Reporting Rent to Credit Bureaus

Reporting Rent to Credit Bureaus

With the passage of 2024’s Assembly Bill 2747 (Assemblymember Haney), rental housing providers who own or manage any property that has 16 or more rental units on a single parcel, must offer each of their tenants the option of having a tenant's positive rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency (credit bureau). Under this new law, effected housing providers must offer renters the option to have their rental payments reported at least once every twelve (12) months, and in the event a renter “opts-out” of reporting, the renter will not be permitted to “opt-in” again for six (6) months. This new law is effective April 1, 2025.

Rent Reporting: It’s Now the Law

For leases that are entered into on or after April 1, 2025, housing providers will need to provide at the time of lease signing and at least once annually thereafter the offer to report positive rental payment information to at least one of the major credit bureaus. For leases that exist as of January 1, 2025, the housing provider must provide the notice to renters on or before April 1, 2025, and once annually thereafter.

The offer by a housing provider to renters must contain all the following information:  

• Statement that rental reporting is optional.
• Identification of which credit bureau(s) positive rental payments are to be reported to.
• The fee incurred to have rental payments reported, if any.  
• Instructions on how to “opt-in” to rental payment reporting.
• A statement that the renter may “opt-in” to the reporting at any time following the initial offer to the tenant.
• A statement that the renter may elect to stop reporting at any time.
• Instructions on how to “opt-out” of the reporting.
• A signature block that the tenant must sign and date in order to “opt-in.”

The offer may be provided either electronically or via U.S. mail. If it is provided via U.S. mail, then the offer must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope to the renter so they may complete the election form. Once reporting has commenced, if the renter “opts-out” or fails to pay the reporting fee, they will not be able to opt back in for six (6) months. Housing providers will need to comply with any renter requests to either “opt-in” or “opt-out.”   

Housing providers may collect from their renters the lesser of (i) the actual costs of the reporting or (ii) ten dollars ($10). Housing providers are also prohibited from using rent payments to cover or offset the amount of the reporting fee, or from deducting from the security deposit to cover the cost of the reporting fee, or even from proceeding with an eviction for the failure to pay the reporting fee. The only permitted remedy for housing providers if the reporting fee is unpaid is to terminate the reporting if and when the fee remains unpaid for at least thirty (30) days. 

A housing provider is exempt from the requirements under Assembly Bill 2747 if the property has fewer than 15 rental units. Lastly, if any renter withholds rent or to repair and deduct the cost of repairs must notice their housing provider in writing before the rent is due in order to avoid claims that the payment is not complete or made timely. 

Rent Reporting Options

The thought behind Assembly Bill 2747 was that rent-reporting services allow one of the largest (if not the largest) monthly payments to be added to a renter’s credit reports, which may help renters build credit and increase credit scores. Americans who rent an apartment or home usually do not have their on-time rental payments indicated on their credit reports, and as a result, some renters might not have much of a credit history, making it hard to see that same credit boost that homeowners receive by paying mortgages. However, all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — are willing to include rent payment information in credit reports if they receive it.

There are many software reporting services available. None of those services featured in this article have been used or tested by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, and accordingly, no recommendations are being made here.

Nevertheless, here are some of the ways to report rent payments to major credit bureaus:

• Azibo: Housing providers must sign up, and then both housing provider and renter may use the service to make free payments using bank transfer, cash or Azibo’s CashApp payments. Renters may also sign up for Azibo's Credit Boost program for $4.99 a month, which reports on-time rent payments made on its platform to Equifax and TransUnion.
• Boom: For $3.00 a month (or $36.00 per year), users can get their rent reported to all three credit bureaus. Up to 24 months of past payment history is available for a $25 one-time fee.  
• ClearNow: This service debits a renter’s rent payment from their checking or savings account, and there is no cost to renters although housing providers must be signed up to the service. ClearNow reports rent payments to Experian.
• Esusu: This service reports on-time rental payments to all three major credit bureaus and requires that a housing provider have a service agreement. 
• PayYourRent: PayYourRent reports to all three credit bureaus, but renters must pay their rent through the PayYourRent portal for those payments to count.
• Piñata: The service costs $5.00 per month or $60.00 per year and includes back reporting and reports to all three credit bureaus. The service also offers “Piñata Pay” which can be used to pay rent directly and earn users extra rewards — but use of the payment service is not a requirement.
• RentRedi: The service is offered with landlord verification.  It costs $5.99 per month, and reports rent payments to all three credit bureaus.
• Rental Kharma: Initial setup is $75.00, and the service costs $8.95 per month. Rental Kharma reports to TransUnion and Equifax.
• Rent Reporters: There is a one-time enrollment fee of $94.95, which includes up to two years of reported rental payments. From there, users can enroll in a monthly plan ($9.95 per month) or an annual plan ($7.95 per month). Rent Reporters reports to TransUnion and Equifax.
• Rock the Score: This service has an enrollment fee of $48.00, and the ongoing service costs $6.95 per month. Rock the Score reports to TransUnion and Equifax.