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On July 8, 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a historic change: the official inclusion of VantageScore 4.0 into the single-family mortgage underwriting process, adding a prominent and modern source of rental data for lenders. Effective immediately at the time of that announcement, this policy marked a transformative moment - one that has been decades in the making, and one that Esusu has worked tirelessly toward since its founding.
Since 1995, when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopted the Classic FICO® score as the standard for mortgage underwriting, that model has played a critical role in helping lenders assess risk and expand access to credit across the country. It has served the financial system for decades, but like any system, it was never perfect and required iteration. Nearly 45 million people, many of them immigrants, renters, young adults, and individuals from underserved communities, remained credit invisible or credit thin. Not because they lacked financial capability or responsibility, but because their histories did not fit neatly into traditional scoring models.
The inclusion of rental data into mortgage underwriting changes that trajectory. By incorporating rent payment history into models like VantageScore 4.0, mortgage underwriting can better reflect how people actually manage their financial lives, rewarding on-time payments that previously went unrecognized.
This shift represents a profound change in how creditworthiness is assessed and helps unlock access to the American Dream for countless families. Just as importantly, it affirms a core belief behind Esusu: that no matter where you come from, the color of your skin, or your financial identity, those factors should never determine your opportunities to succeed.
Where Do We Go From Here? The Work Continues
Esusu enthusiastically celebrates this moment, but this is not the finish line. The critical work of implementation is ongoing.
Lenders now have a path to adopt VantageScore 4.0 and rental data more broadly, including retooling systems and processes to support this shift at scale. This is not a time for complacency. The real value of this policy change lies in how quickly and comprehensively it is embraced across the mortgage ecosystem.
Equally important is the need to scale the collection and reporting of rental data itself. Today, still less than one in five rental payment records are reflected in the credit system, leaving a significant gap between how people actually pay their bills and what shows up in their credit files. To close that gap, landlords and renters must be empowered to participate in rent reporting programs that are built for positive impact.
Supportive public policy plays a crucial role in that effort. Legislation such as California’s AB 2747, which requires many landlords to offer tenants the option to have positive rental payment information reported to consumer reporting agencies, is one example of how states can help accelerate nationwide progress on rent reporting.
Esusu’s commitment is to keep working collaboratively with bipartisan stakeholders across cities, counties, states, the federal government, and the private sector to integrate rental data into the underwriting process at scale, so that the benefits of this policy reach the people and communities who have been left out for far too long.
A Vision Realized… And a New Chapter Begins
The FHFA’s decision to bring VantageScore 4.0 into the mortgage underwriting system is more than a regulatory update; it is the realization of a long-term vision to build a more inclusive financial system, one where everyone has a fair opportunity to build credit, gain financial stability, and create generational wealth.
But the mission is far from over. As this new chapter unfolds, we remain focused on:
- Driving adoption of rent reporting and modern credit models across lenders and partners;
- Expanding access to rent reporting for renters and property owners, especially in historically underserved communities;
- Ensuring that rental data becomes a foundational part of financial infrastructure, not an optional add-on.
Onward - with hope, purpose, and an unshakable belief in the promise of the American Dream.
Co-Founder