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# Renters Turn to Deposit Alternatives, Risking Long-Term Costs
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/renters-turn-to-deposit-alternatives-risking-long-term-costs/
- Published: 2026-06-06T16:10:53.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-06T16:10:53.000Z
- Description: Services like deposit alternatives and third-party guarantors target renters priced out of traditional upfront payments, but they replace a one-time cost with recurring fees and weaker tenant protections. Renters who can least afford it end up paying more over time.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-commerce, Fintech, payments, marketplace

Source: [NYT > Business](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/your-money/renting-security-deposit-alternatives.html?ref=adjacent.media) (paywall)

Services like deposit alternatives and third-party guarantors target renters priced out of traditional upfront payments, but they replace a one-time cost with recurring fees and weaker tenant protections. Renters who can least afford it end up paying more over time. This creates a two-tier market where landlords collect fees regardless—deposit or guarantee—while financially squeezed renters lose leverage on damage disputes and security refunds that traditional deposits nominally protect.