The agent’s lawsuit accuses Zillow of illegally tying with the mortgage platform
Zillow recently rebranded its invitation-only Flex program to Zillow Preferred. In the filing, Dupuis says that under the Preferred Agent program, an agent’s fee to Zillow varies depending on the sale price of the home, with payments of up to 40% of the agent’s commission. He says this is on top of the standard referral fee of 25%. According to Dupuis, agents are willing to pay these fees since the leading Zillow is an “important” source of business for many.
According to the complaint, Zillow tracks the number of referrals by Premier and Preferred agents sent to ZHL Follow Boss (FUB), and that the rate of the agent in the FUB program is proportional to the number of customers it sends to ZHL for pre-loan approval. Dupuis goes on to claim that the higher an agent’s FUB rating, the more leads Zillow sends.
“In contrast, the lowest rating agents are at risk of being cut from the system,” the complaint said. “In other words, a Premier agent that fails to direct their customers to ZHL will see their business slow to the point of jeopardy.”
According to the complaint, Dupuis and his legal team consider this an “unlawful scheme,” and says Zillow is using its alleged power to “extract commissions from referral agents and buyers alike for substandard financial products.”
Zillow maintains that it does not require any agents who are part of its programs to refer customers to ZHL for their real estate needs.
“This complaint tells a one-sided story that does not reflect how our Zillow Preferred partners help buyers or how we work with real estate agents,” a Zillow spokesperson wrote in an email. “Consumers are always in control of which agent and lender they work with, and Zillow supports agents who deliver solid results to buyers by sharing clear information and helping them understand what they can afford. Referral fees in the Zillow Preferred program are paid between businesses and are consistent with industry practices. These arrangements do not change the fees buyers can negotiate with their agent while we provide real claims, we better protect these requests. information for buyers, sellers, employers and the professionals who work for them.”
Pressure to direct?
Dupuis says his team began to feel the pressure to “steer” clients from ZHL to get approval shortly before he was told that his team needed to register with FUB by September 1, 2025, or be kicked out of the Preferred Agent program, which he and his team had been members of since 2022 after eight years in the Premier Agent program.
According to the complaint, Dupuis and his team “refused” to direct customers to ZHL, and he says he and his team were punished by Zillow for doing so.
“Ms. Dupuis perceived from FUB that Zillow was punishing her team with low ZHL pre-approval prices,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, his team members were rated only as “good” or “poor” on FUB, “with comments indicating that the ratings were due to prior ‘good’ or ‘low’ approval of ZHL only.”
Additionally, the complaint includes a screenshot allegedly from Zillow’s platform showing that Zillow was recording the amount Dupuis’ agents were receiving as a result of their ZHL pre-approval.
The complaint also alleges that the team had their Zillow Showcase account terminated in December 2025, which they believe was related to their refusal to refer customers to ZHL for pre-approval of their loans.
Despite these claims, unlike the recently consolidated Taylor and Armstrong suits, which make similar claims, Dupuis does not allege that Zillow’s alleged actions violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Dupuis is seeking a jury trial, damages and injunctive relief to prevent Zillow from continuing the “unlawful, unfair and deceptive” allegations.
