Rent tends to be one of, if not the most significant expense many of us have each month. However, this monthly payment doesn’t often make its way onto our credit reports.
With rent reporting services, however, that all changes. The chunk of change you commit to for a roof over your head can now serve you in more ways than one.
Reporting your rent can help you show your payment history, similar to how your credit card payments show your repayment behavior. On a cautionary note, reporting your rent can also lower your score if you fail to pay on time.
There are several rent reporting services to choose from when reporting payment history to boost your credit score. Our guide includes an overview of several of the most popular services, from cost and features to how they compare with the rest of the pack.
If you’re still on the fence about rent reporting services, consider this: Fannie Mae’s pilot program that allowed individuals to report their rent payments helped 10,000 renters establish their credit scores. Of those with established credit scores, the average increase was 40 points.
Self6 Best Rent Reporting Services
Some of the best credit score apps can help you monitor your credit. If you sign up for one of these rent reporting services, it can be worth adding a credit score monitoring app to your download list to see if your credit score is improving.
1. Self: Best Overall
Self is the most complete option here for most renters. Rent & Bills reporting runs $6.95 per month, and your rent goes to all three bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
It also reports up to five other bills, things like gas, electric, water and your cell phone, though those go to TransUnion only. That is more of your monthly spending working for you than any other service on this list.
You do not need your landlord to agree to anything, which is the real reason it ranks first. Self verifies the payments through your linked bank account, so there is nobody to chase and nothing to explain to a property manager who would rather not get involved.
If you want history faster, Self’s Lookback reports up to two years of past rent, cell phone and utility payments for a one-time $49.95. Self also runs a separate Credit Builder Account and a secured Visa if you want a second account reporting alongside your rent.
Check out Self’s rent reporting here
- Build credit with no credit check
- Save money while your score grows
- On-time payments hit all three bureaus
- Graduate to a secured Visa card
- Start from $25 a month
2. Kikoff: Best if You Want a Tradeline Too
Kikoff is the pick if you want your rent reported and a second account building history at the same time, which moves the needle faster than rent alone.
Rent reporting is a $50 one-time fee. The credit account itself starts at $5 a month, and the $20 a month Premium plan opens a $2,500 tradeline that reports to all three bureaus. The credit line only works inside Kikoff, so there is no way to overspend it.
There is a 45 day money back guarantee if it does not do what you hoped. The tradeoff against Boom or Self is that the one-time rent fee is higher, so this makes sense when you want both jobs done rather than rent reporting on its own.
- Add a $2,500 tradeline to your file
- Build history from $5 a month
- Reported to all three bureaus
- Get your rent counted too
- Risk free for 45 days
3. Boom: Cheapest Ongoing Reporting
Boom is the cheapest way to keep rent reporting month after month. It runs $5 per month, billed $60 annually, and reports to all three bureaus.
There is no credit check and no hard inquiry to sign up. Boom links to your bank account, picks out the rent payments you have already made, and only reports on-time payments. Your first report usually lands within about ten days.
For a one-time $25 you can back-report up to 24 months of past rent, which is the fastest way on this list to put real history on a thin file. Boom also throws in free credit score tracking and a seven day money-back guarantee.
Worth knowing Boom also sells a version to property managers, so if your building already uses it, ask before paying for it yourself.
4. Rental Kharma: Best Guarantee
Rental Kharma is for people who are not convinced any of this works. It carries a 90 day money-back guarantee, the most generous refund window on this list, and you can also get a refund if your landlord refuses to verify your payments.
It costs $75 to enroll plus $8.95 per month for one renter, or $100 and $13.95 a month for two. Utility reporting is priced separately, starting at $25 per bill to enroll and $4.95 a month.
Two things to weigh. Rent reports to TransUnion and Equifax only, so Experian is left out, and your landlord does have to participate. Rental Kharma says verification takes about five minutes on their end.
5. RentReporters: Best for Past Rent
RentReporters reaches furthest back. You get up to two years of past rent on your current lease, and up to four years total if you have a recent second lease, which is more history than anything else here can add at once.
It reports to all three bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Note that this is a change worth flagging if you read an older version of this guide, because RentReporters previously skipped Experian.
Pricing is the steepest on the list: a one-time $94.95 setup fee, then $10.95 per month or $8.75 per month on the annual plan ($105 a year). There is a seven day money-back guarantee on the setup fee if your score does not move.
Your landlord or property manager has to confirm the rent, though RentReporters can also verify through a connected bank account.
6. PayYourRent: Best if You Own Property
This one is aimed at landlords rather than renters. If you own property and want to offer credit building to everyone in your building, PayYourRent reports resident payment history to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
It also handles rent collection by ACH, credit and debit card, applications, screening and maintenance requests, so it is closer to full property management software than a rent reporting service.
PayYourRent no longer publishes its pricing publicly and quotes per property, so you will need to ask them. The catch for renters is the obvious one: your landlord has to adopt it before you see any benefit.
What is Rent Reporting?
At first glance, you might think rent reporting has something to do with apps for landlords. However, rent reporting best serves the renter, mainly through reporting (positive and negative) payment history.
To understand how rent reporting helps improve your credit, you’ll need to know how payment history factors in. Payment history, among the many other factors determining your credit score, can easily move you between credit score ranges by several points.
Figuring out how to improve your credit score requires knowing where your credit score sits. Positive payment history will boost your score, while negative history will bring it down.
If your credit score has dropped due to negative payment history, reporting your rent can help improve this. However, it can be challenging without a rent reporting service since no other avenues exist for reporting your rent.
Most rent reporting services send your information to all three credit bureaus to show that you’ve paid your rent, ideally on-time. While these reports differ from those sent by credit card companies, they achieve a similar result.
rent reporting services are one of many tools to boost your credit score. Some of the best credit-building apps and the best credit-builder loans work similarly.
Additional Credit Score Resources
Improving your credit score can require various approaches, especially if several factors weigh you down. Here’s a quick breakdown of how your credit score is determined:
- Payment history accounts for 35% of your score
- Amounts owed account for 30% of your score
- 15% of your score relies on the length of your credit history
- 10% of your score depends on your new credit
- Credit mix makes up the remaining 10%
Credit repair companies can help you improve your credit score in several ways. They may contact the credit bureaus to resolve any incorrect entries or speak with creditors on your behalf.
A credit monitoring app is worth pairing with whichever service you pick, so you can actually watch the rent payments land and see what they do to your score. WalletHub is the one we recommend for this. It is free, it does not ask for a card, and it updates your score every day rather than weekly or monthly, which matters when you are waiting on a new tradeline to appear.
Give it a few weeks. Rent reporting usually takes one to two billing cycles to show up, and back-reported history can take a little longer to settle.
Unfortunately, building credit can take time for most people. Remembering to stay the course and keep plugging away is critical.
FAQs
rent reporting services can be worth it to improve your payment history and credit score. You can also use the rent reporting service to report past positive payments to improve your credit retroactively.
Rent reporting can negatively and positively affect your credit score. Making on-time payments will boost your score in the payment history category, but failure to pay will result in losing points off your credit score.
The best rent reporting service to boost your credit is the one that works with your situation. For example, having a rent reporting service that doesn’t require your landlord’s approval can help you expedite the process and quickly improve your credit score.
Improve Your Credit Score With Your Rent
Paying rent can feel like a drag, but with rent reporting services, you can use these payments to your advantage. Report your rent to the right credit bureaus, and you could improve your credit score with payments you’ll already make.
We hope you’ve found this article helpful in learning more about rent reporting services and how they can help you improve your credit score. While it does take some financial commitment to make these positive changes, you can easily improve your credit score without having to do much besides pay your rent on time.
How can you use rent reporting services to your advantage?
