Rent Reporting Laws by State

In some states, yes. A small number of states now require covered landlords to offer residents the option of having positive-only rent payments reported to a credit bureau, with similar bills introduced in more states. As of today, there is no federal requirement, and rent reporting remains voluntary in most of the country.Where a requirement exists, the obligation is to make the offer, not to report.

Residents decide whether to participate, and a documented decline satisfies it. Coverage thresholds vary by state and depend on unit count and ownership structure, so check the current requirement for each state you operate in and confirm with counsel.

Rent reporting laws vary by state and typically depend on property size and property type. The main laws affecting multifamily housing include:

Maryland (SB 335): Landlords with six or more rental units must offer tenants the option to report positive rental payment history to consumer reporting agencies. Offers must be made by January 1, 2027, and at least annually thereafter. Tenants have a six-month re-enrollment restriction if they opt out of reporting.

California (AB 2747): Landlords with 15 or more units must offer tenants the option to report positive-only rent payments to credit bureaus, effective April 1, 2025. Offers must be made at lease signing and at least once annually. California also has SB 1157, which requires operators of subsidized multifamily units to provide rent reporting options.

Other states: Additional states have enacted or are considering rent reporting requirements. Requirements vary by state regarding property size thresholds, tenant notification, opt-in/opt-out procedures, and enrollment restrictions.

We recommend consulting your state's specific rental laws and working with a compliance partner to ensure you meet all applicable requirements for your properties.

It depends entirely on how the program is set up. Run internally, rent reporting is genuinely recurring work: producing a compliant offer, collecting written elections, re-offering to every resident annually, honoring stop requests and the six-month re-enrollment wait, keeping records for residents who decline, and handling disputes about reported data. In states with an offer requirement, that work is mandatory whether or not a single resident enrolls.

Run through a managed provider, most of it moves off-site. Residents enroll with the provider rather than through leasing staff, the provider maintains the election and decline records, tracks the annual re-offer, and takes resident questions and disputes directly.

Several states have enacted or are enacting rent reporting requirements for multifamily properties. These include California (AB 2747), Maryland (SB 335), New York, Missouri, and Illinois. Additional states are considering similar legislation. Requirements vary by state regarding property size thresholds, effective dates, and compliance timelines. We recommend checking your state's specific laws to determine what applies to your properties.

Currently, there is no federal mandate requiring rent reporting. However, proposed federal legislation (HR 4680) would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to establish programs encouraging multifamily borrowers with federally backed loans to offer tenants the option to report positive rent payments. For now, rent reporting requirements are established at the state and local level.

Positive-only reporting means that only on-time or timely rent payments are reported to credit bureaus—not late payments or delinquencies. This protects tenants by allowing them to build credit through their rental payment history without the risk of negative reporting if they miss a payment. Most state rent reporting laws specifically require positive-only reporting to ensure tenants benefit from participating in the program.