The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will postpone reporting requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers Rule (RRE Rule) until March 1, 2026.
The RRE rule, announced in August 2024, was designed to combat and deter money laundering by increasing transparency in the U.S. residential real estate sector.
It requires certain professionals involved in real estate closings and settlements to report information to FinCEN about specified non-financed transfers of residential real estate that are considered a high risk for illicit finance.
While most transfers of residential real estate are associated with a mortgage loan or other financing provided by financial institutions subject to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) program requirements, non-financed transfers do not involve such financial institutions. Such transfers can be and have been exploited by illicit actors of all varieties, including those that pose domestic threats, such as persons engaged in fraud or organized crime, and foreign threats like international drug cartels, human traffickers, and corrupt political or business figures. Non-financed transfers to legal entities and trusts heighten the risk that such transfers will be used for illicit purposes.
The final rule was set to take effect on Dec. 1, 2025. However, to reduce business burden and ensure effective regulation, FinCEN is postponing the reporting requirements to provide industry with more time to comply. This is consistent with the Trump Administration’s agenda to reduce compliance burden while still adequately protecting the U.S. financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing, and other serious illicit finance threats.
FinCEN issued a temporary order granting exemptive relief from the reporting requirements to implement this extension. In the interim, any Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders will remain in effect.