[wongarsu]

It can be a mutually beneficial relationship: you want to live somewhere, but with the flexibility to be able to move on relatively short notice with minimal hassle, and without all the work, capital requirements and risk that comes with owning a house or condo. Somebody else owns an apartment building, and is already taking care of maintenance, paperwork etc. A perfect match.

The problem in the current market is that in many places there's far more demand than supply, so there's little pressure on the landlord to actually be a good landlord. If people could actually find other apartments at a similar price point in the area, people would just move out when the landlord doesn't uphold their part of the bargain, and competition would drive prices down to a point where the financial difference between buying and renting is a reasonable fee for the conveniences and flexibility of renting. But that's not the world most American cities live in. Instead tenants are stuck because there are no viable alternatives on the market, and some landlords shamelessly exploit that.