What Is Experian RentBureau?

How Experian RentBureau Works

Experian RentBureau collects rental payment data from property managers, landlords and third-party rent reporting services. The data contained in your RentBureau report typically includes:

• Details on leases you have signed
• On-time and late rent payments
• Any history of returned checks or nonsufficient funds
• Outstanding balances or rental debts
• Rental-related collections activity

Your on-time rent payments that are reported to RentBureau also appear on your Experian credit report. Having a positive rental payment history on your credit report can make you a more desirable tenant. It could also increase your credit scores based on your Experian credit report.

Learn more: Is My Rental History on My Credit Report?

How to Get Your Rent Reported

If you would like to have a RentBureau report and have your positive rental data added to your Experian credit report, you can:

• Ask your landlord to report rental information to RentBureau. Your landlord can submit rental data to RentBureau directly or use a rent reporting service that works with RentBureau.
• Use a rent reporting service. Rent reporting services report your rent payment habits to one or more of the consumer credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Either you or your landlord can sign up for a rent reporting service; there may be a monthly fee.
• Use Experian Boost^®ø to report your rent payment and more. Experian Boost is a free feature that adds your eligible rent, utility, cellphone and streaming service payments to your Experian credit report. If you pay rent online to an eligible landlord for a qualifying amount, adding it to your Experian credit report using Experian Boost could help increase your credit scores.

Instantly raise your credit scores^ø

1Connect your bank accounts

Add any bank accounts you use to pay your bills. Your information remains private.

2Choose the bills you want to add

We’ll detect bills with on-time payments, and you can add them to your Experian credit file.

3See your results

You’ll find out right away if your credit scores increased and by how many points.

Start your boost

Benefits of Experian RentBureau

Having your rental payments reported to Experian RentBureau can help you:

• Build credit with on-time rent payments. Timely rent payments can strengthen your payment history, which is the single biggest factor in your credit score calculation.
• Expand a thin credit file. Having only a few credit accounts on your credit report is known as having a thin credit file and can make it more difficult to qualify for credit. Adding a rental payment account thickens your credit file, which could improve your access to credit.
• Increase financial visibility. You're considered "credit invisible" if you have never used credit and thus don't have a credit report at any one of the three consumer credit bureaus. Without a credit report, you can't get a credit score, which can make it harder to get credit. Reporting rental payments to Experian RentBureau can improve your financial visibility.

Limitations of Experian RentBureau

In some cases, Experian RentBureau may have no impact on your credit scores.

• Not all landlords report: If your landlord or property management company does not report rental payments to RentBureau, you won't see any benefit from it.
• May not affect credit scores: Information on your RentBureau report is not sent to TransUnion or Equifax; it affects only credit scores calculated using data from your Experian credit report.

Learn more: What Do Landlords Look for in a Credit Check?

Does RentBureau Affect Your Credit Score?

Information in your RentBureau report may positively affect credit scores that are calculated using your Experian credit report. However, the impact on your credit score can vary depending on the credit scoring model the lender uses and whether your credit score is calculated using data from your Experian credit report.

Learn more: Credit Score Basics: What Impacts Your Score and Why It Matters

How Can I Request My Experian RentBureau Report?

You can check your RentBureau report by mailing in a request form or calling 877-704-4519. Checking your Experian RentBureau report is a good idea, especially if you're looking to move to a new rental soon, as it will show you the information that landlords are likely to see when considering your application.

If you want to be sure of seeing the same report your prospective landlord will review, you can ask the landlord what reporting agency they use. LexisNexis and SafeRent Solutions are the other major companies that provide rental history reports. You can request your rental history report for free directly from these consumer reporting agencies every 12 months.

How Can I Dispute My Experian RentBureau Report?

If you notice something on your Experian RentBureau consumer report that you believe is incorrect, you have the right to dispute information on your rental report. This involves submitting a request for investigation and providing supporting documents so RentBureau can look into the matter.

Follow these steps to open a dispute on your RentBureau consumer report:

1. Fill out the dispute form.

2. Gather supporting documentation such as:

   • Canceled checks
   • Utility bills
   • Legal documentation
3. Mail the forms and supporting documents to Experian, P.O. Box 26, Allen, TX 75013 or call 877-704-4519.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get Credit for Paying Rent

Reporting your rental payments through Experian RentBureau or tools like Experian Boost could help you build credit, especially if your credit history is limited. However, the impact depends on your overall credit profile and the credit report and credit scoring model used.

As you work on improving your credit score, consider signing up for free credit monitoring from Experian. You'll be able to track your FICO^® Score^Θ over time and get alerts of important changes to your credit report that could impact your scores.