Whether you live in Hill, Stouffer, or an apartment in Spruce Hill, the rent you're already paying can build on-time credit history reported to the major credit bureaus. Less than $5 a month — and by commencement, 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-Penn 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 dorm payments and off-campus rent you're already making.
Rentaba connects to the housing payment you're already making and reports it as on-time credit activity — month after month.
Verify you're a Penn student, confirm your housing details, and pick a plan. Most students finish on their phone between classes.
Whether it's the Penn Bursar for on-campus housing or your landlord for off-campus, we connect securely 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 Penn.
Rentaba is designed to be a companion to the financial-wellness work Penn already does — through Financial Wellness @ Penn, Penn First Plus, the Wharton Pension Research Council, and Penn 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 Penn — 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 Penn Bursar 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 under $5/month, 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. This page was created for students who heard about us through Penn channels. Any formal program partnership will be announced through Penn Residential Services, Financial Wellness @ Penn, or Penn First Plus.
Rentaba reports the housing payments you're already making. Enroll once, and we'll back-report up to 24 months of eligible payments — meaning a Penn 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 Penn Residential Services or Financial Wellness @ Penn.
university@rentaba.co →