Why does my landlord need to know how much my student payments were ten years ago? Or what sort of car I drove then, and how long it took me to pay it off? Or that I once owed money to deplorable-sex-dungeon.com, or whatever other arbitrary thing they find offensive?
if I were* a creditor, I'd find it pretty valuable to know if a prospective lender was a deadbeat. just trying to find a middle ground here. my score is awful because I never borrow any money. i think that should be qualitatively different to a potential creditor than someone who doesn't pay their bills.
for some number of years that meant traveling (car rentals, hotels) was a huge effort. getting leases on apartments was easier because of references. a mortgage was possible in the seedy 2000s, but not any longer.
Things renters can and will do include not pay rent, incurring several months (or worse) while being evicted, trashing the house.. if they behave badly or just can't quite keep up with timely payments and you have to rollover to a new renter that is pretty expensive, too.
This isn't to say credit scores are perfect, but they are so effective a predictor of conscientiousness, insurance companies rely on them to predict someone's likelihood of a car accident - on average, they work.
Sure, could I deduce that $1200 a month is for your rent? And that $250 is your student debt repayment because you've been paying it for 10 years?
Anywho, there are different ways to present your credibility as a debt repayor without leaking too much. Not that I'd mind giving out detailed information, as long as they ask my permission first.