WA bid to report on-time rent payments to credit bureaus won’t proceed

A proposal to help Washington tenants boost their credit scores when they pay rent on time is dead after missing a key legislative deadline Tuesday.

Senate Bill 6212 and its companion measure House Bill 2323 would have required landlords to report on-time rental payments to credit agencies if renters request the reporting. The bill would not have required landlords to report late payments.

Tuesday was the legislature’s final day to pass many bills in the chamber in which they were introduced. Neither the House nor Senate versions of the rent-reporting bill passed before that deadline.

Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, who sponsored the proposal, said in a text message Wednesday the bill “needed more work.” 

Supporters, including the union representing tens of thousands of state workers, argued the legislation would give renters a leg up as they struggle to build their credit, buy homes or get affordable car loans. While homeowners get credit for their mortgage payments, most renters’ timely payments don’t affect their credit score. 

Landlords opposed the bill, taking issue with the cost or arguing they should also report late payments.

Some landlords do already report rental payments using third-party services in hopes it will encourage renters to pay on time. 

The cost of those services varies. Landlord advocates told lawmakers one service requires a $3,500 setup fee, plus monthly costs. Spokane-based CredHub does not have a setup fee and charges landlords between $1 and $3 per unit per month, with a minimum of $250 per month, said co-founder Chris Dukelow. Property owners sometimes cover that cost and other times pass that cost on to tenants.

“It’s important to get more people reporting their payments to credit bureaus so they can build credit, but we wanted to ensure the costs were modest and just had enough questions that I didn’t feel comfortable continuing with the bill,” Shewmake said. 

Shewmake said she planned to do more research before deciding whether to introduce the idea again next year.