For years, renters in multifamily buildings have found themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to building credit. While homeowners naturally boost their credit scores through regular, timely mortgage payments, apartment dwellers have traditionally been left out—rental payments simply weren’t reported to credit bureaus or factored into credit scores. That began to change a few years ago, when companies like Esusu, TurboTenant, Self, and Piñata stepped in to provide a way for multifamily owners and operators to report rent payments to credit agencies. Typically, this service comes at a cost to tenants, but the promise is clear: by reporting their rent, tenants could see meaningful improvements in their credit scores.
Recently, the Urban Institute released a report titled "Evaluating Rent Reporting as a Pathway to Build Credit," shedding new light on the potential of these programs. The study, conducted in partnership with Esusu, credit reporting agency TransUnion, the nonprofit Credit Builders Alliance, and several affordable housing providers, used a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of rent reporting. According to the Urban Institute, the study focused on “opt-in and positive-only reporting,” meaning that only on-time rental payments were reported. Tenants at participating housing providers could choose to join the program. The researchers divided participants into two groups: one had their payments reported immediately, while the other—a waitlisted control group—had rent payments reported four months later.
The results were striking. Rent reporting led to “large, statistically significant increases” in the likelihood that tenants would have a VantageScore credit score and achieve at least a “near-prime” score of 601 or higher, according to the Urban Institute. Specifically, the study estimated that rent reporting boosted the share of people with a VantageScore by 12 percentage points among those whose rents were reported. While the study’s sample size was too small to measure more moderate impacts, it did not find a statistically significant effect on the chance of achieving a “prime” credit score of 661 or higher.
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The method favored by these tech companies is to report only positive payment history—if a tenant pays on time, it’s reported; if not, the company simply marks an “X” and does not contribute to the credit score. As The New York Times has noted, the difference in credit scores can have a dramatic impact on borrowers’ lives. For example, someone applying for a $27,000 used car loan would face an average interest rate of 18.6% with a FICO score between 501 and 600. If their score falls between 601 and 660, that rate drops to 13.3%.
Recognizing the potential of rent reporting, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have piloted positive rent reporting programs and now consider rent payment history in their underwriting decisions.
Yet, having a program is one thing—getting tenants to participate is another. TurboTenant, for example, told GlobeSt.com that while its program is free for landlords who provide the information, tenants must pay $4.99 per month or $47.88 per year to have their payments reported. As of now, TurboTenant has 176,836 landlords providing data, but only 16,677 tenants have subscribed to the service—a small fraction, given that landlord data can cover many renters.
“One of the biggest hurdles we faced was driving awareness,” Jess Pelini, TurboTenant’s Manager of Brand Marketing, told GlobeSt.com. “Most renters don’t realize they can build credit simply by paying rent on time—and if they don’t know it’s an option, they can’t take advantage of it. We tackled this by weaving credit-building education into key moments of the renter journey, from application to move-in. By pairing the message with the right timing and channel, we’ve seen more than 100% year-over-year growth in users as of May 2025. It’s proof that when you meet renters where they are, they respond.” Pelini also noted that because TurboTenant primarily communicates with landlords, the message about credit-building doesn’t always reach tenants as strongly as it could if they were the main audience.
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