One way to overcome limited or negative credit is by adding positive data points to your credit history. While rental payments are not customarily reported to credit bureaus, a rent reporting service like Rental Kharma can help you leverage those monthly payments to improve your credit score.
Business Insider's personal finance team compared Rental Kharma to the best rent reporting services and, largely thanks to its rave reviews and comprehensive reporting history, found it to be an industry leader.
Rental Kharma can report your entire history of payments made at your current address and offers a lengthy satisfaction guarantee. However, the service charges an above-average setup fee and requires participation from the property owner.
Rental Kharma Pros and Cons
Pros
- Guarantee: Rental Kharma's 90-day 100% money-back guarantee leads the industry
- Reports all past rental history: All past rental history at your current address can be reported, whereas others report only up to 24 months of past history
- Cost: Can add a spouse or roommate for a lower rate
Cons
- Setup fee: Relatively high setup fee
- Credit Reporting: Only reports to two of the three major credit bureaus
- Landlord confirmation every month: Requires a direct interface with your landlord or property manager to confirm your rental payments each month
Open an Account
$75 signup + $8.95 monthly
- Reports all past payment history on current rental
- Discounts for spouse or roommates on monthly and setup fee
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- Doesn’t report to Experian
- High signup fee
- Reports to TransUnion and Equifax
- One time set up fee payment of $75
- $8.95 per month cost
- Includes all past history at your current rental address
Compare Credit Building Options
$0-$6.95 monthly + optional $49.95 fee for retroactive reporting
- Rent reporting is free of charge
- Credit score monitoring
- $1M identity theft insurance
- Three-bureau rent reporting
- Utility and cell phone payments
- Doesn’t require landlord’s approval
- Poor customer service experience
- Cell phone and utility payments only reported to TransUnion
Self Rent Reporting reports your rent and other bills to the credit bureaus. This improves your payment history and as a result, your credit score, without needing to take on debt. One of the companies listed in our guide on the best rent reporting services, Self Rent Reporting stands out for offering several credit building perks under one competitive price.
Self Rent Reporting- Reports to all three credit bureaus
- Connects directly to your bank account
- Reports your rent, cell phone, electric, water and gas payments
- $49.95 optional fee for 24 months of retroactive rent and utilities reporting
- $6.95 per month
- Add two years of past payments
- Results vary. You may not receive an improved credit score. Not all lenders use scores impacted by rent/utility payments.
no monthly service fee
up to 4.00% bonus
$0
- 3 Savings Pods that let you earn up to 4.00% bonus
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- No overdraft fees
- No instant transfer fees to other Current members
- Early direct deposit
- Debit card included
- Budgeting tools: Round-ups and Spending Insights
- Earn cash back on debit card purchases
- $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee
- Can't overdraw from your account without the Overdrive feature
- Access to 40,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs
- You may overdraw up to $200 from your account with no overdraft fees if you're eligible for Overdrive
- To be eligible for the Overdrive feature, you'll need to receive direct deposits $500 per month
- 3 Savings Pods: You may deposit up to $2,000 in each Savings Pod; Money that is kept in Savings Pods can earn 4.00% bonus
- Round-Ups: Debit card purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the change is deposited into a Savings Pod
- Spending Insights: You can create a budget that keeps track of specific categories of spending; Spending Insights monitors how much you spend and can issue alerts if you are close to your limit
- Cash back: You can earn cash back at 14,000 select stores when you use your debit card; Points be redeemed at the Current Shop for cash
- Issued through Choice Financial Group (Member FDIC)
- Relatively low monthly fee with no interest
- Available in 49 states
- No hard credit check
- Credit monitoring capabilities
- Free credit builder loan
- Only reports to Equifax and Experian, not TransUnion
- Can only make purchases through Kikoff app
- Requires mobile device
- Available in 49 states
- No hard credit check
- Credit monitoring capabilities
- $5 monthly fee
Rental Kharma Overview
Rental Kharma is based in Littleton, Colorado, but its rent reporting services are available to eligible renters nationwide. With services available to most non-business renters, the company claims to have served 85,000 members since its founding in 2011. Rental Kharma further says its members have seen an average initial credit score increase of 40 points and an average ongoing credit score increase of five points per month.
Rental Kharma is not one of the larger players in the rent reporting industry, but it makes our list of the best rent reporting services because it offers two standout features. First, Rental Kharma reports all your prior rent payments at your current address to the credit bureaus, while most rent reporting services only add a maximum of 24 months of prior rent payments. Rental Kharma also has a 90-day money-back guarantee.
On the other hand, Rental Kharma is more expensive than its competitors. It also doesn't report to all three credit bureaus (it only reports to Equifax and TransUnion), which severely limits its usefulness.
How Rental Kharma works
After you enroll, Rental Kharma will call your landlord or property manager to verify ownership of the property, as well as your tenancy and payment histories. This process should take less than five minutes, but participation from your landlord or property manager is required. Without it, Rental Kharma won't be able to confirm your eligibility.
Once you're fully on board, Rental Kharma will connect with your landlord or property manager each month to confirm your rental payments. The company then reports that payment data to two of the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, but not to Experian.
Your enrollment includes retroactive reporting of your entire rental history at your current address, making the service more impactful if you've lived in the same place for an extended period. However, utilities and other payments associated with your rental are not reported.
Key Features of Rental Kharma
Monthly rent reporting
Rental Kharma helps boost your credit score by reporting your rental payments to credit bureaus. Those payments are factored into both your payment history and length of credit history. So long as you pay rent on time and in full, the effect will be positive (or neutral at worst). If you miss a payment, however, then rent reporting could be counterproductive.
Same-day verification
Enrollment is available either online or by phone, with same-day verification offered at no cost.
You can enroll in Rental Kharma if you pay rent to a property manager, or to a landlord or family member who owns the property. You may also be eligible in other circumstances where the owner or manager can verify that you live and pay rent at the property. If you're uncertain whether you qualify, you can call Rental Kharma for clarification.
Score impact calculator
The company offers a score impact calculator that estimates how many points your score is likely to go up based on factors like your lease term, current credit score, and other open credit accounts. You can expect the impact of rent reporting to be greatest if you have a bad credit score or limited credit history, and if you've lived at your current address for a long time. Rental Kharma claims that 90% of members see results within five business days when payments are reported promptly.
Money-back guarantee
Rental Kharma offers a 90-day 100% money-back guarantee if your rental history can't be verified, or if you're unhappy with the service.
Costs and Fees
Rental Kharma offers a single tier of service at a flat rate. Members pay $75 signup + $8.95 monthly, beginning 30 days after enrollment. There is a $75 setup fee and $8.95 monthly fee for ongoing reporting. There is also a $25 setup fee to add a spouse or roommate and a $5 monthly fee for ongoing reporting. You can also lower your costs by referring other members, which saves both you and the other member money per referral.
Rental Kharma's standout feature is its 90-day, 100% money-back guarantee, which includes both the setup fee and any monthly fees you have paid to date. The guarantee applies not only if your rental history cannot be verified (like if your landlord refuses to participate), but also if you're simply unhappy with the results. Refunds can be requested by phone or email, and are processed within three business days (though funds may take longer to appear in your account).
Rental Kharma Reviews and Ratings
There is no widely recognized accreditation specific to the rent reporting industry, and unlike some rent reporting services, Rental Kharma is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
However, the company has an average Trustpilot rating of 4.8 stars out of five over 1,100 reviews, with 90% of respondents leaving a review of four stars or better. Rental Kharma also has a rating of 4.1 stars out of five on Google, though that rating comprises only around 115 reviews.
One common complaint among negative reviews is difficulty getting rental payments reported accurately. Some users had trouble connecting Rental Kharma with their landlord or property manager, and others found that payment information was still not conveyed after a connection had been established. Other common complaints include poor results even when payments were reported and difficulty canceling the service.
Rental Kharma Alternatives
Rental Kharma vs. Self Rent Reporting
Rental Kharma has a $75 signup fee and $8.95 monthly cost, while Self Rent Reporting reports rent payments to all three credit bureaus without any setup fees or monthly costs.
While Self may be more appealing at first because it is free, its parent company Self Financial is plagued by poor customer reviews. It has an average of 4.2 stars across 678 reviews on Trustpilot, but its Better Business Bureau page fares worse: Its BBB page has an F rating due to its unresponsiveness to customer complaints.
For these reasons, Rental Kharma would be a better option here.
Read our Self rent reporting review.
Rental Kharma vs. Boom
Rental Kharma only reports to two of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax and TransUnion), while Boom offers rent reporting to all three at a bargain price. Ongoing reporting costs just $3 per month (billed annually), and there is no enrollment fee.
However, users have reported frustration with the mobile app and unresponsive customer service. They have also complained of the lack of rent reporting even after Boom has received all of the verified information. Rental Kharma has received similar complaints.
Rental Kharma may be a better option because its process is smoother.
Read our Boom review.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Rental Kharma
To review Rental Kharma, we looked at how many credit bureaus it reports to, its setup fee, reviews, and the fact that it can report all of a customer's rental history.
We've reviewed a wide variety of rent reporting services serving an equally wide variety of needs. To differentiate between them, we prioritized the factors below:
- Trustworthiness
- Fee structure and affordability
- Features
- Flexibility
- Availability
See the full breakdown of how we rate credit products and services.
FAQs
What does Rental Kharma report to?
Rental Kharma reports rental payments to both TransUnion and Equifax, but not to Experian. If a lender or financial institution looks exclusively at your Experian file, your credit score will not reflect data from your rental payment history.
Is there a contract or commitment required for Rental Kharma?
No, there is no contract required for Rental Kharma. Rental Kharma offers month-to-month plans with no long-term commitment.
How long does it take to see improvements in my credit score with Rental Kharma?
How long it takes to see an improvement in your credit score from rent reporting with Rental Kharma can vary. However, users often see improvements within a few months of reporting their rent payments.
Does Rental Kharma ask for a Social Security number?
Rental Kharma generally does not ask for your Social Security number when you enroll. The company can usually match you with your credit profile based on other personal information, but it may confirm the last four digits of your Social Security number or request additional documentation if there is any uncertainty.
