Governor Signs Bill Requiring Monthly Rent Payments to be Included on Credit Scores

Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Matt Haney’s (D-San Francisco) AB 2747 was signed by Governor Newsom. This bill 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.

“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 go down and if they stay on top of their payments their score will increase. However, this is not happening when landlords report rent payments to a credit bureau agency. Millions of renters around the state are paying their rent on time yet they never see a positive impact on their credit scores. Unfairly, if they ever 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 will not impact small landlords since it only applies to buildings with more than 15 units. It also allows landlords to collect a fee of $10 or the actual cost of rent reporting, whichever is less, from the tenant.

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