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More than 43 million people in America pay rent, but you wouldn’t know it to look at their credit reports. In fact, most rent and utility payments are not reported to the credit bureaus, which means you may not be getting credit for bills that you regularly pay. Here’s how to add rent and utility payments to your credit report.
>> Learn more: How Rent Can Affect Your Credit Score
How Tradelines Work
Your creditors—including your credit card issuer, loan issuer, utility provider, and landlord—are not required to report to the credit bureaus. In fact, they have to pay a fee in order to report to the credit bureaus. That’s why many creditors like landlords and utility providers don’t report on-time payments, or will only report to one or two bureaus instead of all three.
But if you pay your rent and utilities on time regularly, those payments could be helping you build your credit profile. You just need to convince your creditors to report them to the bureaus. If they’re reported, the credit bureaus will include that information on your credit report and use it to determine your credit scores.
Sign Up for ExtraCredit
We don’t want to sound arrogant, but ExtraCredit is one of the easiest way to get your rent and utility payments added as new tradelines on your credit reports with each bureau. One account with ExtraCredit allows you to add those payments, and so much more—for less than what many other services charge.
ExtraCredit will securely connect to your bank account and automatically identify rent and utility payments, then facilitate a connection with each credit reporting agency. You’ll start seeing your payments show up as tradelines on each credit report in a matter of weeks. If you keep up with your on-time payments, these could help you build your credit profile with these payments as tradelines on your report.
What’s the “so much more” included in an ExtraCredit account? How about 28 FICO® scores and credit reports from all three credit bureaus. And dark web monitoring. And $1 million identity theft protection insurance. And cashback opportunities. And an exclusive discount to one of the leaders in credit repair. For just $24.99 a month. ExtraCredit may not be the only company to offer rent and utility reporting, but we are the only company to combine it with total credit coverage. Learn more.
Try Experian Boost
Experian Boost allows you to add utility and mobile phone payment history to your Experian credit report. Boost is free and will only add positive payment history, but it is only added to your Experian credit report. So if a creditor pulls your Equifax or TransUnion scores, the boost you got from Experian Boost won’t help.
Use Other Third-Party Services
There are other third-party services that can help you add tradelines to your report, like RentReporters and SimpleBills. But that means signing up for multiple accounts and keeping track of them separately—and without easy access to your credit scores and credit reports so you can see how those payments are affecting your credit profile. These services also generally have a high sign-up fee plus monthly fees. And many only report to one or two credit bureaus, not all three.
Talk to Your Landlord
Another option is talking to your landlord or other creditor directly and asking them to start reporting your payments to the bureaus. Remember, there’s a fee for them to do so, so they might not be interested. You could offer to pay—but if you’re paying, you’re probably better off signing up for an account that you can regularly access.
Other Ways to Build Credit
Getting your rent and utility payments added to your credit report is far from the only way to build your credit. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, so the best way to build your credit is to pay all of your bills on time—every time.
If you don’t have any credit accounts, consider applying for a secured credit card or opening a credit-builder loan. These credit-building tools are great for individuals with a thin credit file.
Add Rent and Utility Payments to Your Credit Report
Learn More
DISCLAIMER. The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to be, legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only.
FAQs
Utility companies typically don't report your payment history to the credit bureaus. But paying utility bills on time can help your credit score when you use Experian Boost. This tool specifically integrates gas, electric, water and other utility payments into your Experian credit report and scores.
Can you add your rent to your credit report? ›
Unfortunately, rent payments are not automatically factored into your credit score. That means, for many people, their largest monthly expense doesn't help build credit. You can make sure your on-time rent payments are being reported to credit bureaus through rent reporting services.
Does rent and utilities affect credit score? ›
Paying noncredit bills like rent, utilities, and medical expenses on time won't bump up your credit score because they're usually not reported to credit bureaus. But if they're very late or in collections, they'll likely get reported and affect credit scores negatively.
How can I add my rental history to my credit report for free? ›
Experian Boost: This free service allows you to add rent payments, as well as utility payments and streaming subscriptions, to your Experian credit report by linking your bank account. Piñata: Renters can download the free app and get their rent payments reported to TransUnion at no additional charge.
Can you manually add bills to Experian Boost? ›
On your account homepage, scroll down to the "Explore other actions" box and click the button marked "Add bills to Experian Boost." On the Experian Boost landing page, enter information on the checking or credit card account(s) you use to pay the bills you want added to your credit report.
Do unpaid utility bills affect credit? ›
Being late on utility payments by a few days does not affect your credit score, though you could be charged late fees. If you fall behind on your payments by as much as 30 days, your account can report the account as delinquent, and your debt would be transferred to collection agencies.
Why is rent not reported to credit? ›
Landlords and property management companies aren't legally required to report to the credit bureaus, so they do not automatically report your payment history. They also don't report evictions, property damage, broken leases or bounced checks.
Why is rent not reported to credit bureaus? ›
Unless you or your landlord have signed up for a rent reporting service, the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – will not put rent payments on your credit report. That means your credit score and credit report aren't affected by your rent payments.
How to raise credit score fast? ›
- Pay credit card balances strategically.
- Ask for higher credit limits.
- Become an authorized user.
- Pay bills on time.
- Dispute credit report errors.
- Deal with collections accounts.
- Use a secured credit card.
- Get credit for rent and utility payments.
Utility bills don't usually appear on your credit reports—unless you fail to pay them. This can be both a good and bad thing: good because late payments don't always automatically count against you, and bad because your on-time payment history doesn't help your score.
Payments for mortgage, credit card and installment loan bills could also help build credit, if they're made on time and reported to the credit bureaus.
How do I add utilities to Credit Karma? ›
You can manage your tracked bills on the Bills page of your Credit Karma Money Spend account. If you would link to add a new account to your bill tracking, select Add accounts. If you would like to untrack a tracked bill or unlink a tracked account: Select Manage accounts to see a list of your currently linked billers.
How to self report credit? ›
Enrolling in these third-party services is generally a quick and simple process. First, sign up for the reporting service itself. Then, within your new reporting service account, link the accounts or bills that you want the service to report to the credit bureaus.
How to start reporting to credit bureaus? ›
Step 1: Sign Data Furnisher Agreement
Each credit bureau must approve your data before it can be loaded in their database. Part of that approval requires signing a data furnisher's agreement. Keep in mind, this process can take a few weeks but you only need to sign an agreement with the bureaus you want to report too.
Does Experian report rental history? ›
Experian also includes some positive rent data it receives from Experian RentBureau in its standard credit reports. Positive rent data refers to payments that are paid as agreed between tenants and landlords.
Why don't utilities report to credit bureaus? ›
Most utility companies will not report your payment history to the three credit bureaus, because you're paying for services rather than meeting payments on a line of credit.
How to turn bills into credit? ›
Paying utilities, rent and cell phone bills can help build credit if they're reported to the credit bureaus. If certain bills aren't reported to the credit bureaus, you can consider using a third-party service to report your payments.
How long does a utility bill stay on your credit report? ›
How long will collections stay on your credit report? Like other adverse information, collections will remain on your credit report for 7 years. A paid collection account will remain on your credit report for 7 years as well.
