Rent reporting—providing data on tenants’ rent payments to at least one of the major consumer credit bureaus—can help people with low credit scores or no scores build a stronger credit profile. Credit scores can dictate access to financial products, housing, and employment and often prevent people with low credit scores or no score at all from accessing financial products, easily finding housing or employment, and receiving reasonable interest rates.

In recent years, rent reporting has seen significant growth, and the major credit-scoring companies have begun adjusting scoring algorithms to include reported rental payments. Several states, municipalities, nonprofit housing providers, and public housing authorities have also incorporated rent reporting.

The Urban Institute’s rent reporting research explores the effects of rent reporting on tenants, the use of rental data in mortgage underwriting, and the evolution of state, local, and federal policy surrounding the use of rental payment data.