As Rich Andreano blogged on April 15, 2025, legislation to prohibit or restrict so-called “trigger leads” in the home-buying process has been reintroduced in the House and Senate. The legislation has broad industry and consumer group support.
While we await the outcome of the proposed bills, it is worth noting that a number of states have enacted laws that impose restrictions on the manner in which brokers or lenders are permitted to leverage trigger leads in connection with their mortgage activities. These laws generally prohibit engaging in unfair or deceptive practices, require compliance with the firm offer of credit provisions under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, require an express disclosure that the broker or lender has no affiliation with the borrower’s current lender, and prohibit the use of trigger leads for targeted marketing.
There are currently eight states – Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin – that restrict the use of trigger leads in some fashion, with Idaho (effective July 2025) and Arkansas (effective August 2025) following along shortly.
We note, the federal bills do not provide for the preemption of state law.