The short version
Every rent reporting service in Canada does the same core job — verifies your rent and sends it to a credit bureau — but they differ on three things that matter: which bureau, whether your landlord has to participate, and what else you get for the fee. Here’s how the main options line up at the time of writing; check each provider for current terms.
The main rent reporting options
Borrowell Rent Advantage
Tenant-side reporting to Equifax for roughly $8–$10 a month, with an optional one-time fee to backdate up to 24 months. No landlord sign-up needed. It’s the most widely known, and it pairs with Borrowell’s free score. It reports rent only.
Chexy
Lets you pay rent with a credit card (for a fee) and reports the payment to Equifax for around $5 a month. Useful if you want card rewards on rent; it doesn’t report utilities and there’s no backdate at the time of writing.
FrontLobby
The only major service reporting to both Equifax and TransUnion, with a backdate option — but it’s landlord-initiated. If your landlord won’t enrol, you can’t use it.
Landlord Credit Bureau
Also landlord-side, reporting to Equifax. Same limitation: your landlord has to participate.
Zenbase
Rent-splitting (pay in two halves) with reporting to TransUnion. Note that TransUnion keeps rent data separate from its main score, so the score impact is limited.
TenantPay
Rent payment platform that reports to Equifax, priced per payment. Depends on your landlord accepting payments through it.
KOHO rent reporting
Bundled with a KOHO account, reporting to Equifax. Tied to the KOHO ecosystem.
What none of them do
Rent reporting adds one line to your file: rent. It doesn’t add a tradeline of the kind lenders weight most, it doesn’t give you a card, it doesn’t report utilities (with rare exceptions), and it doesn’t tell you when a balance elsewhere is about to cost you points. That’s fine if your file already has those things. If it doesn’t — and most renters looking for rent reporting have thin files — you’ll be adding two or three more subscriptions to get there.
How AvenaCredit compares
AvenaCredit’s Build ($34.99/mo) and Boost ($84.99/mo) plans include rent and utility reporting to Equifax, tenant-side, with no landlord sign-up. Boost backdates up to two years of rent at no extra charge. On top of that, every plan reports a membership tradeline — $1,000 on Starter, $1,500 on Build, $3,000 on Boost — as an on-time payment every month, includes monthly balance alerts, a dashboard with tips and the Rebuild Your Credit ebook, and can add the AvenaCredit Secured Card as a second tradeline ($9.99/mo, free with Boost). Boost also includes 1-on-1 credit guidance. Full plan comparison and pricing. Prices are in Canadian dollars and there’s no credit check.
Which one should you pick?
- You only want rent on your file, cheaply, and already have cards and loans reporting: a standalone rent reporter is the right tool.
- Your landlord is already on FrontLobby or LCB: use it — it’s effectively free to you and reports to both bureaus.
- You rent and your file is thin, damaged or empty: a membership that adds rent history and a tradeline and a card gets you to an approvable file in one subscription. See how AvenaCredit rent reporting works.
Common questions
Does rent reporting work if I pay cash or e-transfer?
Tenant-side services (Borrowell, AvenaCredit) verify from your bank records, so e-transfer and pre-authorized debit both work. Cash is harder to verify; ask the provider.
Which bureau should rent go to?
Equifax places rent on the report as a tradeline that can affect the score; TransUnion keeps it separate. For most Canadian lending decisions, Equifax is where it counts. See Equifax vs. TransUnion.
Can I use two rent reporters at once?
You can, but there’s little benefit unless one reports to a bureau the other doesn’t.
Members gain an average of 71 points after 12 months. See Build and Boost.