Committee reviews proposal for two-year pilot to report positive rental payments to credit bureaus

The Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee on April 29 considered a State Treasurer's Office proposal to create a two-year pilot program allowing participating landlords to have tenants' on-time rent payments reported to consumer credit reporting agencies.

The pilot, as presented by Becky Wasserman of the State Treasurer's Office, would contract with a third-party administrator, recruit up to 10 landlords and at least 100 tenants, and cover landlords' per-tenant fees during the two-year period. The office is seeking a $100,000 appropriation to fund administration and to pay the small monthly reporting fees for participating landlords during the pilot.

Wasserman said the treasurer's office studied the idea after a legislative request last year (Act 181) and "we would recommend being able to facilitate such a pilot." She told the committee the office modeled the proposal on a Colorado pilot and vendor practices elsewhere.

Committee members and witnesses pressed the proposal's limits and possible market effects. Senator Randy Brock raised concerns about selective reporting, saying "it is only reporting selectively those things that are positive," and warned that a system showing only positive rental payments could distort credit-file accuracy. Other members asked whether credit-reporting firms such…