Alternative credit is used when a customer does not have any credit reporting on the credit report. The lender will use alternative credit to show the investor you pay your bills in a satisfactory manner. . Acceptable alternative credit includes rent payments, utility bills and insurance payments. The credit must be in your name and must show at least 12 months satisfactory payments. You will need to provide at least three sources of credit. Not every mortgage lender accepts alternative credit so you will need to confirm with your lender that alternative credit is acceptable to them. Alternative credit is not acceptable to overcome bad credit. If you have bad credit,