Rent payments are not always included in credit scores because they are not routinely reported to credit bureaus. However, rent is the largest monthly expense for many people. Approximately 25% of renters spend more than half of their income on rent, and nearly 50% spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
If you pay your rent on time each month, you could stand to gain from rent payment reporting, especially since 35% of your credit score is based on your payment history. If you’re looking for a way to boost your credit score or just want credit for making your rent payments on time, there are some options for reporting rent payments to the credit bureaus.
Check With Your Landlord
Your landlord already may report rent payments to the credit bureaus using a service that handles the process. RentBureau partners with Experian. Esusu and Zingo partner with Equifax. Zego reports to both Experian and TransUnion.
Timely rent payments will help boost your credit score if your landlord reports them, but late payments can have a negative impact on your score.
Credit bureaus don’t share information with each other, so rent payments reported through some services won’t necessarily appear on all three credit reports.
Use a Credit Card To Pay Your Rent
While your rent payments won’t be listed as a separate tradeline on your credit report, using your credit card for your rent still can boost your credit score. Check to see whether your landlord accepts credit card payments, and note any service fees that might be charged for using a credit card. If you’re using a rewards credit card to pay your rent, you can earn points or cash back on your rent payments.
When you use a credit card to pay your rent, make sure to pay off your full balance just as if you were paying rent. That’s the best way to stay out of debt, improve your credit score, and get the full benefit of making timely rent payments.
Use a Rent Reporting Service
There are several companies that will report rent payments on your behalf. Monthly fees vary between services, and some charge an initial enrollment fee to get started. In some cases, your landlord may have to verify your rent payments for them to be included in your credit report. Note that even when rent payments are included in your credit report, they may not be included in your credit score calculation.
- Rental Kharma: Adds up to six months of past rent payments to your credit report. The registration fee is $50, the monthly charge is $8.95, and you can add a spouse or roommate for a $25 one-time fee or add $5 monthly to your subscription. Your entire rental history at your current address is included, and there is no credit check for reporting your rent to TransUnion.
- Rent Reporters: Has a sign-up fee of $94.95 and charges $9.95 for monthly credit bureau reporting as of March 2022. You can also choose from an annual plan for the sign-up fee plus $7.95 per month. Once you sign up, Rent Reporters verifies your rental history with your landlord and then reports the tradeline to the credit bureaus. The service includes a copy of your credit score. Rent Reporters reports to TransUnion.
- Rock the Score: Verifies your rent payments with your landlord each month and updates your credit score with your payment information. You’ll pay $48 to enroll in the service and $6.95 each month for ongoing reporting as of March 2022. If you need a 24-month rental history, you can purchase a one-time report for $65. Rock the Score reports to TransUnion and Equifax.
Making Rent Payments
If you enroll in a rent reporting service, make sure you understand whether you’ll continue to pay your rent directly to your landlord or whether you’ll make payments to the service provider.
Pay your rent on time each month even when it’s not reported to the credit bureaus. Late payments can lead to an eviction that could ultimately land on your credit report through a collection or judgment. At that point, the late rent payments hurt your credit score rather than help it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does not paying your rent affect your credit?
A missed rent payment only affects your credit report if your landlord reports your rent payments to the credit bureaus. To determine whether that's the case, you can get a free copy of your credit report from each bureau and see if information from your landlord shows up on any of the reports.
How much does rent affect my credit score?
There has been an effort in recent years to more consistently include rental data on consumer credit reports. Thus far, this has not been implemented consistently, and there has yet to be a significant impact from rent payments on consumer credit scores.
FAQs
To have payments added to your credit reports, you can use a rent reporting service. Rent report services can report to one, two, or all three bureaus. Services like Rent Spree's Credit Builder, for example, report to TransUnion but not Experian or Equifax.
How do I report payments to the credit bureau? ›
If you have an account that isn't listed on your credit report, you can contact the lender and request that they report your account and payment activity to the credit bureaus. Keep in mind that not all creditors report to all three bureaus. So, each of your three credit reports could contain different information.
How to report utility payments to credit bureaus? ›
You can use a service like Experian Boost to include utilities bills in your payment history. If you have long-overdue bills, a utility company can send your account to a collection agency that can forward it to one or more of the credit bureaus.
Is it good to report rent to a credit bureau? ›
Rent reporting is a great option for students or those seeking to establish their credit history, as an alternative to taking on loans or lines of credit that might encourage additional spending.
Can I report my rent payments to Experian? ›
You may also be able to add your rent payment to your Experian credit report with Experian Boost®ø. If you pay your rent online to an eligible landlord for a qualifying amount, consider adding it to Experian Boost.
What credit bureau do RentReporters report to? ›
Rent reporting services are companies that collect information about your rent payment habits and supply it to the consumer credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Adding this kind of information to your credit report may improve your score.
How to add rental history to credit report for free? ›
Try Experian Boost®ø.
If you enroll in Experian Boost, a free feature that lets you share your history of paying a variety of recurring expenses, you can add eligible rent payments (as well as phone, internet, streaming service and utility bills) to your Experian credit report.
What bills can I report to build credit? ›
Paying utilities, rent and cell phone bills can help build credit if they're reported to the credit bureaus. If certain bills aren't reported to the credit bureaus, you can consider using a third-party service to report your payments.
How to pay bills to increase credit score? ›
Pay bills on time
Pay up as soon as you can and ask if the creditor will consider no longer reporting the missed payment to the credit bureaus. Even if the creditor won't do that, it's worth getting current on the account ASAP. Every month an account is marked delinquent hurts your score.
Is boom rent reporting legit? ›
If you're looking for an affordable rent reporting service, Boom is a great option. Plus, Boom claims their customers have seen their credit score increase by over 105 points, with an average increase of over 28 points in just 2 weeks. And for a small fee, you can split your payments into installments.
Collects rent payment history data from property owners and residential real estate managers, electronic rent payment services and collection companies, and makes that information available to the multifamily housing industry through tenant screening companies.
What credit bureau does RentCafe use? ›
We believe that our residents should get credit for managing the payments for the place they call home. That's why we're working with Experian RentBureau to include positive rental payment data in Experian credit reports.
Do late rent payments show up on credit report? ›
Overdue rent might appear on your credit reports if the landlord sends the debt to a collection agency. The agency might report the collection account to the credit bureaus. Also, if an eviction appears in the public record, the credit reporting agencies will likely include it on your credit reports.
How can I add my rental history to my credit report for free? ›
Experian Boost: This free service allows you to add rent payments, as well as utility payments and streaming subscriptions, to your Experian credit report by linking your bank account. Piñata: Renters can download the free app and get their rent payments reported to TransUnion at no additional charge.
Can you claim rent on credit report? ›
Unless you or your landlord have signed up for a rent reporting service, the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – will not put rent payments on your credit report. That means your credit score and credit report aren't affected by your rent payments.
How do I add payment history to my credit report? ›
Send a copy of a recent account statement and copies of canceled checks (never originals) or other proof of payment showing your payment history. Then, ask the credit reporting agencies to add the information to your file.
