17/08/2026
The hardest conversation in this job has never been about rates.
It is telling someone who has paid rent on time, every single month, for six years, that as far as the mortgage system was concerned, none of it counted.
That changed this year, and almost nobody knows it. Newer credit scoring models were approved for mortgage lending in 2026, and one of them can actually factor in rent, utility and phone payments.
But here is the part I really need you to hear, because it is the whole thing: your rent only counts if someone is actually reporting it to the credit bureaus. Most landlords do not. Paying perfectly for years does nothing on its own.
So I wrote out the three ways to get it reported, including one that costs you nothing and that almost no one has heard of. I also included the honest downside, because these newer models read a two-year pattern and that can cut both ways.
If someone told you no a few years ago and you never came back to ask again, this one is for you. 🤍
https://www.aclearwayhomesc.com/blog-rent-counts-credit-2026.html
