This pilot program helps people improve their credit scores just by paying their rent on time
Usually, only late rent payments get reported to credit bureaus, which can hurt credit. Now, tenants living in the affordable housing units involved in the program get a bump in their credit scores when they pay rent on time.
If renters make late payments, their landlord might charge a penalty fee and report that late payment to credit bureaus, hurting their credit score. And unlike mortgage payments, paying rent on time doesn’t automatically build credit. For low-income Americans—only half of whom have access to a credit card, and who are more likely to rent than own—that means it can be a hurdle to build credit.