Whether you live in Hill, Stouffer, or an apartment in Cupertino, Mountain View, Los Altos, or Sunnyvale, the rent you're already paying can build on-time credit history reported to the major credit bureaus. Less than $15 a quarter — and by graduation, up to two years on your file.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency — the body that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — issued a mandate requiring credit scoring models to recognize rent payment history. Translation: your monthly housing payment is finally being treated as the credit-worthy financial behavior it actually is.
In plain English: every on-time housing payment can now build a real credit history — the kind that decides whether you get approved for your first post-FHDA apartment, a phone plan in your own name, a car loan without a co-signer, and eventually a mortgage. But only if it's being reported.
That's what Rentaba does — for the on-campus housing at McClellan Terrace and off-campus rent you're already making.
Connect your bank account to Rentaba. We verify each payment every month and report it as on-time credit activity — month after month.
Verify you're a FHDA student, confirm your housing details, and pick a plan. Most students finish on their phone between classes.
Link the bank account you use to pay housing — for on-campus at McClellan Terrace or off-campus rent in Cupertino, Mountain View, Los Altos, or Sunnyvale. We verify each payment securely through Plaid without touching how or when you pay.
Each on-time payment becomes a positive tradeline on your credit report. You'll see progress in the app and in your actual credit file.
The average college graduate has a FICO score 45–65 points lower than the national average — which shows up as higher rates on auto loans, rejected apartment applications, bigger deposits on utilities, and now, harder mortgage approvals. Rentaba closes that gap while you're still at FHDA.
Rentaba is designed to be a companion to the financial-wellness work FHDA already does — through Residential Housing, Volz Company property operations, Financial Aid & Bursar, Basic Needs, and Career Services at Foothill and De Anza Career Services. It turns concepts like credit utilization, tradelines, and on-time history into something a student can watch happen in their own life — using a housing payment they're already making.
Audited controls on how we store, access, and transmit your financial data.
We report as a recognized data furnisher under the Fair Credit Reporting Act — and only on-time payments.
Student data is handled in line with the standards universities already require.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency — the body that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — issued a mandate requiring credit scoring models to count rent payment history. In plain English: the housing payments you're already making can now build the credit history that opens every door after FHDA — apartments, phone plans in your own name, car loans without a co-signer, and eventually a mortgage. But only if they're being reported. That's what Rentaba does, automatically, every month.
Yes. Rentaba supports both on-campus housing paid through the FHDA Bursar (Foothill / De Anza) and off-campus rent paid to a private landlord. We work with your existing payment — you don't have to change how or when you pay.
The opposite. The biggest reason young adults have low scores isn't bad credit — it's no credit. Rentaba reports only on-time payments, never missed or late ones. We add positive history to your file, which is exactly what scoring models reward.
No. Rentaba reports your housing payment as an on-time payment history — the same way a credit card would report an on-time payment. It does not add debt to your file.
Plans start at $14.95 per quarter, with retroactive reporting up to 24 months of past housing payments at enrollment. Cancel anytime — you keep the history you've already built.
Rentaba is an independent fintech building partnerships with universities and districts. This page was created for students who heard about us through FHDA channels. Any formal program partnership will be announced through FHDA Residential Housing, Volz Company property operations, or FHDA Financial Aid.
Rentaba reports the housing payments you're already making. Back-reporting up to 24 months of eligible payments available once enrolled — meaning an FHDA senior could walk across the commencement stage with two years of on-time credit history already on file.
We'll send a packet (brochure, FAQ, and curriculum-fit guide) for staff at Residential Housing or Financial Wellness @ FHDA.
university@rentaba.co →