Reporting Rent on a Credit Report

One-third of all people rent their dwelling, but despite the large number of renters, the credit bureaus do not track rental history for most consumers, according to Wallet Pop. In 2010, however, Experian became the first of the major credit bureaus to combine rental histories and traditional credit reports. Until collecting rent data becomes standard practice, most consumers can only try to self-report payments.

Identification

The majority of landlords do not and cannot report rental history, because they lack the resources to set up the data reporting system required by the major credit bureaus. Experian purchased RentBureau, the largest rental history reporting company in the U.S., in 2010 as part of a push to incorporate rent data into credit scoring. In 2011, Experian will report on-time payments only, and then negative and positive data in 2012 and beyond.

Self-Reporting

If your rent payments do not appear on your credit report, you could self-report to an alternative credit rating agency. You will have to pay for the rating agency to verify your data, and lenders are far less likely to weigh an alternative score in credit decisions, but at least you get some "credit" for paying rent on-time.

Considerations

Landlords can report delinquent rent payments by proxy by sending the account to a collection agency. The collection agency then alerts the credit agencies to the delinquent debt. Also, the Fair Isaac Corporation, the patent holder to the algorithm used by the credit bureaus, has the FICO Expansion which incorporates rent data from alternative credit agencies. The FICO Expansion, like other alternative scores, are far less important to lenders than a true FICO score.

Tip

You could build credit through rent payments by putting the bill on a credit card, or if you do not have a credit card, a secured card backed by a security deposit. Pay your rent by the due date every month and you will receive positive data on your credit card account. Also, keep in mind that omitting rent data can help customers that frequently pay late.