So back when I rented, it was only two landlords and only three years and it was fine, so I was spared the slumlord experience. In fact, my second landlords were a very nice couple, and when I got laid off they actually waived that months rent to help me get sorted.

However those slumlords do exist, trying to evict in face of rent controls, being stingy with maintenance. They however still may be cheaper than a 30 year mortgage, especially if they have no tenant. A tenant might face an aggressive rate hike with the landlord betting they don’t want to move out, losing the price advantage relatively quickly. Ultimately if a residence is empty, the owner is aware the tenants are likely cross shopping properties they could mortgage instead, so they have to be somewhat competitive then. So they are very happy when the real estate market holes prices because they can extract higher rents from the property they aren’t having to buy in current market conditions. They aren’t saints and may treat their tenants like crap, but they are subject to price competition, depending on the market they are in.