Turn your housing payments into a credit history — and graduate with it already on your file.
Whether you live in a residence hall on Busch, Livingston, College Avenue, or Cook/Douglass, or off-campus in New Brunswick or Piscataway, the rent you're already paying can build on-time credit history reported to the major credit bureaus. Less than $5 a month — and by commencement, up to two years on your file.
Last summer, the federal government changed how rent payments are scored. Your housing payments now count toward your credit history.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency — the body that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — issued a mandate requiring credit scoring models to recognize rent payment history. Translation: your monthly housing payment is finally being treated as the credit-worthy financial behavior it actually is.
In plain English: every on-time housing payment can now build a real credit history — the kind that decides whether you get approved for your first post-Rutgers apartment, a phone plan in your own name, a car loan without a co-signer, and eventually a mortgage. But only if it's being reported.
That's what Rentaba does — for the housing payments and off-campus rent you're already making.
Three steps. No new payment. No paperwork.
Rentaba connects to the housing payment you're already making and reports it as on-time credit activity — month after month.
Enroll in 3 minutes
Verify you're a Rutgers student, confirm your housing details, and pick a plan. Most students finish on their phone between classes.
Link your housing payment
Whether it's Rutgers Student Accounting for on-campus housing or your landlord for off-campus, we connect securely without touching how or when you pay.
Watch your credit grow
Each on-time payment becomes a positive tradeline on your credit report. You'll see progress in the app and in your actual credit file.
Most college grads leave with thin-file credit. That costs them for years.
The average college graduate has a FICO score 45–65 points lower than the national average — which shows up as higher rates on auto loans, rejected apartment applications, bigger deposits on utilities, and now, harder mortgage approvals. Rentaba closes that gap while you're still at Rutgers.
Reinforces the financial-wellness and access work Rutgers already does — through Career Services, Financial Aid, the Educational Opportunity Fund, Off-Campus Living, and Residence Life.
Rentaba is designed to be a companion to the financial-wellness and student-support work Rutgers already does — through University Career Services' transition coaching for graduating students, the Office of Financial Aid, the Educational Opportunity Fund's work with first-generation students, Off-Campus Living, and Residence Life. It turns concepts like credit utilization, tradelines, and on-time history into something a student can watch happen in their own life — using a housing payment they're already making.
Compliance, security, and student-first design.
SOC 2 Type II
Audited controls on how we store, access, and transmit your financial data.
FCRA-compliant reporting
We report as a recognized data furnisher under the Fair Credit Reporting Act — and only on-time payments.
FERPA-aligned
Student data is handled in line with the standards universities already require.
Why now? What changed in July 2025?
The Federal Housing Finance Agency — the body that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — issued a mandate requiring credit scoring models to count rent payment history. In plain English: the housing payments you're already making can now build the credit history that opens every door after Rutgers — apartments, phone plans in your own name, car loans without a co-signer, and eventually a mortgage. But only if they're being reported. That's what Rentaba does, automatically, every month.
Does it actually work for on-campus housing?
Yes. Rentaba supports both on-campus housing paid through Rutgers Student Accounting and off-campus rent paid to a private landlord. We work with your existing payment — you don't have to change how or when you pay.
Will this hurt my credit if I've never had any?
The opposite. The biggest reason young adults have low scores isn't bad credit — it's no credit. Rentaba reports only on-time payments, never missed or late ones. We add positive history to your file, which is exactly what scoring models reward.
Does this count as a loan or debt?
No. Rentaba reports your housing payment as an on-time payment history — the same way a credit card would report an on-time payment. It does not add debt to your file.
What does it cost?
Plans start under $5/month, with retroactive reporting up to 24 months of past housing payments at enrollment. Cancel anytime — you keep the history you've already built.
Is this affiliated with Rutgers officially?
Rentaba is an independent fintech building partnerships with universities. This page was created for students who heard about us through Rutgers channels. Any formal program partnership will be announced through Rutgers Student Affairs, Residence Life, or Off-Campus Living.
Graduate from Rutgers with credit history already on your file.
Rentaba reports the housing payments you're already making. Enroll once, and we'll back-report up to 24 months of eligible payments — meaning a Rutgers senior could walk across the commencement stage with two years of on-time credit history already on file.
Questions from your RA, GA, or advisor?
We'll send a packet (brochure, FAQ, and curriculum-fit guide) for staff at Rutgers Residence Life, Off-Campus Living, or University Career Services.
university@rentaba.co →