Daniel
From Brazil. Approved for his first NYC apartment without a cosigner.
Results vary.
Rentaba for international students
Arrive with no credit file. Leave with one.
You can start without a Social Security Number or ITIN. We establish your credit file with the bureaus from your other identifying information, report your housing payments every month, and update the file when you get an SSN.
No SSN needed · No credit check · Cancel anytime
Your first year here
Month 1
Enroll with your passport
Month 2
First housing payment reported
Month 6
Six months of on-time history
SSN arrives
File updated; nothing lost
Illustrative timeline. Individual results vary.
- Verified through Plaid
- Reports to major credit bureaus
- Metro 2 format
- FCRA furnisher standards
- On-time payments only
- Philadelphia, PA
Why it matters
In the U.S., no credit file costs you before you’ve spent a dollar.
Cosigners
Landlords ask for a cosigner when they can’t see a credit history. Many international students don’t have one in the U.S.
Deposits
No file often means a larger security deposit, or a utility and phone deposit on top.
Time
Credit history takes months to build. Every month without a file is a month you can’t get back.
<5%
of renters have their rent reported to a credit bureau
Source: Fannie Mae, 2021
4 in 5
renters whose rent was reported saw their score increase
Source: Experian RentBureau, 2025
Individual results vary.
The mechanism
Three steps. No SSN required for any of them.
Step 1
Enroll without an SSN
Sign up with your passport or government ID. We verify your identity through Plaid. No SSN, no ITIN, no credit check.
Step 2
Your file is established
We report your on-time housing payments to the bureaus every month using your other identifying information. Your credit file starts with your first report.
Step 3
Add your SSN later
When your SSN arrives, add it in your dashboard and we update your file with the bureaus. Nothing you’ve built is lost.
Member preview
See your first year before you sign up.
Three quick questions — your rent, how long you’ve lived there, and that you’re a student — and we’ll walk you through exactly what gets reported, and when. No SSN to start. No credit check. No score promises.
Walk through my first yearA passport or government ID
Used once, to verify it’s you.
Your housing agreement or lease
Dorm contract, university housing agreement, or an off-campus lease.
A U.S. bank account you pay housing from
Connected read-only through Plaid. At partner schools we verify with your university directly, so there’s nothing to connect.
From the founder
A note from the founder
I came to the United States as an international student with no credit file and no idea what that would cost me. Leases wanted a cosigner I didn’t have. Cards wanted a history I couldn’t build yet. And the housing I paid for every month, on time, counted for nothing. I built Rentaba so the next student doesn’t start from zero. You can enroll without a Social Security Number, we establish your file with the bureaus from your first semester, and when your SSN arrives, your history is already there.
Students who started without an SSN.
“As an international student from India, I had no credit and no Social Security Number. Rentaba gave me a real way to start building credit in the U.S. early, and now my rental history is actually mine. I wish I had this my first year.”
Free guides
Everything else about starting life here, answered.
Eighty plain-English guides written for international students. No account needed.
Can international students build credit history in the USRead Do international students need an SSN to open a bank accountRead Is credit history required to rent housing as an international studentRead Do international students need a guarantor to rent housingRead How long does it take international students to build US creditRead How do international students pay rent in the USRead Can international students set up utilities without US creditRead Can international students get home internet without credit historyRead
Browse all 80 guides Student plans
Plans that follow your academic year.
Quarterly
$19.95 / quarter
- Try it for one term
- Pause between terms
- Email support
Semester
$29.95 / semester
- Fall or spring, billed once
- Reported every month of the term
- Email support
Best value
Yearly
$49.95 / year
- Covers the whole academic year
- Priority support
- Price locked for 12 months
Add-on
Retro Boost
Up to 24 months of past on-time housing payments on your current lease. Available in your dashboard after sign-up.
$49.95 one-time
At partner schools, your partner rate is applied automatically when you sign up with your school email.
Questions international students ask.
Do I need a Social Security Number or ITIN to sign up?
No. You can enroll with a passport or government ID. We establish your credit file with the bureaus from your other identifying information, and you can add an SSN or ITIN later from your dashboard.
Does my visa type matter?
No. If you pay for housing in the U.S. and can verify your identity, you can enroll. We never report your visa or immigration status to anyone; we report on-time housing payments only.
I don’t have a U.S. bank account yet.
You’ll need one to pay housing from, unless your school is a Rentaba partner, in which case we verify your housing directly with the university. Most students open a checking account in their first week; our guides walk through how to do it without an SSN.
What happens when I get an SSN?
Add it in your dashboard. We update your file with the bureaus, and the history you’ve already built stays with you.
What happens if I leave the U.S.?
You can withdraw consent at any time. We stop reporting and close the account at the bureaus; the on-time history already reported stays on your file. If you come back and rent again, you can re-enroll.
Will this help me rent without a cosigner?
A credit file with on-time housing history is what landlords look for when they ask for a cosigner. We can’t promise any landlord’s decision, and results vary, but that history is yours to show.
Which credit bureaus do you report to?
Rentaba furnishes rental data to Experian RentBureau and is an approved TransUnion data furnisher; TransUnion reporting begins once onboarding is complete. (Last updated: October 2026)
How do I cancel?
From your dashboard, any time. If you withdraw consent, we close the account at the bureaus. The on-time history already reported stays on your file.
Your first semester here can be the start of your credit history.
Start without an SSNNo SSN · No credit check · 2 minutes