Security deposits vs Surety Bonds

[Jacob Morgan]

I first became aware of surety bonds when signing a rental lease at a large apartment community in one of our country's overpriced coastal cities and was presented with a choice - pay the customary one month rent equivalent for a security deposit, or pay less than $200 for a surety bond which would pay the landlord for damages at the end of the tenancy. Not wanting to part with my precious cash, I opted for the surety bond. 

Today, I read an article in Curbed about the rise in these bonds and their adoption as a tool for making housing more affordable, especially in the more expensive cities where rent+deposit could run you from $3000-$4000 for even lower end apartments, effectively making it impossible for many renters to come up with the funds to sign a lease. 

https://www.curbed.com/2019/11/21/20976075/apartment-for-rent-tenant-security-deposit-insurance

Also, politicos are jumping on this and addressing the potentially long delay in transitioning to this by sponsoring legislation that would make it mandatory for landlords to offer this choice, and to not exclude the bonds as an option.

I'd prefer to steer clear of ideological opinion responses about big government vs socialism here - but I would like to hear your thoughts on the material ways that security bonds would affect us as landlords. Some questions I have are:

Will they cover what we need them to? Will we have a harder time receiving reimbursement from the admin company for damages? How much substantiation would be needed and how long would that take to receive payment? Is there any upside at all for us?

Thanks for your input.