Breaking: Americans can now use rent payments to qualify for a mortgage, FHFA says

Americans can now use their rent payment history to help qualify for a mortgage, under a new directive announced Tuesday by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.

The policy allows lenders to include rent payments in credit histories when evaluating applicants for home loans, a move aimed at expanding access to homeownership, particularly for younger Americans. 

Pulte, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, credited Trump with the policy change and said it reflects the administration’s broader efforts to reduce barriers to owning a home. 

“This is a game changer for younger millennials and Gen Zers who are looking to purchase a home,” political strategist Alex Bruesewitz wrote on social media in response to the announcement. 

Pulte, a descendant of a prominent homebuilding family, said the idea stems from Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, who introduced the Credit Score Competition Act. Scott is chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. 

“Effective today, to increase competition in the credit score ecosystem and consistent with President Trump’s mandate to lower costs, Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) will allow lenders to use the VantageScore 4.0 model without requiring new infrastructure,” Pulte posted Tuesday. 

He added that lenders using both VantageScore and the traditional FICO credit score model could receive pricing incentives designed to benefit consumers. 

“If you use Vantage and not just FICO, for the betterment of the American people and the consumer, you should get better pricing,” he wrote. “It’s just math – predictive math.” 

Pulte said the agency will incentivize lenders that adopt both scoring systems in an effort to increase fairness and accessibility in the mortgage process.