Rent Advantage™ vs Landlord Credit Bureau vs Front Lobby

Rent reporting is the practice of reporting your rent payments to credit bureaus, which allows you to build your credit score when you make your rent payments on time.

Rent reporting is particularly beneficial for those who have a low credit score or a limited credit history (and find it hard to get approved for loans or credit cards, which would normally help them build their credit score). Traditionally in Canada, rent payments are not reported to credit bureaus by landlords and so could not influence your credit. However, that has changed in recent years with the growth of organizations that make it possible for rent payments to count towards credit scores. Three services that provide rent reporting services in Canada are Rent Advantage™, Landlord Credit Bureau, and FrontLobby. Let’s compare them.

Rent Advantage™ by Borrowell

Borrowell Rent Advantage™ is a service that allows tenants to report their own rent payments to Equifax, which is the largest consumer credit bureau in Canada. By reporting your rent payments to Equifax, you can build your payment history, credit history and credit mix using the rent payments you already make each month.

The main benefit of Borrowell Rent Advantage™ over similar services is that it doesn’t require the involvement or cooperation of your landlord. You simply connect your bank account for real-time reporting of payments. That way, your credit report can be updated quickly to reflect your on-time rental payments. In addition, the service includes access to credit monitoring and alerts and more.

Renters can sign up quickly via the Borrowell website for the service. There is a monthly fee of $8 and you can cancel at any time. 

How to Report Rent with Rent Advantage™?

To report rent payments using Rent Advantage, you need to follow a few fast, simple steps. 

1. First, you need to sign up for a free Borrowell account. 

2. You’ll then enter your lease details and connect your bank account or credit card (whichever one you use to pay your rent). By doing so, Rent Advantage™ can track your rent payments and report them. Note that all of your payments — and missed payments, if you make any — will be reported. 

3. Each month you’ll log in to confirm your rent.

4. You will be able to track your rent payment history in your credit report, which you can access online or by using the Borrowell app. 

It's important to note that Rent Advantage™ does not require your landlord's involvement, so you can sign up and report your rent payments even if your landlord is not participating in the program. 

Requirements:

The requirements for reporting rent with Rent Advantage™ are that you need to provide your lease details, as well as link your applicable credit card or bank account. You’ll also need to pay the $8 monthly fee. Be aware that Borrowell recommends subscribing to the rent reporting service for at least six months to see the benefits.

Benefits:

Here are some of the benefits of reporting rent with Rent Advantage

• It’s fast and easy to sign up

• You don’t need to rely on your landlord to report rent payments

• You can cancel your participation at any time

• No credit checks to set up

• You’re likely to raise your credit score as long as you make on-time rent payments 

Drawbacks:

The potential drawbacks of reporting rent with Rent Advantage™ are:

• If you miss a rent payment or multiple rent payments, it will be reflected in your credit report and will harm your credit score

Should I Report Rent with Rent Advantage™?

Rent reporting can be a key component of building up a more robust credit report and increasing your credit score. Rent Advantage™ allows you to build your payment history, credit history and credit mix, which make up around 60% of the factors that determine your credit score. 

Using Rent Advantage™ can be a wise choice if your landlord doesn’t use a rent reporting service and you are confident that you will pay your rent on time.

Summary

• Signing up for Rent Advantage™ is fast and easy and doesn’t involve a credit check

• Rent Advantage™ doesn't require any landlord involvement. The tenant themselves is in control of reporting their rent.

• The cost is $8 a month and you can cancel at any time.

• As long as you make your rent payments on time and in full each month, your credit could improve in as little as six months.

Landlord Credit Bureau 

The Landlord Credit Bureau used to be a credit reporting agency that landlords could report tenants’ rent payments to. In the last two years, however, the LCB has transformed to become solely a consumer reporting agency that maintains a database of verified tenant records. 

Landlords can use these records to screen applicants, and tenants can use them to show prospective landlords a positive rental history even if they have no credit or have a previous history of bad credit. Tenant Records include rental payment history and verified contact information for previous landlords. In order to create/access official tenant records from the Landlord Credit Bureau, landlords and tenants must sign up via FrontLobby.

Tenants (who sign up via FrontLobby) can share their official tenant record with potential landlords. The service provided by the Landlord Credit Bureau is designed to help tenants build up a good payment record, while helping landlords screen potential renters and thereby cut down on missed payments and “problematic” tenants. 

How to Report Rent with the Landlord Credit Bureau?

Tenants and landlords can only report rental payment information to the Landlord Credit Bureau by signing up through FrontLobby.

Requirements

To report rent payments to the Landlord Credit Bureau both tenants and landlords/property managers must go through FrontLobby. 

Benefits:

Some benefits of reporting rent with the Landlord Credit Bureau include:

• If rent payments are made on time, it could boost your credit score.

• If you have a strong history of always paying your rent on time, it could make it much easier to find a good apartment.

• Showing your verified Tenant Record to a prospective landlord could help you land an apartment.

Drawbacks:

Here are some drawbacks of reporting rent to the Landlord Credit Bureau to consider:

• You can’t report with the LCB directly but must sign up with FrontLobby.

• Reporting rent only benefits those who are responsible in paying their rent on time. If a tenant is often late with rent payments, reporting payments could hurt their credit score instead.

• Additional costs: Landlords who choose to report rent to a credit bureau may have to pay a fee to do so. These costs could be passed on to tenants in the form of higher rent or fees.

Should I Report Rent with Landlord Credit Bureau Rent Reporting?

If you feel like you are a responsible tenant who would benefit from rent reporting, using FrontLobby to ensure your landlord reports your payments to the Landlord Credit Bureau could be a smart choice.

Summary

• Responsible renters can raise their credit score by ensuring their rent payments are reported to the Landlord Credit Bureau. 

• Rent reporting can be especially beneficial for those without credit cards or loans, who risk being “credit invisible” if their rent is not reported to credit bureaus. Paying rent may be the only way they develop a credit file at all.

• To have your rent payments reported to the Landlord Credit Bureau, you must sign up via FrontLobby and also get your landlord to sign up. Tenants can’t directly report their rent payments to the Landlord Credit Bureau.

FrontLobby 

FrontLobby is a company that provides a variety of products and services for landlords and tenants, including tenant screening, rent reporting, credit building, and dispute resolution. The company works in partnership with the Landlord Credit Bureau Canada, a credit reporting agency that collects and maintains rental payment history data for tenants and makes it accessible for screening purposes to landlords and property management companies.

FrontLobby Canada lets landlords screen potential tenants, including credit checks, evictions and more. Additionally, landlords can also report rental payment information to the LCB through FrontLobby rent reporting service. This may help tenants build credit history and improve their credit scores.

How to Report Rent for FrontLobby?

The way FrontLobby works for tenants is that they can sign up for free. They began by providing their lease details and creating a Tenant Record. A tenant must then invite their landlord to join FrontLobby. If your landlord doesn’t accept your invitation, your rent won’t get reported.  

Requirements:

The requirements for reporting rent with FrontLobby are that you must set up an account and then invite your landlord to join. The cost if free for a basic account, however, a basic account doesn’t help you build your credit score. If you want to build your credit score using FrontLobby, you’ll have to pay a fee of $4 per month.

Benefits:

The benefits that tenants can enjoy by signing up with FrontLobby include:

• As long as your landlord agrees to sign up and report your payments, you can use FrontLobby to build your credit history and credit score.

• If you manage your rent payments responsibly, you could see an improvement in your score in as little as six months.

Drawbacks:

There are some significant drawbacks to using FrontLobby:

• The main drawback is that tenants are totally dependant on the participation of their landlord to enjoy the benefits of the rent reporting service.

• The free basic account only lets you monitor your lease agreement and doesn’t include rent reporting.

• A monthly $4 fee to actually get your rent reported

• Landlords who want to join have to pay a fee of at least $239 a year if they want to take advantages of rent reporting, thus it may be difficult to get your landlord to join.

Should I Report Rent with FrontLobby?

The relatively low cost of using FrontLobby, makes the rent reporting service an attractive option, however, your ability to use the service is totally dependent on your landlord’s participation.

Summary

• Tenants can sign up for a free FrontLobby account but a free account doesn’t include rent reporting.

• Landlords must also sign up to FrontLobby in order for the company to report your rent payments to credit bureaus.

• Cost is $4 a month for tenants.

The Bottom Line

Reporting your rent on your credit report is an incredibly useful way to use rent payments to boost your credit score. Whether you go with Rent Advantage™ or FrontLobby, it’s crucial to keep in mind that your rent payment history will only lead to a good credit score if you make your payments on time.