Responsible Borrower Protection Act of 2025

This proposal would stop recent changes to upfront fees on many single-family home loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It tells the housing finance regulator and these agencies not to use the fee updates announced in January 2023, which changed how fees are set based on a borrower’s credit score and other risk factors. Those 2023 updates would no longer have any effect. The bill also makes clear that risk-based pricing can continue, meaning people with higher-risk loans can still be charged more than lower-risk borrowers—just not under the 2023 changes it cancels .

In plain terms, this aims to keep mortgage upfront fees from increasing under that 2023 plan, while still allowing fees to reflect credit risk in general .

• Who is affected: Homebuyers and homeowners using Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans; lenders who sell loans to them.
• What changes: Blocks the January 2023 fee updates and keeps general risk-based pricing in place, without those specific changes .
• When: The blocked changes are the ones announced in January 2023; the bill would prevent using them going forward .