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MassHousing announced that it has partnered with Esusu, a fintech company, to create a pilot program for rent reporting and rent relief in six Massachusetts rental housing communities.
The program aims to encourage the broader use of rent-reporting services among Massachusetts’ affordable housing operators and to test approaches to providing assistance for households that have missed rent payments. The participating developments and their residents will have access to the standard Esusu rent reporting platform that reports monthly on-time payment the three major credit bureaus. On-time rent payments can be reported for all adult household members, helping them build their credit scores and remove an obstacle to qualifying for a home mortgage in the future.
“MassHousing is excited to partner with Esusu in this pilot program with the goal of boosting credit scores for people who rent as a key to open doors to them for homeownership,” said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. “This is a tool that housing providers and agencies can use to confront disparities in credit scores between renters and homeowners and address systemic barriers to wealth building and homeownership. We are looking forward to assessing the impact of this pilot program and fostering new practices and opportunities in the rental housing ecosystem.”
All residents at a pilot site will be eligible to apply for Esusu’s rent stability program in partnership with Esusu’s Stable Home Fund. For households who cite a job loss as a reason for their rent relief request, MassHousing, upon approval, will pay 100 percent of the grant amount for up to 26 weeks.
MassHousing joins the likes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who have also utilized similar programs. Freddie Mac also utilized Esusu to create its program.
With credit reporting agencies historically not having access to rental unit payment or utility bill payment histories, it can be difficult for prospective lower-income homebuyers to meet mortgage credit requirements as well as build credit in general. On the national and local levels, efforts are being made to level this playing field with the creation of programs that help renters build credit when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.
