Renters can use rent payment history to build credit and access financial opportunity

In renter households, a monthly rent payment is often the largest monthly expense. A history of on-time rent payments has been found to strongly predict a borrower's success managing mortgage payments, but often, rent payments are not considered in calculating credit scores or when qualifying for a mortgage.

Recently, the Polk County Health Department and the Polk County Housing Trust Fund have been exploring programs to help people take advantage of positive rental payment history to build credit and future financial success.  We have found examples of housing providers launching new efforts to help residents report positive rent payment history to the credit bureaus to build credit. We are currently investigating opportunities to pilot such a program in Polk County.

We will be updating this post with additional information soon.

If you are a landlord or property manager interested in exploring how positive rent reporting may benefit your residents, get in touch with us by sending an e-mail to info@pchtf.org.