[mmooss]

IME companies are worse: professional investors highly focused on maximizing profits - driving up rent and minimizing costs - rather than a long-term investment by someone with another job, a sidelight and retirement plan.

I don't see how you have more recourse against a company with lawyers that can ignore you, and mom-and-pop. The latter are much more likely to respond to reason.

Of course, any landlord can be bad.