If you’ve ever applied for a mortgage and then been swarmed with sales calls and texts, you’ve met the world of “trigger leads.” That’s changing. On September 5, 2025, the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (HPPA) became federal law, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act to sharply limit the sale of your data when you start a home loan application.
The problem HPPA fixes
When a lender checks your credit for a mortgage, credit bureaus have historically been able to sell a “trigger lead” telling other lenders you’re shopping. That often leads to a blitz of unsolicited outreach at the worst possible time. HPPA addresses this by restricting when a credit bureau can share your information after a mortgage credit pull.
Your new protections (in plain English)
Under HPPA, credit bureaus may not furnish your report based on a mortgage inquiry unless it meets one of a few narrow conditions:
- It’s for a firm offer of credit or insurance and
- you authorized that specific company to access your report, or
- the company already originated your current mortgage or services it, or
- it’s your bank or credit union where you already hold an account.
Bottom line: random, unrelated lenders shouldn’t get your data just because you applied for a mortgage.
When does this start?
The law takes effect 180 days after enactment—that’s March 4, 2026. Expect the biggest changes to kick in then. (The effective date is written into the law.)
What this means for buyers moving to Maine
- Less spam, more peace of mind. You should see far fewer surprise calls and texts from unfamiliar mortgage companies once the law is active.
- Your trusted team still gets through. Your current lender/servicer and your bank or credit union can still contact you with legitimate offers (and only as a firm offer or with your authorization).
- Maine’s do-not-call rules still apply. Maine recognizes the national Do Not Call Registry as its own, and telemarketers must scrub against it. If your number’s on the list for at least 3 months, sales calls are generally prohibited.
What you can do right now (before March 4, 2026)
Work with local: If you’re relocating to Maine, start with a Maine-based bank, credit union, or lender—they can contact you under HPPA without opening the floodgates to unrelated marketers. (The exception for your existing depository institution or mortgage servicer is built into the law.)