A newly enacted law will provide significant increased protection of financial information of potential homebuyers
The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act was signed into law on September 5, 2025 but had a 6 mouth compliance window. The law became effective on March 5, 2026. This new legislation amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) which, in simple terms, allowed credit reporting agencies to sell information to lenders who would in turn make a “firm offer of credit” to the buyer. However, FCRA does not allow conditions to be attached to those offers. The new law significantly narrows when credit bureaus can distribute trigger leads tied to mortgage credit inquiries.
A trigger lead is a marketing lead generated when a credit bureau (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion) notifies lenders that you have applied for credit, such as a mortgage or auto loan. This “trigger” allowsthe credit bureaus to sell your information to competing lenders for solicitation, resulting in immediate, unsolicited phone calls and junk mail. This is done without the knowledge or consent of the consumer.
This has been a persistent issue for homebuyers. We have had clients say they received hundreds of inquiries from lenders after applying for a mortgage. This legislation will greatly reduce the amount of spam calls, texts, emails and letters potential buyers receive from competing lenders.
What the New Law Changes
Under the updated rules:
- Credit reporting agencies cannot freely sell mortgage-related trigger leads to outside lenders.
- Lenders may only receive these leads if they already have a legitimate relationship with the consumer, such as an existing loan or deposit account.
- Consumers may also opt in if they choose to receive offers from additional lenders.
- Any permitted outreach must be tied to a genuine offer of credit or insurance, rather than purely marketing activity.
This is great news for homebuyers. It will protect their financial information and limit its access to financial institutions with which they already have a relationship. It will also cut down significantly on the the amount of “junk” communications received when applying for a mortgage
