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Best Rent Reporting Services To Boost Your Credit Score
If you're struggling with your credit score, you probably know that making timely payments is one of the best ways to improve your credit. But did you know that paying rent can also help boost your credit score?
Unfortunately, you cannot report rent payments yourself, and often, your landlord can't either. However, there are several excellent rent reporting services that can help you add your rent payments to your credit score report.
Rent reporting agencies are companies that report your rent payments to credit bureaus. This means that if you always pay your rent on time, you could see a positive impact on your credit score.
However, not all agencies are created equal, so here is our list of agencies you can trust to help improve your credit score.
Best Rent Reporting Companies for November 2024
Rent Reporters
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
With more than a decade under its belt, Rent Reporters is one of the most experienced agencies on our list of services that can help you report your rent to a credit bureau. It will allow you to add up to four years of rent payments to your score and provide expert help and tools for monitoring it. Read more
- •Works directly with landlords
- •Offers a discount for spouses and roommates
- •Excellent credit dashboard and educational resources
Credit Rent Boost
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Credit Rent Boost is a popular solution, due to its user-friendly features. It’s quite affordable, and you can sign up to two additional renters on the same account. The agency operates by relying on your landlord. Read more
- •Up to three renters per account
- •Results within two weeks
- •No lease required
- •Use Promo Code FORTUNLY and get a discount
Boom
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
BoomReport is another excellent service, as it’s quite affordable and doesn’t require any interaction with the landlord. Read more
- •Excellent mobile app
- •Very affordable
- •Reports to all three bureaus
LevelCredit
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
LevelCredit is another reliable service that can help you build your credit, not only by reporting your rent but also by including cell phone and utility payments. It can add up to two years' worth of payments to your credit score for a flat fee. Read more
- •Excellent score-tracking features
- •Superb customer support
- •Offers $1M identity theft insurance
Top Rent Reporting Agencies of 2024 - Our Picks:
Rent Reporters - Best for adding long rent payment history to your report
Credit Rent Boost - Best for multiple renters on one account
Boom - Best for no landlord involvement
LevelCredit - Best for adding both rent and utilities
Detailed Reviews of Rent Reporting Services
Rent Reporters
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
RentReporters is a trusted rent reporting service that will help you build credit using your rent payments. Established more than a decade ago, it boasts an average score of 4.8 on Google and has provided assistance to more than 40,000 users.
Features
RentReporters allows the longest period of historical rent payments to be reported to TransUnion and Equifax credit bureaus - up to four years.
From there, you also get free credit reports to track your progress, and this agency will also assign you a dedicated credit specialist to help you attain better credit. Its website also provides excellent educational materials.
On top of it all, you can count on RentReporters for Expedited Reporting service, and VIP Expedited service that will have your payments submitted within 3-5 business days.
Pricing
This excellence comes at a price. RentReporters’ monthly fee starts at $7.95 for the annual plan, which is more than reasonable. If you decide to go with a monthly plan, it will cost you $9.95 per month.
The fee is quite high, amounting to $94.95. RentReporters need to verify both you and your landlord upfront - it could explain the pricey setup fee.
Furthermore, you can add additional users, your spouse or roommate at a price of $50. If you want to add another landlord, the same price applies.
Overall
RentReporters is an excellent choice for anyone looking to add a long-term history of on-time rent payments to their credit score. Still, its high setup fees may be an enormous obstacle for those already struggling with their credit scores.
Key Features:
- Can report rent to credit bureaus for up to four years
- Excellent educational materials available
- Allows adding multiple landlords
Credit Rent Boost
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Credit Rent Boost is another reputable service you can rely on to add your rent to your credit score. It’s also one of the most affordable options on our list. So, if you’re struggling with poor credit, this could be your fast track to improving it.
Features
The main selling point of Credit Rent Boost is that one account allows up to three renters with a hefty discount. If you are living with roommates, this is an excellent opportunity to give everyone the credit they are already paying for.
It takes just a couple of minutes for you to set up your account with Credit Rent Boost. The agency doesn’t require you to have a lease, and will verify the addresses of the property you rented in the past 24 months for free.
The agency also promises not to trouble your landlord either, as all it takes is a quick call to verify the information needed for rent reporting to credit bureaus. From there, it will report your rent without affecting the relationship between you and your landlord.
Moreover, Credit Rent Boost also offers expedited reporting and promises that you will see a credit bump ranging from 30 to 120 points on your credit report within two weeks.
This is because Credit Rent Boost reports your payments to TransUnion and Equifax twice a month - so they will get on your report quicker than with some other companies.
Pricing
Credit Rent Boost offers three pricing tiers that depend mostly on whether you would like to include previous payments and how many people you need to include. The basic, ongoing rent reporting without previous payments starts as low as $3.75 per month, or a one-time payment of $45 for the year.
If you have three renters you’d like to include, the price is $105 per year, or $2.92 per month for each.
Adding previous payment to the package will double the price. A package that includes ongoing and past payments will set you back $90 per year for one renter, or $195 for three.
The agency also offers an expedited route to report rent to credit bureaus for $100 and promises a full refund in case they cannot establish your payment history through your landlord.
Overall
Credit Rent Boost is certainly the most affordable and lenient agency on our list. If you are looking to add more people as renters without breaking the bank, this one is perfect for you.
Key Features:
- Very affordable
- No lease required
- Results in less than two weeks
Boom
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Boom is an excellent way to manage everything rent-related.
Features
In terms of rent reporting, Boom reports to all three credit bureaus. It allows you to sign up for monthly reporting or add up to 24 months of past payments to your credit score. Best of all, it requires neither a soft nor a hard pull on your credit score to set everything up. It doesn’t even require your landlord to do so.
What’s more, the agency offers an excellent mobile app that can help you manage your rent payments, simultaneously tracking your rent.
Plus, if you’re new to adding rent payments to a credit report, you can count on Boom’s dedicated credit specialist. They will be available via chat to help you get an estimate on what you can expect and how it all works.
Pricing
Boom’s pricing is straightforward - you can sign up as a monthly subscription for $3 per month or pay $36 yearly. If you would like to add past payments, you can purchase this option as an add-on for $25.
Overall
If your landlord is not really into taking on more responsibility to help you build your credit, Boom is the right choice to report rent payment to credit bureaus for you. It’s affordable, takes just a couple of minutes to set up, and can help you manage your rent through an excellent mobile app.
Key Features:
- No landlord involvement
- Excellent mobile app
- Very affordable
LevelCredit
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
LevelCredit was created by Self, a consumer data reporting company, which paved the way for other agencies on our list in 2014. Its product RentTack was the first online rental payment platform which reported payments to credit bureaus.
Features
The main reason to opt for LevelCredit instead of one of the other agencies on our list is that it includes other payments besides rent and makes them work in your favor. Specifically, this agency allows you to add gas and utility payments to your credit score. By including these significant expenses in your report, you can expect a credit report boost.
Furthermore, to get the most out of LevelCredit, you don’t have to rely on your landlord. All you have to do is create an account, link it to your bank account and mark which payments you would like to have reported.
Pricing
LevelCredit is an agency with a straightforward pricing plan. Its monthly fee is $6.95 and includes rent reporting to each credit bureau - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, credit score insights, and overall tracking of your credit score.
If you’d like to add previous payments to your credit report, you can sign up for the LookBack feature at $49.95 (one-time payment). You will see a significant improvement in your credit score after using this feature, as it will bundle two years of payments and add them to the credit score.
Overall
LevelCredit is a perfect solution for anyone looking to improve their credit score in a short timeframe. With it, you can report rent payments and include utilities and phone bills in your account. Plus, it is also an excellent alternative to hiring an identity theft protection company with its $1M identity theft insurance.
Key Features:
- Allows adding utility bills to the credit score
- No landlord involvement
- Straightforward pricing
How To Choose the Right Rent Reporting Agency To Build Your Credit With
If you're looking to build your credit score, you can rely on credit repair companies, attempt to fix it yourself by budgeting wisely and repaying your debt, or install a credit boosting app.
For quick credit score improvement, you can also use a strong rent reporting agency, thus benefiting from your rent payments. However, if you are new to this, it could prove a daunting task to check how rent reporting services compare and decide which one would be the best option for you.
To save you some footwork, here is a quick guide on which parameters you should evaluate before signing up for one of the services.
Online Reputation
The first thing you should do is check the agency's online presence. For starters, you should read online reviews of the agency that will tell you about its strong and weak sides.
Do they have mostly positive reviews? Are people happy with the service? Are there any negative reviews? If so, what do these rent reporting reviews say? If there are many customers complaining about the service provided, you might be better off signing up with another service.
You can also check social media to see if the agency is active and responsive. See if they answer questions from potential or current customers. This is often a clear indicator of what kind of support you will receive from the agency.
Collaboration With Landlords
When it comes to rent, the landlord is usually the key player. Agencies handle this relationship differently, and it’s one of the important elements to check when choosing the service that will help add rent to the credit report.
If the service requires your landlord to enroll, it will be up to your landlord to report your payments. As some landlords might not be comfortable with additional responsibility or willing to take on more work, you should consult with them first before you apply.
The other approach is for the agency to be an intermediary between you and the landlord and report your payment. These agencies collect your rent, pay the landlord and report the payment on your behalf.
Other companies that report rental history work by monitoring your bank account. Once you make a payment to your landlord, the agency registers it and reports this to the bureau. Unfortunately, this solution is viable only if you make payments directly from your bank account, which means cash payments won't be included.
Credit Bureaus
All three US credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion - have separate scoring systems. A score from one bureau might not be the same as a score from another. That's why it is essential to check which bureau an agency reports to before signing up for its service.
Some agencies might report to one bureau, while there are also rent reporting companies that report to all 3 credit bureaus. The latter is the best option, as it will help you build your credit history with all three bureaus at once. Additionally, some of these companies will offer score tracking. With others, you’ll have to rely on a credit monitoring company to keep track of your score.
Pricing
Pricing is another important factor when choosing a rent reporting agency. It’s a good idea to look closely at each of these plans and then opt for the one that fits your needs and your budget.
Some agencies might charge a monthly fee, while others take a percentage of your rent payment. While some will offer to place your payments for the previous 12 or 24 months on your report, others will provide expedited reporting for a fee. Some services offer free rent reporting for a trial period, which can be a great way to test out the service before you commit.
Final Note
Evaluating the factors above will help you choose the right rent reporting agency for your needs. With the right agency, you can start building your credit history and improve your credit score. Just remember to do your research before signing up for a service.
FAQ
How do I report my rent to the credit bureaus for free?
Unfortunately, since there is no direct way for you to report your rent payments to credit bureaus, you will either have to ask your landlord to report them or go through a third-party rent reporting service. Few landlords can or will take on this responsibility, whereas rent reporting services typically come with fees.
Does unpaid rent affect credit score?
Unpaid rent affects your credit score. Your landlord will probably report your unpaid rent to a collection agency, which will most likely report it. In turn, collection accounts can have a negative effect on your credit score and will stay on your report for seven years.
How much will rent reporting services increase my credit score?
There is no definitive answer, as rent reporting services will affect your credit score differently depending on various factors. These include your current credit score, credit history, and the type of rent reporting service you use. On average, rent reporting agencies boast a credit score boost of 30-40 points.