TCPA Compliance
Afterhours AI is built from the ground up to help real estate professionals stay compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Fair Housing Act, and state-level telecom regulations.
Why compliance matters
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) imposes strict rules on how businesses can contact consumers by phone. Violations can result in penalties of $500 to $1,500 per call. For real estate professionals, Fair Housing Act compliance adds another layer of regulatory responsibility. Afterhours AI builds compliance into the platform so you can focus on your business without worrying about regulatory risk.
How Afterhours AI keeps you compliant
Consent Requirements
Under the TCPA, businesses need prior express consent before making calls or sending texts to consumers. For calls using AI or automated systems, prior express written consent is required.
Afterhours AI enforces consent tracking at the platform level. Before any outbound call is placed, the system verifies that a valid consent record exists for the contact. All consent records are logged in an append-only database table with timestamps, consent type, and source.
What Afterhours AI does
- Requires consent record before any outbound call
- Logs consent type, timestamp, and source automatically
- Stores consent in append-only audit log (never deleted)
- Supports both express and written consent types
- Provides consent documentation for dispute resolution
Do-Not-Call List Compliance
The TCPA and FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule require businesses to honor the National Do-Not-Call Registry and maintain an internal do-not-call list. Calling a number on either list without proper consent can result in penalties.
Afterhours AI supports internal do-not-call tracking. When a caller asks to be removed from your calling list, the AI acknowledges the request and records it. The contact is flagged in the system and excluded from future outbound campaigns.
What Afterhours AI does
- Detects do-not-call requests during live calls
- Flags contacts on internal do-not-call list
- Excludes flagged contacts from outbound campaigns
- Logs removal requests with timestamps
- Honors requests within 30 days as required by law
Calling Hours Restrictions
The TCPA prohibits telemarketing calls before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM in the called party's local time zone. Some states have stricter hours.
For outbound campaigns, Afterhours AI respects calling hour restrictions based on the called party's phone number area code and corresponding time zone. The system will not place outbound calls outside of permitted hours. Inbound calls are always answered regardless of time, since the caller is initiating the contact.
What Afterhours AI does
- Detects callee time zone from area code for outbound calls
- Blocks outbound calls outside 8 AM - 9 PM callee local time
- Queues out-of-hours calls for the next permitted window
- Answers inbound calls 24/7 (caller-initiated contact)
- Configurable calling windows per campaign
Call Recording Disclosure
Federal law requires at least one-party consent for call recording. However, many states (including California, Florida, and others) require all-party consent. Real estate professionals must disclose that calls are being recorded.
Afterhours AI includes a recording disclosure in the AI agent's greeting. The default greeting notifies callers that the call may be recorded. You can customize the greeting wording, but the recording disclosure cannot be removed.
What Afterhours AI does
- Includes recording disclosure in every greeting
- Recording notice cannot be removed from greetings
- Consent is documented in the call metadata
- Recordings stored with enterprise-grade encryption
- Customizable disclosure language (cannot be removed)
AI Disclosure
As AI voice technology becomes more prevalent, regulations are evolving to require disclosure when a caller is speaking with an automated system rather than a human. Several states have enacted or proposed laws requiring AI identification.
Afterhours AI is designed to be transparent. When a caller directly asks whether they are speaking to a human or an AI, the agent will honestly identify itself as an AI assistant. This behavior is enforced at the system level and cannot be overridden through custom scripts or configuration.
What Afterhours AI does
- Identifies as an AI assistant when directly asked
- AI disclosure cannot be overridden by configuration
- Natural, non-alarming disclosure language
- Continues the conversation naturally after disclosure
- Compliant with emerging state AI disclosure laws
Fair Housing Act Compliance
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Real estate professionals have a legal obligation to avoid steering, discriminatory language, and commentary on protected characteristics.
Afterhours AI enforces Fair Housing compliance at the deepest level of the AI system. Every conversation is processed through a Fair Housing guardrail that blocks the AI from making any statement about protected classes or topics that could constitute steering.
Important disclaimer
While Afterhours AI includes robust Fair Housing guardrails, technology alone does not constitute legal compliance. You remain responsible for ensuring all aspects of your real estate practice comply with the Fair Housing Act. We recommend consulting with a qualified attorney for compliance guidance specific to your situation.
Topics the AI will never discuss
- Race, ethnicity, or national origin of residents
- Religious institutions or demographics
- Gender or sexual orientation composition
- Disability status of residents
- Familial status or presence of children
- School district quality or rankings
- Crime rates or safety statistics
- Neighborhood demographics or composition
- Property value trends tied to demographics
How the guardrail works
- Applied to every system prompt as a non-removable wrapper
- Blocks responses before they reach the caller
- Cannot be circumvented by custom scripts
- Regularly updated to address new compliance scenarios
- Covers all conversation types: inbound, follow-up, campaigns
Your responsibilities
Afterhours AI provides tools and guardrails to support compliance, but you remain responsible for ensuring your use of the platform complies with all applicable laws. Specifically:
- Obtain proper consent before using outbound calling features. You must have prior express written consent from contacts before the AI places outbound calls on your behalf.
- Ensure your custom scripts and qualification questions do not contain discriminatory language or violate Fair Housing Act guidelines.
- Verify that call recording disclosure requirements in your state are met. While Afterhours AI includes a default disclosure, some jurisdictions may require specific language.
- Maintain your own internal do-not-call list and honor opt-out requests within the timeframes required by your jurisdiction.
- Monitor your AI agent conversations and address any compliance concerns promptly through your dashboard.
- Consult with a qualified attorney for legal advice specific to your jurisdiction and practice.
Compliance built in, not bolted on
Afterhours AI takes the guesswork out of TCPA and Fair Housing compliance so you can focus on growing your business.