Paying your rent is about to get more rewarding.

Less than 10% of renters have their rent payment history sent to the credit bureaus. And most of those that do are paying hundreds of dollars for it. That means most renters don’t get any benefit from paying their rent on time. It is no wonder that renters are seven times more likely to not even have a credit score.

And, to make things worse, *not* making rent payments actually might be reported if they end up with a collection agency. Which is part of the reason renters have a significantly lower score on average when compared to homeowners. That’s pretty unfair.

Credit scores are calculated based on data sent to one of three large data collectors called “credit bureaus.” To calculate your score, these credit bureaus look at your past data. But, unfortunately, they often don’t receive information related to your largest payment: your rent. If you’ve been paying your rent on time, nobody knows except your landlord. We’re changing that.

Bilt Boosts Your Credit

Starting now, all Bilt members in a Bilt Alliance building can opt-in to have their rent payments shared with all three credit bureaus. Every place that calculates your credit score will now have it. Bilt is the first company to offer this to tenants and their landlords for FREE.

How to set it up:

Go to your payment tab on the app and scroll down. You’ll see an option to set up reporting.

What does this mean?

Doing this can really boost your credit. If you pay your rent on time for 24 months, you could see a 40-60 point jump in your credit score. Even as little as 6 months can improve your score.

If you’re not in a Bilt Alliance building, don’t worry. We’re working on a solution for you as well, so stay tuned.

Managing your Credit Score

Sending your rental data is one way to improve your credit score, and there are other things you can do to keep up your credit score.

The first, most important thing you can do is to have credit. Most people start establishing credit by getting a credit card. You should start building your credit early - the length of time you’ve had credit is a critical factor.

The next step is to use your credit wisely. According to Experian, one of the credit bureaus, there are five other factors that impact your credit score:

1. Payment History - make your payments on time

2. Amount of Credit Used - use a small share of your available credit (if your credit card balance is $1 and your credit limit is really high, this really helps your score)

3. Credit History Length - the longer you’ve had credit, the better

4. Credit Mix - the more types of credit (credit card, auto, student loan, etc.) the better

5. New Credit - if you have your credit pulled often, that looks desperate and hurts your score.

Keep those things in mind when you are using credit.

Bottom Line

Your credit score has an immense impact on your ability to borrow money and the rate you’re charged on anything from a car loan to your mortgage. And now, anyone who lives in a Bilt Alliance building can opt-in to rent reporting so that paying rent on time improves their credit scores.

Build credit early. Use credit wisely. And opt-in for free rent reporting. Do those things and your credit score will make your parents proud.