Congress Targets ‘Rent Now, Pay Later’ Services

A congressional Democrat is pressing the nation's top consumer-finance regulator to investigate a fast-growing corner of the rental market: "rent now, pay later" services that let tenants split their rent into installments, with fees and interest attached.

Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, the youngest member of Congress, wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on July 1 asking it to scrutinize companies including Flex, Livble, and Affirm, media outlet The Hill reported. Frost argued that the products, marketed as innovative help for struggling renters, often more closely resemble repackaged payday loans.

How the products work

Flex charges a monthly subscription plus 1% of the total rent. Its users have a median credit score of 604 and often work more than one job, the company told the Associated Press. Livble charges a flat fee of $30 to $50 depending on when a renter splits the payment, plus a $15 late fee if a balance goes unpaid for 45 days. Affirm has also been trialing a version of the service.

Frost singled out Livble, which was acquired by the property-software firm RealPage in 2025 and folded into its platform. He argued that such deals let lenders embed themselves in rental-payment systems to reach renters who are already stretched. The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why the products are spreading

The backdrop is affordability. With the national median rent near $1,930 and wages lagging rent growth in much of the country, more tenants are reaching for any tool that helps them cover the first of the month. It is the same pressure that has renters leaning on credit cards, cosigners, and larger deposits. The median 604 credit score of Flex's users sits squarely in subprime territory, the group most exposed to fees and most likely to be turned down for a standard lease, a challenge we cover in our guide to renting with bad credit.

States are already moving

California is out ahead. Assembly member Tina McKinnor introduced A.B. 2350 in February to cap late fees on rent-now-pay-later plans, limit repayment to two installments, and require clear, multilingual disclosures, along with restrictions on advertising a 0 percent APR. A housing-justice advocate backing the bill warned the products expose working people to risk through dubious credit reporting, while a landlord group countered that restrictions could strip renters of short-term liquidity and push some toward eviction.

The bigger fight over rent

Frost's letter lands amid a broader push in Congress on a bipartisan housing bill aimed at lowering rents by expanding supply and adding renter protections, which President Trump has so far declined to sign. For tenants, the practical question is narrower: whether a product that promises to smooth out rent is a lifeline or a trap. Anyone weighing one should first understand what actually happens if you cannot pay rent and check that the rent fits their budget in the first place using the RentDataNow affordability calculator.

What renters should watch

Before signing up, tenants should add up the subscription, per-payment, and late fees and compare them to the cost of a credit card or a conversation with the landlord about a payment plan. A tool that turns one month's shortfall into a recurring fee can deepen the hole it promises to fill. The steadier fix is making sure rent is a manageable share of income to begin with, the subject of our breakdown of how much of your income should go to rent.

Sources

Reporting, letter details, and quotes: The Hill, Frost seeks CFPB investigation on rent now, pay later (Ashleigh Fields, July 2026), which cites the Associated Press. National rent figure: RentDataNow, June 2026, anchored to the Zillow Observed Rent Index.