Rising rents are pushing more Americans toward buy-now-pay-later and payday-style loans just to cover housing, and financial experts say that's bad news for anyone who falls behind.

• Rent has grown faster than paychecks for years, and inflation is squeezing people's budgets even more, so some renters are splitting rent payments through buy-now-pay-later plans offered by their apartment complexes.
• Those plans carry real costs — one renter paid monthly fees that added up to nearly $400 a year just to spread out rent.
• Riskier payday-style loans can charge interest rates near 300%, and most of these loans never get fully paid back, trapping people in growing debt.
• Falling behind on these loans leads to higher fees, debt collection, and lasting damage to credit scores.
• Experts suggest safer options first: ask landlords directly for a payment plan, call 211 for rental assistance programs, and build up small savings toward a cushion of one month's rent.

Outlook: As rents keep outpacing incomes, more renters are likely to turn to these high-cost loans unless rental assistance and landlord flexibility become easier to find.