Rease Announces "Report on Rent Payment History and Delinquency Rates" Supervised by Fumio Otake, a Leading Expert in Behavioral Economics

Rease Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yasunori Michinaka; hereinafter referred to as "Rease"), with the mission to "maximize individual credit value," has released a report on rent payment history and future delinquency risk, supervised by Fumio Otake (Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University, Chief Knowledge Officer at CoBe-Tech Inc.), a leading expert in behavioral economics.

This report demonstrated the potential for "past rent payment behavior history" to serve as a "new perspective for credit evaluation" that is independent of "static attributes" such as annual income and occupation.

Rease will continue to advance research to implement a system where daily, sincere behavioral achievements themselves are accumulated as objective "credit," rather than superficial attribute data such as occupation and title. To realize this concept, we are widely seeking partner companies for joint research on "credit evaluation."

Background of the Announcement: "Payment Ability" Independent of Income and Attributes

In November 2025, Rease entered into an advisory agreement with CoBe-Tech Inc., a venture company originating from Osaka University. Since then, Rease and Fumio Otake, Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University and Director of CoBe-Tech Inc., have repeatedly discussed how to achieve the mission of "maximizing individual credit value" from the perspective of behavioral economics. As the first outcome of this joint verification, a report quantitatively analyzing rent payment behavior and future delinquency risk has now been published.

In Europe and the United States, the integration of rent payment history into credit screening is accelerating. For example, in the U.S., Fannie Mae has officially incorporated rent payment history into its mortgage loan screening process, advancing its practical implementation. Furthermore, services like "Experian Boost" offered by Experian, which link individual bank accounts with their system to add rent and utility payment records to credit scores in real-time, are widely prevalent. In the UK, initiatives like the "Rental Exchange Initiative" and "Credit Ladder" utilize open banking to support credit building for young people.

On the other hand, in Japan's loan and rental screening, "static attribute information" such as annual income and place of employment remains heavily emphasized. Consequently, there has been a challenge in adequately evaluating individuals with fluctuating monthly incomes, such as freelancers with high annual incomes, or personal characteristics like "sincerity" demonstrated by making payments on time, using conventional screening standards.

Therefore, Rease conducted an analysis in Japan to determine whether the behavioral history of "paying rent on time each month" could serve as an objective indicator reflecting an individual's "planning ability" and "actual payment capacity."

Report Highlights (Summary of Research Findings)

Three Characteristics Indicated by "Monthly Rent Payments"

From a behavioral economics perspective, the ability to pay rent on time each month is thought to simultaneously reflect the following three latent characteristics:

1 The degree of present bias and procrastination tendency

2 The actual financial asset and liquidity situation overcoming income instability

3 The presence of commitment devices and financial management habits

"Two or More Delinquencies in the Initial Period" Increases Future Risk It was found that individuals who had "two or more rent delinquencies within the first 6 months" after moving in were at a higher risk of falling into serious, consecutive delinquencies in the future compared to those who did not.

"Daily Payment Behavior" as an Indicator of Credit The analysis indicated that "early rent payment behavior" has the potential to be a more accurate predictor of future delinquency risk than traditional attributes such as annual income and years of employment.

Link to Download the Report

d42693-75-7e45c6c508c865c9d98cda97e92951af.pdf

Explanatory Page (note) Where Lies the Key to Predicting Rent Delinquency? ~Understanding "Payment Habits" through Behavioral Economics~ https://news.rease.co.jp/n/n958a8a5b6787

Recruitment of Joint Research Partner Companies

Rease aims to realize a society where sincere daily behavioral achievements are accumulated as objective "credit," not just superficial attribute data such as occupation and title, and will continue to advance research. To implement this concept, we are widely seeking partner companies for demonstration and joint research on "credit evaluation."

For inquiries or consultations regarding demonstrations and joint research, please contact the inquiry desk below.

https://rease.co.jp/contact/

Comment from Yasunori Michinaka, Representative Director and CEO of Rease

The Japanese loan and rental screening systems have long relied on static past attributes such as "annual income" and "affiliated company." However, this system leaves challenges where individuals with actual payment ability and sincerity, such as freelancers and young people, are not fairly evaluated and cannot obtain appropriate housing opportunities.

The report released today with the significant support of Professor Otake has shown that the behavioral history of "paying rent on time daily" can be a fair indicator for measuring an individual's credit. We aim to "implement a new behavior-based evaluation model utilizing such indicators to realize our mission of 'maximizing individual credit value.' We await contact from partner companies who wish to conduct demonstrations and research on credit infrastructure with us."

Comment from Fumio Otake, Director and CKO of CoBe-Tech Inc. / Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University

From a behavioral economics perspective, the delay in rent payments is influenced by "present bias (procrastination tendency)" which prioritizes immediate convenience over future disadvantages, and the lack of "commitment devices" such as default-setting financial management or automatic execution through bank transfers to ensure payment.

In this verification, the behavioral signal of "two or more delinquencies in the initial 6 months" quantitatively confirmed the potential to foresee future risks that could not be captured by traditional attribute information. I look forward to further research developments.

About Rease Co., Ltd.

Rease is a CreditTech startup aiming to be a credit platform in a credit-based society (evaluation-based society) with a focus on real estate x finance, and develops and operates the SaaS-based rent guarantee support system "Yachin Hoshō Cloud." Utilizing its proprietary credit algorithm with over 200 items, it achieves multifaceted screening independent of conventional standards. By precisely evaluating the creditworthiness of residents, it minimizes risks for real estate management companies and owners, supporting more flexible and fair rental contracts.

Established: September 13, 2018

Representative: Yasunori Michinaka, Representative Director

Location: 7-9-16 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Nishi-Shinjuku Metro Building 6F

URL: https://rease.co.jp/

● SaaS-based rent guarantee support system "Yachin Hoshō Cloud": https://yachinhoshocloud.jp/

● Rent payment service "Fidii Payment": https://fidii.jp/