Although making late housing payments can damage the credit of homeowners just as much as it damages the credit of renters, historically only homeowners have been able to build positive credit histories when they pay on time. Today, more than one-third of Americans rent their homes, a ratio that has increased since the start of the financial crisis. Rent reporting programs offer renters the opportunity to include on-time payments as valid trade lines on traditional consumer credit reports. The emergence of this system could provide millions of renters with the chance to build credit without taking on additional debt or incurring the burden of an additional monthly expense.