Fannie Mae to include rent payments in mortgage applicants’ credit history review

Intuitively, mortgage lenders would consider an applicant’s rent payment history as part of their decision. After all, someone who consistently pays for their housing on time as a renter would probably be more likely to pay their mortgage on time, too. But few landlords provide rent payment history to the credit reporting bureaus, and lenders who use automated underwriting systems to review loan applications had no way to include rents unless they opted for a manual credit review.