Are There Any Exceptions to the Periodic Statement Rule?

Yes. Reverse mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are outside Regulation Z's mortgage periodic statement rule, though HELOCs have separate billing-cycle statement rules and FHA-insured reverse mortgages still require monthly statements. The rule also exempts timeshare loans, loans handled by small servicers, and fixed-rate loans where the servicer sends a qualifying coupon book instead. Statements can also stop for some borrowers in bankruptcy and for loans the servicer has charged off, but only when specific conditions are met. Everyone else must get a statement every billing cycle, including borrowers who are behind on payments.

The periodic statement rule is part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation Z. The periodic statement rule covers what a statement must show and when it must arrive.

Which loans and servicers are exempt?

The rule applies to closed-end loans secured by a home, meaning loans repaid on a set schedule. A traditional mortgage and a fixed-amount home equity loan are both covered. These are not:

An adjustable-rate loan cannot use the coupon book exception, so the servicer must send statements even if it also gives you coupons. How coupon books can replace periodic statements lists everything the book must contain. What a HELOC is explains how a line of credit differs from a home equity loan.

A servicer's small servicer status is set each year based on the loans it services on January 1. A servicer that grows past the limit has 6 months, or until the next January 1 if that is later, to start sending statements. If you are unsure whether yours qualifies, ask it in writing.

When can statements stop while you are in bankruptcy?

Since April 19, 2018, servicers generally must keep sending statements while a borrower is in bankruptcy. The statements are modified: they say you are in bankruptcy and that the statement is for information only, and they can leave out items such as the late fee amount. In a Chapter 12 or Chapter 13 case, they focus on the payments that come due after you filed and show how payments on the older past-due amount are being applied.

The servicer may stop statements only if a borrower on the loan is in bankruptcy or has had personal liability for the mortgage wiped out in bankruptcy, and at least one of these is true for any borrower on the loan:

1. The borrower asked the servicer in writing to stop sending statements.
2. The bankruptcy plan gives up the home, removes the lien, or does not provide for paying the past-due amount or keeping up the regular payments.
3. A court order removes the lien, lifts the automatic stay (the court order that pauses collection), or tells the servicer to stop sending statements.
4. The borrower filed a statement saying they intend to give up the home and has made no payment since filing.

Statements must resume if you reaffirm the debt (agree in court to stay personally liable) or if any borrower sends the servicer a written request for statements, unless a court order says otherwise. The servicer can require these requests to go to a specific address. When statements switch into or out of the bankruptcy format, or the exemption ends, the servicer may skip the next statement and resume with the one after it. These conditions are in 12 CFR 1026.41(e)(5), which your bankruptcy attorney may need to cite.

When can statements stop after a charge-off?

A charge-off is when the servicer writes the loan off its books as a loss. The servicer may stop sending statements only if it charges off the loan and will not add any more interest or fees. Within 30 days of the charge-off or the last statement, it must send a final notice titled "Suspension of Statements & Notice of Charge Off - Retain This Copy for Your Records." That notice must explain, as applicable, that:

• The loan has been charged off and no more interest or fees will be added.
• You will no longer get a statement each billing cycle.
• The lien stays on the home, and you still owe the debt and related obligations such as property taxes.
• You may have to pay the balance later, for example when you sell the home.
• The balance is not canceled or forgiven.
• The loan may be sold or transferred.

If the servicer later adds interest or fees, or stops treating the loan as charged off, it must restart statements. It cannot add interest or fees for the months when statements were suspended. If you get this notice, keep it and ask the servicer in writing for the current balance before you sell or refinance.

When else do statements end?

Statements also stop when:

• The loan is paid in full, including a payoff through a refinance or sale.
• A foreclosure sale ends the loan.
• Servicing moves to a new company. The old servicer stops and the new one takes over the statements. What happens when your mortgage is sold or your servicer changes covers the transfer notices.

Falling behind on payments is not a reason to stop. Neither is telling a debt collector to stop contacting you; the CFPB says statements must continue in that case too.

What should you do if your statements stop arriving?

1. Check for a reason. Look for a servicing transfer notice, a charge-off notice, a bankruptcy filing, or a switch to a coupon book. Ask the servicer whether it claims the small servicer exemption.
2. Check your online account. If you agreed to electronic statements, the servicer may be posting them online and sending only an email notice.
3. Keep paying on time. The rule controls what the servicer sends, not when your payment is due. Use the amount and address from your last statement or coupon, unless you have since received a payment change notice or a servicing transfer notice, or your bankruptcy plan sends payments through the trustee; then follow the newer instructions.
4. Write to the servicer. If no exception applies, a missing statement is a servicing error. Send a written notice of error to the address the servicer designates. It must acknowledge the notice within 5 business days and fix the problem or explain why there is no error, generally within 30 business days. The rules on written communication with servicers explain how to format the notice and where to send it.
5. File a CFPB complaint if the servicer does not respond. Submit it online or call (855) 411-2372. Most companies respond within 15 days.

For background on what servicers do, see what loan servicing is.