On-Time Rent Payments Could Help You Qualify for a Mortgage

A long-awaited shift for first-time buyers is finally here. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced in July 2025 a new qualifying consideration that makes room for the incorporation of rent payment history into creditworthiness. If you’ve struggled to go from renting to buying due to a thin credit profile, here’s how the change could break the barrier.    

What is Causing the Change?  

In the past, Fannie and Freddie based qualifying credit scores on the FICO model, which does not include rent payments in a borrower’s credit history. Now, they are allowing mortgage lenders to supplement FICO scores with the borrower’s VantageScores. The VantageScore model can include your rent history, which has further-reaching effects than just an on-time payment track record. 

Qualify Sooner 

Unlike FICO, the VantageScore model can begin documenting a credit history after just one month. This is game-changing because the low credit scores of many first-time buyers are due to a lack of credit history, and not delinquencies. This is why mortgage bankers often recommend that borrowers with little credit open a line of credit and try again in six months or more. But with the inclusion of VantageScores, you may not have to wait.     

For example, let’s say you are a renter who mainly uses a debit card and does not have a history of car payments or student loans. Getting a credit card would help boost your FICO score, but it would take at least half a year before your credit card payments hit that particular model. However, because your VantageScore starts building after as few as two rent payments, you could already have a strong profile based on your rent alone.  

Check Your Score

Most of the major consumer credit tracking apps use the VantageScore model. This is why some renters may have found that they were unable to qualify for a mortgage despite a trusted app reporting a higher score. If this describes you, the new Fannie and Freddie regulations could mean it’s time to talk to a mortgage banker!