How to Report Tenants to Credit Agencies

When a landlord rents a unit to a credit-worthy tenant, the landlord does not typically foresee that the tenant will later skip payments and violate the lease. When this occurs, landlords often have trouble tracking down tenants to recover the money they are owed, but they still desire some form of recourse. If this has happened to you, you can report tenants to credit agencies to both warn potential future landlords of the tenants history, and for the satisfaction of knowing the tenant must face a consequence for his actions.

Instructions

Through Credit Bureau Membership

1

Join one of the credit reporting bureaus in the U.S. There are currently three major credit agencies that collect and report information on individual debtors: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can also opt to join a lesser-known credit bureau that also offers credit-reporting services to the three major bureaus for small businesses. There will be a fee for joining; contact each bureau to learn more about membership options and fees.

2

Obtain the tenants personal information, including their full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and last-known address. If you do not have all of this information, utilize an online background checking service to obtain it using the tenants full name and the address of the unit he rented from you. Prepare a document containing the tenants personal information.

3

Prepare and file a report for the tenant. Include the full amount of past-due rent, the date it was originally owed, and how delinquent (30, 60, 90, or 180+ days) the tenant is. Attach a copy of the original signed lease agreement to the report and the document containing the tenants personal information to the back of the report.

4

Submit the report to the credit bureau of which you are a member. There will be a fee for submitting the report. If you would like the account to be reported to all three major credit bureaus, you will need to join each bureau and submit a copy of the full report to each one.

Through a Court Order or Judgment

5

Obtain and organize the original lease agreement, copies of any previous demands for rent payments you sent the tenant, and any other documents relevant to the matter that demonstrate the tenant owes you rent. Make a copy of these documents, and retain the originals for your records.

6

Draft and file a complaint for the amount of back rent the tenant owes. (For your state's rules and guidelines governing how complaints should be drafted, review your state Rules of Civil Procedure.) Also prepare a proposed order for payment of the back-owed rent. Attach copies of the documents you prepared to the back of the complaint and order. File the complaint and proposed order with the clerk of the civil court in your county and pay the filing fee.

7

Make notice of filing by sending a copy of the filed complaint and order to the tenant via certified mail. If you are unsure of the tenants current address, utilize a background checking service to locate it, or make service by proxy instead. Retain a copy of the certified mail receipt as proof of service.

8

Attend your court date and request the judge approve your proposed order. Bring along additional copies of the documents you attached to the complaint. Be aware that the tenant may also appear in court and object to such an order being entered. If the judge signs your proposed order, a judgment will be entered against the tenant for the amount of the back rent owed. The court will then report this judgment to credit agencies, and it will automatically become a part of the tenants credit history.