I think you're using your bad experience as a template. I have a friend who prefers renting because he doesn't have to deal with any repairs or damage. He just calls the property manager. I guess if they are unresponsive he just moves.

Home ownership just isn't for everyone. If you owned the place you live in you would have had to come up with a larger down payment, qualify for a mortgage, handle every repair yourself and when you wanted/needed to move, sell the house, making repairs before doing so. Plus you'd be at the mercy of your neighbors for your property value to stay up, so you don't lose money. Don't even get me started on HOAs. Home ownership simply isn't for everybody. If you're landlord was more responsive and the rent was more affordable it probably wouldn't be so bad. And that's a different problem than the existence of landlords. It's really more of a BAD landlord problem, I think.