Apr 3, 2026
You've landed a job, you have money in the bank, and you're ready to sign a lease. But in Canada, none of that matters if you don't have a credit score.
In an effort to find responsible renters, most landlords now require prospective tenants to submit an application along with a credit history and references. For younger Canadians, newcomers to Canada as well as international students and professionals this presents a big challenge.
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Since landlords rely on credit bureau reports from Equifax and TransUnion as part of their due diligence, not having a financial history often means struggling to find good, quality rentals. Settle, a new Ontario fintech, is trying to fix that (1).
What Settle does differently
Settle is a new housing site that offers newcomers to Canada — and anyone struggling with little or no financial history — a way to qualify for rental leases using real-time financial data instead of a Canadian credit score.
The company's rent guarantee and credit-building products underwrite rental risk through Open Banking — a secure framework that allows individuals and businesses to share financial data from traditional banks with Settle using secure technology, such as APIs. By removing the need for a credit score, Settle is able to provide landlords with a written 12-month guarantee and help tenants to build a credit score by reporting on-time payments to major credit bureaus starting with the tenant's very first lease.
Rather than asking how long you've held a Canadian credit card, Settle evaluates income velocity, savings patterns and expenditure volatility through Open Banking technology, with same-day results.
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What does Settle cost — and who pays?
Settle launched in early 2026, and uses Open Banking to assess a tenant's income and spending patterns as an alternative to a Canadian credit score. Landlords get a written 12-month rent guarantee and Settle reports on-time payments to Equifax and TransUnion. But tenants need to pay 5% of monthly rent to access the service (landlords and agents pay nothing.)
Not the only option to build a credit history as a renter
Settle launched in 2026, but other programs that offer rental payments as a way to build a credit history already exist in Canada.
FrontLobby: Canada's pioneer in rent reporting, FrontLobby allows both landlords and tenants to report verified rent payments to Equifax and, as of January 2026, TransUnion, with landlord delinquencies reportedly dropping by as much as 92% on the platform. Tenants need to pay a flat monthly fee, while landlords typically pay for screening and reporting features.
Borrowell Rent Advantage: This program lets tenants connect a bank account or credit card to report rent payments directly to Equifax, with the added option to backfill up to 24 months of past payments, for a fee, to get an immediate credit boost. Borrowell offers a money-back guarantee if the credit score does not increase after at least 12 months of reporting.
SingleKey: This is a landlord-facing platform that screens more than 15,000 rental applications monthly and includes a tenant-side credit-building feature — renters pay $8 per month to have payments reported, while landlords pay $30 for a tenant screening report.
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Chexy: This program routes rent payments through its platform via credit card or bank account and offers an option to report those payments to Equifax through its Credit Builder feature, while also letting tenants earn credit card rewards, such as Aeroplan points, on rent. Transaction fees are 1.75% for credit card payments, and the platform sends payment to the landlord via Interac e-Transfer or pre-authorized debit.
Neobanc: Neobanc lets tenants pay rent and earn stacked cashback rewards — both from their credit card and from Neobanc's own cashback layer — while optionally reporting payments to Equifax with no landlord involvement required. Interac payments are free; credit card payments carry a 1.75% fee for 1% cashback or a 2.5% fee for 5% stacked cashback held for 12 months.
City Lending Centers: CLC is a straightforward, low-cost rent reporting service that charges $5 per month to report on-time payments to credit bureaus, with landlord verification required each month. A one-time additional fee unlocks retroactive reporting for tenants who want to backfill past payment history.
Read more: The ultra-rich are bailing on volatile stocks right now — these 4 shockproof assets are their new safe havens
What to do if you're in this situation
If you're a newcomer or recently returned to Canada and facing rental barriers, here's where to start:
- Ask your property manager or real estate agent if they accept Settle guarantees or any other rent reporting services
- Connect directly with any of these service providers to apply or check costs and sign up directly, if available
- Confirm that rent payments will be reported monthly and clarify if costs or other actions are required to get this service
Regardless of how good you are at managing your money, the credit score system wasn't built for people who rely on cash or have built a financial history in another country. Tools that allow rent payments to build one’s credit history can help newcomers and those with little financial history appear as favourable candidates to landlords, bankers and lenders. The goal is to start soon, keep costs low and pay on time.
Article sources
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Fintech.ca (1)
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Romana King is the Senior Editor at Money.ca. She writes for various publications, and her book -- House Poor No More: 9 Steps That Grow the Value of Your Home and Net Worth -- continues to be an Amazon bestseller. Since its publication in November 2021, this book has won five awards, including the New York CPA Society's Excellence in Financial Journalism (EFJ) Book Award in 2022.
