diff --git a/build/gobind-pinecone/monolith.go b/build/gobind-pinecone/monolith.go
index 5e8e5875c..a219621b1 100644
--- a/build/gobind-pinecone/monolith.go
+++ b/build/gobind-pinecone/monolith.go
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ type DendriteMonolith struct {
 	httpServer        *http.Server
 	userAPI           userapiAPI.UserInternalAPI
 	federationAPI     api.FederationInternalAPI
+	relayAPI          relayServerAPI.RelayInternalAPI
 	relayRetriever    RelayServerRetriever
 }
 
@@ -313,6 +314,14 @@ func (m *DendriteMonolith) GetRelayServers(nodeID string) string {
 	return relaysString
 }
 
+func (m *DendriteMonolith) RelayingEnabled() bool {
+	return m.relayAPI.RelayingEnabled()
+}
+
+func (m *DendriteMonolith) SetRelayingEnabled(enabled bool) {
+	m.relayAPI.SetRelayingEnabled(enabled)
+}
+
 func (m *DendriteMonolith) DisconnectType(peertype int) {
 	for _, p := range m.PineconeRouter.Peers() {
 		if int(peertype) == p.PeerType {
@@ -528,7 +537,7 @@ func (m *DendriteMonolith) Start() {
 		Config:                 &base.Cfg.FederationAPI,
 		UserAPI:                m.userAPI,
 	}
-	relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, federation, rsAPI, keyRing, producer)
+	m.relayAPI = relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, federation, rsAPI, keyRing, producer, false)
 
 	monolith := setup.Monolith{
 		Config:    base.Cfg,
@@ -541,7 +550,7 @@ func (m *DendriteMonolith) Start() {
 		RoomserverAPI:            rsAPI,
 		UserAPI:                  m.userAPI,
 		KeyAPI:                   keyAPI,
-		RelayAPI:                 relayAPI,
+		RelayAPI:                 m.relayAPI,
 		ExtPublicRoomsProvider:   roomProvider,
 		ExtUserDirectoryProvider: userProvider,
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/dendrite-demo-pinecone/main.go b/cmd/dendrite-demo-pinecone/main.go
index a813c37a2..83655b69c 100644
--- a/cmd/dendrite-demo-pinecone/main.go
+++ b/cmd/dendrite-demo-pinecone/main.go
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ func main() {
 		Config:                 &base.Cfg.FederationAPI,
 		UserAPI:                userAPI,
 	}
-	relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, federation, rsAPI, keyRing, producer)
+	relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, federation, rsAPI, keyRing, producer, true)
 
 	monolith := setup.Monolith{
 		Config:    base.Cfg,
diff --git a/relayapi/api/api.go b/relayapi/api/api.go
index 9db393225..9b4b62e58 100644
--- a/relayapi/api/api.go
+++ b/relayapi/api/api.go
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ type RelayInternalAPI interface {
 		userID gomatrixserverlib.UserID,
 		relayServer gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
 	) error
+
+	// Tells the relayapi whether or not it should act as a relay server for external servers.
+	SetRelayingEnabled(bool)
+
+	// Obtain whether the relayapi is currently configured to act as a relay server for external servers.
+	RelayingEnabled() bool
 }
 
 // RelayServerAPI exposes the store & query transaction functionality of a relay server.
diff --git a/relayapi/internal/api.go b/relayapi/internal/api.go
index 3ff8c2add..3a5762fb8 100644
--- a/relayapi/internal/api.go
+++ b/relayapi/internal/api.go
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 package internal
 
 import (
+	"sync"
+
 	fedAPI "github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationapi/api"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationapi/producers"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/relayapi/storage"
@@ -30,6 +32,8 @@ type RelayInternalAPI struct {
 	producer               *producers.SyncAPIProducer
 	presenceEnabledInbound bool
 	serverName             gomatrixserverlib.ServerName
+	relayingEnabledMutex   sync.Mutex
+	relayingEnabled        bool
 }
 
 func NewRelayInternalAPI(
@@ -40,6 +44,7 @@ func NewRelayInternalAPI(
 	producer *producers.SyncAPIProducer,
 	presenceEnabledInbound bool,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
+	relayingEnabled bool,
 ) *RelayInternalAPI {
 	return &RelayInternalAPI{
 		db:                     db,
@@ -49,5 +54,6 @@ func NewRelayInternalAPI(
 		producer:               producer,
 		presenceEnabledInbound: presenceEnabledInbound,
 		serverName:             serverName,
+		relayingEnabled:        relayingEnabled,
 	}
 }
diff --git a/relayapi/internal/perform.go b/relayapi/internal/perform.go
index 594299334..c00d0d0ed 100644
--- a/relayapi/internal/perform.go
+++ b/relayapi/internal/perform.go
@@ -24,6 +24,20 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
+// SetRelayingEnabled implements api.RelayInternalAPI
+func (r *RelayInternalAPI) SetRelayingEnabled(enabled bool) {
+	r.relayingEnabledMutex.Lock()
+	defer r.relayingEnabledMutex.Unlock()
+	r.relayingEnabled = enabled
+}
+
+// RelayingEnabled implements api.RelayInternalAPI
+func (r *RelayInternalAPI) RelayingEnabled() bool {
+	r.relayingEnabledMutex.Lock()
+	defer r.relayingEnabledMutex.Unlock()
+	return r.relayingEnabled
+}
+
 // PerformRelayServerSync implements api.RelayInternalAPI
 func (r *RelayInternalAPI) PerformRelayServerSync(
 	ctx context.Context,
diff --git a/relayapi/internal/perform_test.go b/relayapi/internal/perform_test.go
index fb71b7d0e..5673b1994 100644
--- a/relayapi/internal/perform_test.go
+++ b/relayapi/internal/perform_test.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ func TestPerformRelayServerSync(t *testing.T) {
 
 	fedClient := &testFedClient{}
 	relayAPI := NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	err = relayAPI.PerformRelayServerSync(context.Background(), *userID, gomatrixserverlib.ServerName("relay"))
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func TestPerformRelayServerSyncFedError(t *testing.T) {
 
 	fedClient := &testFedClient{shouldFail: true}
 	relayAPI := NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	err = relayAPI.PerformRelayServerSync(context.Background(), *userID, gomatrixserverlib.ServerName("relay"))
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func TestPerformRelayServerSyncRunsUntilQueueEmpty(t *testing.T) {
 
 	fedClient := &testFedClient{queueDepth: 2}
 	relayAPI := NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, fedClient, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	err = relayAPI.PerformRelayServerSync(context.Background(), *userID, gomatrixserverlib.ServerName("relay"))
diff --git a/relayapi/relayapi.go b/relayapi/relayapi.go
index f9f9d4ff9..200a1814a 100644
--- a/relayapi/relayapi.go
+++ b/relayapi/relayapi.go
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ func NewRelayInternalAPI(
 	rsAPI rsAPI.RoomserverInternalAPI,
 	keyRing *gomatrixserverlib.KeyRing,
 	producer *producers.SyncAPIProducer,
+	relayingEnabled bool,
 ) api.RelayInternalAPI {
 	cfg := &base.Cfg.RelayAPI
 
@@ -70,5 +71,6 @@ func NewRelayInternalAPI(
 		producer,
 		base.Cfg.Global.Presence.EnableInbound,
 		base.Cfg.Global.ServerName,
+		relayingEnabled,
 	)
 }
diff --git a/relayapi/relayapi_test.go b/relayapi/relayapi_test.go
index dfa06811d..f1b3262aa 100644
--- a/relayapi/relayapi_test.go
+++ b/relayapi/relayapi_test.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func TestCreateNewRelayInternalAPI(t *testing.T) {
 		base, close := testrig.CreateBaseDendrite(t, dbType)
 		defer close()
 
-		relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+		relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil, true)
 		assert.NotNil(t, relayAPI)
 	})
 }
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func TestCreateRelayInternalInvalidDatabasePanics(t *testing.T) {
 		defer close()
 
 		assert.Panics(t, func() {
-			relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+			relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil, true)
 		})
 	})
 }
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ func TestCreateRelayPublicRoutes(t *testing.T) {
 		base, close := testrig.CreateBaseDendrite(t, dbType)
 		defer close()
 
-		relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+		relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil, true)
 		assert.NotNil(t, relayAPI)
 
 		serverKeyAPI := &signing.YggdrasilKeys{}
@@ -116,10 +116,9 @@ func TestCreateRelayPublicRoutes(t *testing.T) {
 		relayapi.AddPublicRoutes(base, keyRing, relayAPI)
 
 		testCases := []struct {
-			name            string
-			req             *http.Request
-			wantCode        int
-			wantJoinedRooms []string
+			name     string
+			req      *http.Request
+			wantCode int
 		}{
 			{
 				name:     "relay_txn invalid user id",
@@ -152,3 +151,42 @@ func TestCreateRelayPublicRoutes(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 }
+
+func TestDisableRelayPublicRoutes(t *testing.T) {
+	test.WithAllDatabases(t, func(t *testing.T, dbType test.DBType) {
+		base, close := testrig.CreateBaseDendrite(t, dbType)
+		defer close()
+
+		relayAPI := relayapi.NewRelayInternalAPI(base, nil, nil, nil, nil, false)
+		assert.NotNil(t, relayAPI)
+
+		serverKeyAPI := &signing.YggdrasilKeys{}
+		keyRing := serverKeyAPI.KeyRing()
+		relayapi.AddPublicRoutes(base, keyRing, relayAPI)
+
+		testCases := []struct {
+			name     string
+			req      *http.Request
+			wantCode int
+		}{
+			{
+				name:     "relay_txn valid user id",
+				req:      createGetRelayTxnHTTPRequest(base.Cfg.Global.ServerName, "@user:local"),
+				wantCode: 404,
+			},
+			{
+				name:     "send_relay valid user id",
+				req:      createSendRelayTxnHTTPRequest(base.Cfg.Global.ServerName, "123", "@user:local"),
+				wantCode: 404,
+			},
+		}
+
+		for _, tc := range testCases {
+			w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+			base.PublicFederationAPIMux.ServeHTTP(w, tc.req)
+			if w.Code != tc.wantCode {
+				t.Fatalf("%s: got HTTP %d want %d", tc.name, w.Code, tc.wantCode)
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
diff --git a/relayapi/routing/relaytxn.go b/relayapi/routing/relaytxn.go
index 1b11b0ecd..76241a33b 100644
--- a/relayapi/routing/relaytxn.go
+++ b/relayapi/routing/relaytxn.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ type RelayTransactionResponse struct {
 	EntriesQueued bool                          `json:"entries_queued"`
 }
 
-// GetTransactionFromRelay implements /_matrix/federation/v1/relay_txn/{userID}
+// GetTransactionFromRelay implements GET /_matrix/federation/v1/relay_txn/{userID}
 // This endpoint can be extracted into a separate relay server service.
 func GetTransactionFromRelay(
 	httpReq *http.Request,
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func GetTransactionFromRelay(
 	relayAPI api.RelayInternalAPI,
 	userID gomatrixserverlib.UserID,
 ) util.JSONResponse {
-	logrus.Infof("Handling relay_txn for %s", userID.Raw())
+	logrus.Infof("Processing relay_txn for %s", userID.Raw())
 
 	previousEntry := gomatrixserverlib.RelayEntry{}
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(fedReq.Content(), &previousEntry); err != nil {
diff --git a/relayapi/routing/relaytxn_test.go b/relayapi/routing/relaytxn_test.go
index a47fdb198..3cb4c8adc 100644
--- a/relayapi/routing/relaytxn_test.go
+++ b/relayapi/routing/relaytxn_test.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func TestGetEmptyDatabaseReturnsNothing(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "Failed to store transaction")
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	request := createQuery(*userID, gomatrixserverlib.RelayEntry{})
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func TestGetInvalidPrevEntryFails(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "Failed to store transaction")
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	request := createQuery(*userID, gomatrixserverlib.RelayEntry{EntryID: -1})
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ func TestGetReturnsSavedTransaction(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "Failed to associate transaction with user")
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	request := createQuery(*userID, gomatrixserverlib.RelayEntry{})
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ func TestGetReturnsMultipleSavedTransactions(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "Failed to associate transaction with user")
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	request := createQuery(*userID, gomatrixserverlib.RelayEntry{})
diff --git a/relayapi/routing/routing.go b/relayapi/routing/routing.go
index 6df0cdc5f..c908e950a 100644
--- a/relayapi/routing/routing.go
+++ b/relayapi/routing/routing.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/config"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/gomatrixserverlib"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/util"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 // Setup registers HTTP handlers with the given ServeMux.
@@ -48,6 +49,14 @@ func Setup(
 	v1fedmux.Handle("/send_relay/{txnID}/{userID}", MakeRelayAPI(
 		"send_relay_transaction", "", cfg.Matrix.IsLocalServerName, keys,
 		func(httpReq *http.Request, request *gomatrixserverlib.FederationRequest, vars map[string]string) util.JSONResponse {
+			logrus.Infof("Handling send_relay from: %s", request.Origin())
+			if !relayAPI.RelayingEnabled() {
+				logrus.Warnf("Dropping send_relay from: %s", request.Origin())
+				return util.JSONResponse{
+					Code: http.StatusNotFound,
+				}
+			}
+
 			userID, err := gomatrixserverlib.NewUserID(vars["userID"], false)
 			if err != nil {
 				return util.JSONResponse{
@@ -65,6 +74,14 @@ func Setup(
 	v1fedmux.Handle("/relay_txn/{userID}", MakeRelayAPI(
 		"get_relay_transaction", "", cfg.Matrix.IsLocalServerName, keys,
 		func(httpReq *http.Request, request *gomatrixserverlib.FederationRequest, vars map[string]string) util.JSONResponse {
+			logrus.Infof("Handling relay_txn from: %s", request.Origin())
+			if !relayAPI.RelayingEnabled() {
+				logrus.Warnf("Dropping relay_txn from: %s", request.Origin())
+				return util.JSONResponse{
+					Code: http.StatusNotFound,
+				}
+			}
+
 			userID, err := gomatrixserverlib.NewUserID(vars["userID"], false)
 			if err != nil {
 				return util.JSONResponse{
diff --git a/relayapi/routing/sendrelay.go b/relayapi/routing/sendrelay.go
index a7027f293..85a722c8a 100644
--- a/relayapi/routing/sendrelay.go
+++ b/relayapi/routing/sendrelay.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
-// SendTransactionToRelay implements PUT /_matrix/federation/v1/relay_txn/{txnID}/{userID}
+// SendTransactionToRelay implements PUT /_matrix/federation/v1/send_relay/{txnID}/{userID}
 // This endpoint can be extracted into a separate relay server service.
 func SendTransactionToRelay(
 	httpReq *http.Request,
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ func SendTransactionToRelay(
 	txnID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID,
 	userID gomatrixserverlib.UserID,
 ) util.JSONResponse {
+	logrus.Infof("Processing send_relay for %s", userID.Raw())
+
 	var txnEvents struct {
 		PDUs []json.RawMessage       `json:"pdus"`
 		EDUs []gomatrixserverlib.EDU `json:"edus"`
diff --git a/relayapi/routing/sendrelay_test.go b/relayapi/routing/sendrelay_test.go
index d9ed75002..66594c47c 100644
--- a/relayapi/routing/sendrelay_test.go
+++ b/relayapi/routing/sendrelay_test.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ func TestForwardEmptyReturnsOk(t *testing.T) {
 	request := createFederationRequest(*userID, txn.TransactionID, txn.Origin, txn.Destination, txn)
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	response := routing.SendTransactionToRelay(httpReq, &request, relayAPI, "1", *userID)
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func TestForwardBadJSONReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
 	request := createFederationRequest(*userID, txn.TransactionID, txn.Origin, txn.Destination, content)
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	response := routing.SendTransactionToRelay(httpReq, &request, relayAPI, "1", *userID)
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ func TestForwardTooManyPDUsReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
 	request := createFederationRequest(*userID, txn.TransactionID, txn.Origin, txn.Destination, content)
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	response := routing.SendTransactionToRelay(httpReq, &request, relayAPI, "1", *userID)
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func TestForwardTooManyEDUsReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
 	request := createFederationRequest(*userID, txn.TransactionID, txn.Origin, txn.Destination, content)
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	response := routing.SendTransactionToRelay(httpReq, &request, relayAPI, "1", *userID)
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ func TestUniqueTransactionStoredInDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 	request := createFederationRequest(*userID, txn.TransactionID, txn.Origin, txn.Destination, txn)
 
 	relayAPI := internal.NewRelayInternalAPI(
-		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "",
+		&db, nil, nil, nil, nil, false, "", true,
 	)
 
 	response := routing.SendTransactionToRelay(