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Want Your Tenants to Pay on Time? Start Reporting Rent Payments.

Report rent payments to attract good renters

In the last couple of years, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of property managers reporting rent payments to credit bureaus, according to new TransUnion research — 2024 Rent Payment Reporting Study.

While nearly 75% of property managers know they can report tenants’ rent payments to credit bureaus, only 40% actually do so — and that’s a missed opportunity for both sides.

The low reporting numbers seem to come from property owners’ lack of clarity around the value and ease of reporting. The top reasons property managers said they aren’t reporting include: not knowing how to report (31%); believing they won’t benefit from reporting (19%); and thinking it takes too much work and time to do so (11%).

However, as our research indicates, the benefits of reporting rental payments outweigh the challenges.

Tenants of all ages can be incentivized with rent reporting

According to the study, most renters (85%) — across all generations — said they’d be more likely to pay their rent on time if their property owners reported it to credit bureaus. The percentages by generation are:

  • Gen Z (94%)
  • Millennials (88%)
  • Gen X   (86%)
  • Baby Boomers (60%)

Not surprisingly, Gen Z is most incentivized by rent reporting. But ultimately, regardless of age, rent eats up a significant chunk of tenants’ incomes each month and yet, there’s no benefit for paying on time.

Quality renters are interested in properties where payments are reported

Savvy consumers who are focused on building their credit histories and gaining more access to lines of credit are actively seeking out rental properties where credit is reported.

According to our study, more than 60% of renters said they’d be more likely to rent from a property that reported payments to credit bureaus than those that didn’t. Younger renters are specifically looking for this amenity:

  • Millennials (72%)
  • Gen Z (68%)
  • Gen X (63%)
  • Baby Boomers (44%)

And many renters are seeing the benefits. Sixty percent of renters said rent payment reporting helped them get better interest rates on loans, and 90% of Gen Z and Millennials said it has positively impacted their credit scores.

Increasingly, current and potential renters know property managers can report their payments to credit bureaus to help them build credit profiles and boost their credit scores. However, since only 11% of renters reported their property managers actually offer the option, there’s a growing disconnect between what renters want and what they’re getting.

That will need to change if property owners want to continue to attract quality tenants who pay on time.

Many property managers already understand the benefits of rent reporting

Respondents who are reporting rental payments started doing so largely to: help their tenants build their credit scores (90%), encourage tenants to pay on time (70%), and attract financially responsible renters (49%).

Discovering the process is quite simple (62%) has only reinforced rent payment reporting is the right decision. Even property managers who haven’t started reporting would be likely to if it:

  • Lowered their risk of delinquencies, evictions or renters who skip (84%)
  • Attracted new, responsible renters who pay on time (82%)
  • Incentivized their residents to pay on a timely basis (79%)

The good news is reporting rental payments can help do all that  — and the process doesn’t have to be time-consuming or daunting.

Discover how easy it is to report rental payments

TransUnion offers a Rent Payment Reporting service to property managers, enabling you to easily report tenants’ rent payments to credit bureaus each month. To learn more about this service and other solutions built specially for the rental industry, visit www.transunion.com/product/residentcredit

Do you have questions? Our team is ready to help.