Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Accept VantageScore Credit Model Incorporating Rental Payment History

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finalized a rule change last month that allows them to accept mortgages underwritten with a credit score model incorporating on-time rental payments. U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte announced on April 22 that the enterprises were expanding a pilot to let mortgage lenders use VantageScore ratings to assess borrower creditworthiness in addition to or instead of FICO scores.

7 million Americans to boost their credit score above 620. In a study VantageScore conducted on 600,000 people last year, about 10 percent of the 77 million credit-relevant renters in the country would benefit from updating the credit score, resulting in a score of at least 620 and making them mortgage-eligible under current GSE guidelines.

1 million households and $777 billion in new mortgage volume. 7 percent predictive lift. VantageScore’s model improves risk prediction by identifying up to 11 percent more defaults in the riskiest score ranges.

Young consumers’ average credit scores rise by 67 points when rental payment history is included. Some consumers see credit score boosts of as much as 100 points when rental payment history is included, said Rikard Bandebo, VantageScore Chief Economist. The model "allows borrowers to demonstrate responsible financial behavior that legacy credit scoring models currently overlook," Bandebo said.

Only about 13 percent of renters benefited from positive rental payment history in their credit reports last year. California, Colorado, and New York have enacted programs for rent reporting. Nine other states have considered legislation for rent reporting.

VantageScore is a scoring model developed by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They operate VantageScore through a joint venture called VantageScore Solutions LLC. VantageScore’s trended data takes into account rental and utility payment history reported to the bureaus.

FICO now considers positive and negative rental payment history reported to the agencies in its FICO 10T. Pennsylvania-based mortgage lender Newrez originated the first $10 million in loans using this rental-payment data. Bob Johnson, head of originations at Newrez, said the process could run very similar to its normal lending process and "validated" the idea that a new credit score model can be applied using the same processes.

"For consumers, the takeaway is straightforward: Consistent on-time payment behavior across a wider range of obligations can now show up in a credit score in ways it often did not under the legacy models," Johnson said. Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage announced on April 29 that it would begin accepting both FICO and VantageScore.

Fannie Mae provided $116 billion in liquidity to 385,000 households in the first quarter, which refers to Q1 2026.

The National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association applauded the move. com, said the change could make a difference for freelancers, self-employed households, gig workers, or young people and immigrants with good, reliable cash flow but a thin credit file. Fannie Mae headquarters is in Washington, DC.