Bill Requiring Landlords to Report On-Time Rent Payments to Credit Bureau Agencies Passes Legislature and Heads to Newsom’s Desk

Sacramento – Assemblymember Matt Haney’s (D-San Francisco) AB 2747, which brings rent reporting up to standard practice by requiring landlords to give tenants the option to opt into reporting their positive rent payments to a credit bureau agency, passes the California State Legislature and heads to the Governor’s Desk.

“Many renters spend a majority of their income on rent and prioritize their rent payments over all other expenses each month – but their on-time rent payments are never reflected on their credit scores, even when their missed rent payments are. This is an unfair practice that is further pushing millions of renters into cycles of debt and poor financial health,” said Assemblymember Haney.

Credit scores are designed to reflect the good and the bad of a person’s financial history. Usually, if a person misses a payment, their score will decrease, and if they make their payments on time, their score will increase. However, this is not happening when landlords report rent payments to a credit bureau agency. Millions of renters in California are paying their rent on time, yet never see a positive impact on their credit scores. Unfairly, if they fall behind on their rent payment, that negatively shows up on their credit report and brings their scores down.

AB 2747 will require landlords to allow renters to opt into positive rent reporting for their credit scores. This bill only applies to buildings with more than 15 units and allows landlords to collect a fee of $10 or the actual cost of rent reporting, whichever is less, from the tenant.