Rent to Mortgage: On-Time Payments Could Make Millions of Adult Renters Eligible

Verified Rent History Is Expanding the Mortgage-Ready Pool

A quiet shift in credit scoring and underwriting is opening a clearer path from lease to loan. As verified rent payments are incorporated into credit files and read directly by automated underwriting systems, millions more adult renters could qualify for mortgages—without loosening standards, but by documenting their capacity to pay a housing-sized bill.

The hinge is government-sponsored enterprises’ transition toward VantageScore 4.0, a model designed to score thinner files using trended and alternative data. VantageScore’s own overview indicates the latest model can bring roughly 33 million additional U.S. adults into the scoreable population, in part by recognizing positive rental history that legacy models have often missed. For real estate professionals, that means a larger pool of prospective borrowers, particularly first-time buyers and credit-invisible clients, who may qualify once their verified rent history is considered.

Even before the full model transition, the plumbing to recognize rent is already embedded in mortgage manufacturing. Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter Positive Rent Payment History can identify recurring rent from asset-verification data and incorporate it into DU’s risk assessment. Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor and AIM service provider network support bank-account cash-flow assessment that includes rent-payment history, giving lenders multiple lanes to reflect a borrower’s largest recurring obligation.

Federal policy is reinforcing the shift. The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Letter 2022-17 introduced Positive Rental History to the TOTAL Scorecard, and lenders have been required to report PRH since March 25, 2023. These changes address a long-standing asymmetry: renters were penalized when leases went to collections but rarely rewarded for years of on-time payments.

Early evidence suggests meaningful movement at the margins that matter for approvals. Evaluations of rent-reporting pilots show increased credit visibility and shifts from subprime into near-prime tiers when positive rent is furnished to the bureaus. Outcomes vary by file thickness and length of history, but the direction is consistent: documented on-time rent nudges borderline files over key underwriting thresholds.

The private sector is also closing operational gaps. Data pipes that once made rent hard to verify are expanding as landlords and property managers adopt tools that transmit rental tradelines directly to the bureaus. Experian’s Connect API, enables real-time verification during tenant screening and, increasingly, mortgage workflows. As lenders gain optionality on score models and data sources, competition on pricing and capabilities is expected to accelerate adoption across the market.

What real estate pros can do now

• Ask about rent on intake. If a buyer has 12–24 months of on-time payments, confirm the lender can verify and read it via Fannie Mae’s rent recognition or Freddie Mac’s AIM cash-flow tools.

• Steer renters to verified channels. Encourage use of property-manager reporting or services that furnish tradelines to bureaus; where available, leverage Experian’s Connect API integrations.

• Track the VS 4.0 rollout. Stay synced with lender partners on timelines and operational readiness as the GSE transition proceeds. 

The bottom line for the housing industry is that as positive rent history becomes standard in credit files and underwriting, the market gains a larger, more accurate view of borrower risk—bringing more qualified renters into homeownership because their strongest payment behavior finally counts.