Companies that already offer ways to allow rent payments to count toward credit scores are welcoming the plan by the federal government to make the practice more widespread.
Andrew Graham, chief executive of Borrowell, says he was pleased to see the government move forward on what is an important way to help consumers boost their score.
He says open banking will be an important part of the program succeeding, and in the meantime is calling on banks to help make the data more accessible.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that there’s something fundamentally unfair about paying $2,000 a month for rent, while those paying the same for a mortgage get equity and build their credit score.
Elizabeth Mulholland, chief executive of charity Prosper Canada, says the plan could be helpful, but it’s important people can choose to opt in or not since it could hurt some credit scores.
The Canadian Bankers Association said in a statement that it works collaboratively with government to explore new ways to serve Canadians and will assess the impact of the new policy as details are revealed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024
This is a corrected story. A previous version had the wrong day of the week for Trudeau’s announcement.