Breakthrough allows rent payments to be reported to credit agencies

The long-running aspiration of many to allow rental payments to be counted towards credit ratings appears to have taken a step forward.

CreditLadder, which says it’s the UK’s largest rent reporting platform, is working with digital service Digital ID Connect to allow app users to report their rental payments into the four main credit reference agencies.  

CreditLadder has now reported over £1 billion in rent payments - this means these payments now appear on credit files therefore allowing lenders to see that on-time rent payments have been made. These on-time payments can also help improve a tenant’s credit score, much like a homeowner can benefit from on-time mortgage payments.

Renters can sign up to CreditLadder using any one of the Digital ID apps within the Digital ID Connect network to securely provide personal details, prove age and identity. Users then provide details of their bank account, rent amount and tenancy information, enabling CreditLadder to capture and track rental payments automatically, via Open Banking.

John Abbott, chief commercial officer at Yoti, says: “The vision for Digital ID Connect is to provide faster and more secure ways for people to share their information with valued services that need identity or age verification. I am delighted to be working with CreditLadder so that the tens of thousands of people installing our app each month have extended partnerships available at their fingertips”.

And Sheraz Dar, CreditLadder chief executive, adds: “By enabling Digital ID Connect users to report their rent payments we move another step closer to helping every single tenant improve their access to credit and accomplish their financial goals. With lenders in the UK factoring in rent payments when making credit decisions, including beginning to consider on time rent payments when looking to assess mortgage applications, it's yet another reason why reporting rental payments is so important”.