rocket Mortgage Illegally Steers Homebuyers Into Using Its Services

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Rocket Mortgage illegally pressures third-party real estate agents and brokers to steer homebuyers exclusively toward the company’s “disadvantageous” mortgage plans, and rewards the agents in turn with leads on prospective buyers or sellers.

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According to the 37-page complaint, a four-year investigation by the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that Rocket Homes, an affiliate of Rocket Mortgage, allowed for higher rates and fees to charged to consumers who used the Rocket Homes network and offered agents and brokers increased referrals in exchange for steering more consumers with no affiliation to Rocket to the network and away from other providers.

The filing claims that the overall goal of Rocket’s alleged steering scheme, which the suit says continued at least until July 2025, was to funnel as many homebuyers as possible into the company’s pipeline and eventually pressure them into believing their only mortgage provider option was Rocket Mortgage.

“All of this conduct is textbook steering,” the case alleges, accusing the Rocket Companies and co-defendant Amrock Holdings, which handles titles, escrow and closing services, of engaging in “a perpetual loop of illegal referrals and kickbacks.”

Per the complaint, Rocket primarily applies pressure to consumers through third-party real estate agents and brokers to whom it refers prospective homebuyers who have used the Rocket Homes platform, which was integrated with Redfin after Rocket announced it had acquired the brokerage service in March 2025. The filing claims that Rocket’s primary goal in the acquisition, which occurred only three months after the CFPB’s investigation concluded, was to “bring the steering practice in-house” after it was “caught by the CFPB.”

Per the filing, Rocket’s alleged steering scheme hinges on the third-party real estate agents and brokers with whom it partners. The scheme plays out regardless of whether a client encounters Rocket Mortgage or the Redfin brokerage platform first, the suit says.

If a client encounters Rocket Mortgage first as they shop around for home financing options, the lawsuit says, they are strongly encouraged to use Redfin for their home search. Through the Redfin platform, the client is then referred to a third-party agent or broker who, the complaint claims, will pay Rocket an approximately 35-percent kickback if the client buys a property through them.

The complaint argues that this payment is not made for any services provided directly by Rocket Homes to the client.

Alternatively, if a client begins their homebuying process through Redfin, the agent they are matched with is required by their partnership with Rocket to push clients toward Rocket Mortgage and away from all other options, the lawsuit alleges.

The CFPB’s investigation, as quoted in the complaint, noted that “some agents hesitated to recommend certain loan options to clients, like first-time homebuyer assistance with down payments, USDA loans and loans on manufactured housing, because Rocket Mortgage did not have those options (even as 70% of Rocket Homes consumers are first-time homebuyers),” and that “other agents deliberated steered clients away from comparison of Rocket Mortgage’s subpar terms with other lenders’ terms.”

Indeed, the lawsuit alleges, Rocket’s terms and conditions for partner agents contained until 2024 a “preserve and protect” agreement that forbade agents and brokers from “purposefully steering a client from [Rocket Mortgage] to another mortgage lender,” despite the fact that doing so was a breach of the fiduciary duty owed by an agent or broker to their client. The agreement also noted that such behavior “could result in termination of the Broker’s relationship with Rocket Homes,” the complaint states.

The CFBP investigation also found, according to the suit, that “Rocket Homes threatened, suspended and sometimes removed real estate agents that didn’t adequately steer their clients away from other mortgage lenders.” Per the investigation, Rocket “reprimanded” and “punished” agents who suggested clients receive second opinions from other lenders, told clients that other lenders work with people with lower credit scores, helped clients receive down payment assistance, or otherwise opened the door for clients to use any program in which Rocket Mortgage did not participate.

The complaint also says that agents and brokers were sent a “client profile and referral agreement” with each Rocket referral, which stated that “Rocket Mortgage is the client’s chosen leader. Any purposeful steering away from Rocket Mortgage is prohibited,” even when many of the referrals had no prior relationship or connection with Rocket Mortgage.

Although the “preserve and protect” agreement was removed from Rocket’s terms and conditions in 2024, the complaint alleges that its spirit remains in practice following Rocket’s acquisition of Redfin, and that Rocket continues to charge higher rates to clients who come to Rocket Mortgage via the referral system than to those who do not.

Despite being affiliated businesses, which are allowed under RESPA to provide each other referrals, the complaint alleges that the increased leads Rocket provided Redfin agents in exchange for directing clients to Rocket Mortgage violates the law’s provision that “the only thing of value that can be received from the affiliate relationship is a return on ownership interest or franchise relationship.”

Finally, the lawsuit argues that Rocket’s steering practices and business acquisitions and consolidations are designed to prevent buyers from finding or even seeking cheaper options, including receiving state or federal assistance, and squash the companies’ competition.

The Rocket Mortgage class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the United States who bought a home and used Rocket Mortgage or Quicken Loans to finance the home purchase between January 1, 2019 and the present.

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