The Rental Exchange is a scheme that adds your rent payments to your credit report — something that mortgage payments already do for homeowners, but that renters have traditionally missed out on.
It was set up by Experian and a social investment organisation called Big Issue Invest, and it's free to participate in for both tenants and landlords.
The Rental Exchange adds your rent payment history to your credit report. This helps lenders get a clearer picture of how you manage your money. It was designed to make things fairer for the UK's 13 million renters, who previously got no credit for paying their rent on time.
All three major UK credit reference agencies — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — can access this data, so a wide range of lenders may be able to see your payment record.
Usually, paying rent on time has no effect on your credit score. Unlike mortgage payments, rent payments haven't traditionally been reported to credit reference agencies.
The Rental Exchange changes that. If you join the scheme, your on-time rent payments can be added to your credit report, which may help build a positive credit history over time.
It's worth knowing that missed or late payments would also be recorded, so it's really only going to help if you're confident you can pay on time every month.
There are a few ways to get your rent payments reported.
Before signing up to any rent-reporting service, it's worth checking how they handle missed or late payments, and whether you'll be notified if an issue is reported.
CreditLadder has been helping tenants get their rent payments recorded on their credit report since 2016. It uses Open Banking technology to get read-only access to your bank account, spots your outgoing rent payment, and passes this information to credit reference agencies.
There's a free tier that reports to one credit reference agency of your choice — Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Paid plans let you report to all three, which means whichever lender you go to, they're more likely to be able to see your payment record.
Canopy offers rent tracking tools — including RentTracking® and RentPassport® — that build a digital record of your rent payments, which you can share with agents, landlords, and mortgage providers.
Like CreditLadder, it uses open banking to monitor your payments. During setup, you tag one of your rent payments, and Canopy monitors future payments and updates your credit report automatically.
The free tier reports rent payments to Experian only. Paid plans, available through their CanopyGrow™ subscription, report to all three major credit reference agencies — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Many housing associations, local authorities, and larger landlords or agencies are already part of The Rental Exchange. If yours participates, they can report your payments directly to Experian at no cost to either party.
Landlords aren't legally required to join, so if yours isn't part of the scheme, the third-party services above are an alternative route.
Every on-time rent payment that gets recorded on your credit file adds to your payment history. This is one of the things lenders look at when you apply for credit. If you don't have much of a credit history yet, this can be a good way to start building one — without taking on any extra debt.
In the past, building a credit history has often meant taking out a credit card or loan. The Rental Exchange means your rent — for a lot of people, their biggest monthly outgoing — can count towards your credit profile instead. It works best alongside other good credit habits, rather than on its own.
Many rent reporting services also give you digital proof of address. This can come in handy if you don't have utility bills or other paperwork to hand.
If you're just starting to build a credit history — whether you're new to the UK or haven't had much credit before — the Rental Exchange can be a useful option. It lets you get something on your credit file without taking on new debt.
Just make sure you understand what happens if a payment is missed before you sign up. It's always worth reading the small print.
Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure content is correct when published. Information on this website doesn't constitute financial advice, and we aren't responsible for the content of any external sites.
Fiona is a personal finance writer with over 7 years’ experience writing for a broad range of industries before joining Ocean in 2021. She uses her wealth of experience to turn the overwhelming aspects of finance into articles that are easy to understand.
