A rent reporting service popular with tenants has partnered with global credit referencing giant Equifax to help renters improve their credit scores.

CreditLadder, which already has the UK’s other big reference agency Experian on board, will now begin reporting tenants’ monthly rental payments to Equifax’s credit referencing system.

The London-based online service, which offers its service to tenants for free, recently launched a referencing service for landlords and letting agents, and was the first platform of its kind to offer a rent reporting service and the first to employ Open Banking technology.

This enables tenants to give it permission to anonymously read their bank accounts and detect when their rent payments are made to a landlord.

CreditLadder can look back into a tenant’s payment records and find out whether their rent has been paid on time and in full, helping landlords and letting agents gauge their reliability, as an additional referencing check service.

Huge lift

“The inclusion of rental data in credit assessments is a huge lift to improve financial inclusion and fairer access to the right financial products,” says Janice Rudd, Data Director at Equifax (left).

“Renters who make full and timely monthly payments should see a significant benefit in proving their ability to repay a commitment, just like mortgage payers. We’re pleased to work with CreditLadder to unlock better financial outcomes for consumers and lenders alike.”

Sheraz Dar, CEO at CreditLadder.co.uk, says: “CreditLadder’s mission is to deliver financial fairness to the UK’s millions of tenants, helping them access the credit they need, for example when they want to buy their own home.”

Read more: does rent reporting help tenants?