# Rent Reporting Launch Checklist

Everything to settle before your first file goes live, from program policy and consent to the field-level data you need in the export.

- [ ] **Decide positive-only vs full-file reporting** — Choose whether you report only on-time payments or full payment history including delinquencies, and apply the same policy across the entire portfolio rather than per-resident.
- [ ] **Capture written resident opt-in / consent** — Collect and store each resident's consent to report, with the date and scope, so no one appears in the file without a documented opt-in.
- [ ] **Add a furnishing disclosure to the lease or addendum** — Disclose that rent payment history will be reported to consumer reporting agencies, and how a resident can opt out or dispute, in the lease or a signed addendum.
- [ ] **Map each lease to the right tradeline structure** — Decide how leases become tradelines: typically one tradeline per financially responsible resident, with co-signers and guarantors handled by the correct ECOA association code.
- [ ] **Set the account type for a lease obligation** — Pick the Metro 2 account type used for rental/lease reporting and apply it consistently so the tradeline is interpreted correctly by each bureau.
- [ ] **Define how security deposits are handled** — Confirm that deposits are not reported as balances or amounts owed; a deposit-only ledger should not generate a balance-bearing tradeline.
- [ ] **Establish date-opened logic for move-ins** — Set the tradeline date opened to the lease start / move-in date, and account for mid-lease move-ins, renewals, and transfers between units.
- [ ] **Define delinquency and status-code rules** — Agree on how late, charged-off, and skipped accounts are staged and aged so the status sequence is valid and never reports a record past the FCRA obsolescence window.
- [ ] **Confirm resident identity completeness** — Ensure each reportable resident has the identifiers the bureaus expect (name, current address, and the identity fields required for matching) before generation.
- [ ] **Register subscriber codes for each bureau** — Obtain or confirm the subscriber/member code and SFTP endpoint for each bureau you intend to report to (Equifax/RentBureau pathway, Experian, TransUnion, Innovis).
- [ ] **Run the first file in sandbox/test mode** — Generate and submit a test file before any live furnishing so structure and codes are confirmed without touching real consumer files.
- [ ] **Set the monthly reporting cadence and dispute process** — Schedule recurring monthly generation and decide who handles disputes and corrections (including dispute/AUD handling) once residents see the tradeline.

---
From the Metro 2 Furnisher Launchpad — https://metro2.switchlabs.dev/launchpad