 TITLE: What to Do if You Can’t Afford to Pay Rent CONTENT: Can Missing Rent Payments Affect Credit?\n----------------------------------------\nA missed rent payment on its own won't directly be reflected in your credit report. You could experience a credit score impact, however, if you continue to miss payments and your landlord decides to send the missed payments to collections.\nA damaged credit score could create bigger challenges down the road because companies often look at your credit history to decide whether to do business with you. Your credit also impacts other things, too, like your ability to finance a car, get a mortgage, obtain utility services and find a loan.\nNot only that, your landlord could add your missed payments and eviction (if it comes to that) to your rental history report, which is a document landlords may review when screening tenants who submit rental applications. Landlords prefer tenants who have a solid history of on-time rent payments, and having missed payments or worse in your rental history can make it harder to find a place.\nIf you take action now, no matter what happens, you'll be more likely to be prepared for changes ahead. END