Rental History and Credit

Credit bureaus have traditionally limited themselves to credit-related accounts like mortgages, car financing and other loans and revolving credit like department store accounts, gasoline cards and general credit cards like MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. Now some bureaus are reporting on other financial transactions, like rent payments, which makes credit more accessible to people who do not regularly borrow money or charge purchases.

Mainstream Credit Bureaus

Only one mainstream credit bureau is adding rental payment history to its credit score calculations. Equifax and TransUnion still ignore home and apartment rental payments, but Experian includes them in its scoring formula. Most landlords do not report their tenants' payments to credit bureaus, so Experian only includes data from larger property management firms that share their information, according to Tracy Jacim of My Fox Orlando News.

Alternative Credit Bureaus

Alternative credit bureau Payment Reporting Builds Credit collects data on rental payments and shares it with Fair Issac Corp., the major credit scoring company, which uses it to calculate a special number called an Expansion Score. Consumers renting homes or apartments pay a small fee to set up automatic payments through the PRBC website or get their rental payment histories verified, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Some lenders use the Expansion Score for evaluating applicants who do not have lengthy traditional credit reports.

References

Credit report use is not restricted to lenders, insurance and employers. Many landlords review your credit records when you move to a new home or apartment, and some even pass the cost of the credit check on to you when you fill out a rental application, according to the NOLO legal website. If you have no credit history and must move, ask your current landlord to act as a reference if you have an excellent rent payment history. The new homeowner or apartment manager may be willing to accept this in lieu of official credit records.

Alternative

You can build up a credit rating even if you do not wish to get heavily involved with credit cards and loans by getting one account using it to make regular charges. Get a secured card, which does not require an established history because you match the credit line with a deposit that provides collateral for the account. Secured cards are reported to the three major credit bureaus, and your usage information figures into your FICO score. As little as $200 is required to get this type of card, according to MSN Money writer Liz Pulliam Weston.