Your Rent History Might Help You Buy. It Depends Which Lender You Call.
The headline says rent now counts toward your mortgage. That has actually been true since 2021. What changed this April is bigger and stranger: rent can now count inside the score itself, but only if your lender is one of the few approved to use the new model.
The Short Version
On April 22, 2026, Fannie Mae said lenders in a limited rollout may use VantageScore 4.0, a credit scoring model that factors in on-time rent and utility payments, for loans delivered to Fannie Mae. Lenders outside that rollout must keep using Classic FICO, which does not consider rent at all. So there are now two tracks. A renter with five years of perfect rent payments and a thin credit file may look meaningfully different to two lenders on the same afternoon, and nothing about that renter has changed. Only the model has.
The Part Almost Every Headline Gets Wrong
Rent payment history did not start counting toward mortgages in 2026. Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter has been able to consider positive rent payment history since September 18, 2021, nearly five years. With the applicant's permission, it identifies recurring rent payments in bank statement data and uses them to give a more inclusive credit assessment. If you have read that rent is a brand new factor, that article is about five years late. Knowing this matters, because it means you may already have had an option nobody offered you.
What Actually Changed in April
The 2021 feature and the 2026 change are two different mechanisms, and confusing them is easy. Desktop Underwriter reads rent out of your bank statements as a separate look during underwriting. VantageScore 4.0 is a credit score model, and rent is one of the inputs to the number itself. FHFA validated VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T back in 2022, and in July 2025 said lenders would be able to use VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO through the existing tri-merge credit report. April 2026 is when Fannie Mae turned it on for participating lenders.
Why This Creates Two Tracks
Fannie Mae's own language is the important part. Lenders participating in the limited rollout may use VantageScore 4.0 effective immediately. Lenders who are not participating must continue to use Classic FICO scores until it becomes more broadly available. Fannie has not published a list of who is in, and any lender can apply to join through Fannie Mae directly. The practical result for you is that lender choice now affects how your credit is measured, not just what rate you are quoted. That has not really been true before.
What the New Model Can and Cannot See
VantageScore 4.0 is associated with on-time rent and utility payments. FICO 10T, the other validated model, is built around trended credit data, which is the pattern of your balances over time rather than your rent. FICO 10T is approved for future use and Fannie has not given a date for it. There is also a limit worth being honest about. A score model can only use rent that was reported to the credit bureaus. If your landlord never reported your payments, a new model has nothing new to read, and the 2021 bank statement route may be the one that actually helps you.
How Much Difference Could It Make
The most cited number here needs care. When Fannie Mae introduced the 2021 feature, it looked at a sample of applicants who had not owned a home in the past three years and who did not receive a favorable Desktop Underwriter recommendation. Of that group, 17 percent could have received an Approve slash Eligible recommendation if their rental payment history had been considered. That is a specific and encouraging figure, but read what it is. It describes one sample, it describes people who were already turned down, and it says could have. It is not an approval rate and it is not a promise.
What to Do Before You Apply
Ask two questions on the first call, before anyone pulls your credit. First, which credit score model do you use, Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0. Second, can you consider my rent payment history through Desktop Underwriter. Those are ordinary questions and a loan officer will know the answer immediately. If you have a thin credit file and a long clean rent record, the answers should influence where you apply. Ask your landlord or property manager whether they report rent to the credit bureaus, because that determines whether a score model can see it at all.
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Did rent payments just start counting toward a mortgage in 2026?
No. Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter has been able to consider positive rent payment history since September 18, 2021. With your permission it identifies recurring rent payments in your bank statement data. What changed in April 2026 is separate: some lenders can now use a credit score model, VantageScore 4.0, that factors rent into the score itself.
What is VantageScore 4.0 and how is it different from my FICO score?
VantageScore 4.0 is a credit scoring model that incorporates on-time rent payment history and trended credit data. Classic FICO, which most lenders still use for mortgages, does not consider rent. FICO 10T is a third model built around trended credit data rather than rent, and it is approved for future use with no announced date.
Can I ask my lender to use VantageScore 4.0?
You can ask, but they can only use it if they are participating in Fannie Mae's limited rollout. Lenders outside it must continue using Classic FICO scores until the model becomes more broadly available. Fannie Mae has not published a participant list, so the only reliable way to find out is to ask the lender directly.
Does this mean my credit score will go up?
Not necessarily. Nothing in Fannie Mae's or FHFA's announcements guarantees a higher score, an approval, or a better rate for any individual borrower. A model that can see rent may help someone with a thin credit file and a strong rent record. It is a different measurement, not an automatic improvement.
Do I need to do anything for my rent to count?
Possibly. For the Desktop Underwriter route, the lender needs your permission and access to bank statement data showing recurring rent payments, and only consistent payments are considered. For the score model route, your rent has to have been reported to the credit bureaus in the first place, which depends on your landlord or a rent reporting service.
Did this change the credit report requirement?
No. Lenders in the rollout use VantageScore 4.0 with a tri-merge credit report, the same three bureau report used before. This change is about which scoring model is applied, not about reducing the number of credit reports pulled.
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