Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act would tighten how consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) handle prescreening reports in the context of residential mortgage loans. Under the bill, a CRA may not share a consumer report with another party for a prescreening purpose unless the recipient meets specific conditions and the transaction is a firm offer of credit or insurance. The recipient must either have the consumer’s authorization for the prescreening or be part of a mortgage-related relationship with the consumer (e.g., mortgage loan originator, servicer, or an insured depository institution/credit union with a current account for the consumer). The aim is to reduce broad, potentially unnecessary disclosure of consumer information and to ensure that prescreened mortgage offers are limited to qualified, connected parties. The act defines several terms (credit union, insured depository institution, residential mortgage loan, servicer) to clarify who can receive prescreening reports and under what circumstances. It takes effect 180 days after enactment. In short, the bill layers privacy protections onto mortgage-related prescreening by restricting who can receive prescreened consumer reports and requiring explicit authorization or a defined financial relationship.