Function

• Actually leasing property or goods affects your credit, because the lender reports it to the credit rating agencies like it would any other loan, according to Lease Guide. Rent on your apartment does not count, even though you have a leasing agreement. If you miss a payment on your car lease, it will show up on your credit report. Missed rent payments will just show up on a rental history.
  
  

Considerations

• Miss enough payments on any lease, even an apartment, and it will show up on your credit report when the lessor sends the account to a collections agency or gets a judgment against you, according to Experian. Technically, you can report any contract, but some creditors or lessors, especially apartment landlords, utility companies and cell phone providers, do not meet the reporting requirements of the major credit bureaus.
  
  

Time Frame

• Negative information, such as a missed lease payment, stays on your credit report for seven years, according to Experian. You should inform your lender of any hardship and ask to work out a payment plan acceptable to both of you. Missing lease payments or ignoring them will just make it harder to lease or obtain credit in the future.
  
  

Warning

• As of 2010, a few credit reporting agencies use nontraditional payments to calculate your credit score. Even if your missed payments do not show up on your consumer credit report, they could show up on these alternative reports and prevent you from obtaining utilities or an apartment.