Rent reporting for council and housing association tenants

By Sam Kane · Last checked 9 October 2026

Yes, council and housing association tenants can use rent reporting. Some social landlords already send rent records to Experian through a scheme called the Rental Exchange. If yours does not, or you want your rent at Equifax as well, you can report it yourself, as long as you pay rent from your own bank account.

The short version

What is the Rental Exchange?

The Rental Exchange is a scheme set up by Experian and Big Issue Invest. Landlords who join, most of them councils and housing associations, send their tenants’ rent records to Experian each month. Read what the Experian Rental Exchange is.

Does my council or housing association report my rent?

It might. The best ways to find out are:

  1. Check your Experian credit report. Look for a rent or tenancy account at your address.
  2. Ask your landlord, or look at its website. Your council or housing association can tell you if it is in the Rental Exchange.

Some councils share every tenant’s rent record and let you opt out if you want to. Sandwell Council is one example. It shares tenants’ rent records with Experian and lets you opt out at any time.

If your landlord already reports to Experian

Your rent may already count on your Experian file. That is good news, but it covers only one agency.

Lenders may check one credit reference agency or more than one. If a lender checks only Equifax, it will not see the rent your landlord reports to Experian. Adding your rent at Equifax as well means more lenders may see it.

You can still use Report My Rent. We report to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. If your rent is already reported to Experian, the agencies remove the duplicate themselves.

If your landlord does not report your rent

You can report it yourself if you pay rent from your own bank account. We need regular rent (monthly, every 4 weeks or weekly), a tenancy at least 2 months old and 2 similar payments in the last 90 days. See how Report My Rent works.

Your landlord does not need to agree. Read do you need your landlord’s permission.

What if I pay weekly or every four weeks?

Many council and housing association tenants are charged rent weekly or every 4 weeks. That is fine. We can report rent paid weekly, every 4 weeks or monthly. What matters is that the payment leaves your own bank account on a regular schedule, at a similar amount each time.

What if Universal Credit or housing benefit pays my rent?

We can only report rent that you pay from your own bank account.

Some tenants have housing costs paid straight to the landlord and pay a smaller top-up themselves to cover the rest. We are sorry, but we cannot report a top-up payment like this. If housing support is paid to you and you pay the full rent yourself, we can report that.

For more on help with rent, read housing benefit and Local Housing Allowance.

Common questions

Can council tenants use rent reporting?

Yes. Your landlord may already report to Experian through the Rental Exchange. You can also report your rent yourself if you pay it from your own bank account.

Does my council rent show on my credit file?

Only if it is reported. Check your Experian credit report, or ask your council if it takes part in the Rental Exchange.

Do housing associations report rent to credit agencies?

Some do, through the Rental Exchange. It sends rent records to Experian only.

Can I opt out of the Rental Exchange?

Some councils that take part let you opt out at any time, for example Sandwell Council. Ask your landlord how its scheme works.

Can I use Report My Rent without asking my council?

Yes. We check your rent in your own bank account, so your landlord does not need to do anything. We never contact your landlord.

Sources

You already do the hard part.

You pay your rent every month. From now on, your credit file can show it.

a month