Just like that damn car rental company I used the other week. I totally paid for that rental car for the week I rented, so I should get to keep it or at least get my money back after I wasn't using it anymore, right!? Or those video rental places. Why shouldn't I get my $5 back. I returned the video after all.
Wow, somebody is a little butt-hurt.
The problem is not with rentals, but with the ever-increasing high price of rentals - or purchases, as the article indicates the two are related - which contribute to a debt on the lower-income portion of society. Lower-income rental housing often tends to suffer issues like poor maintenance etc.
What's your alternative? Should the owner just "rent" out the place for free? That doesn't sound like a particularly good idea for him, and many owners aren't exactly rich fat-cats themselves.
This issue can be partially addressed by subsidized "affordable housing", and also some controls on absentee landlords (and taxation).
For real landlords, rentals can be a lot of work. Many tenants aren't exactly "gentle" to the premises, so it involves regular maintenance (both an expense and a time-consumer). When renters move on, the landlord has to fix things up, clean, and interview new perspective renters. Sometimes it's just a little carpet cleaning and some windex. Other times it's patching holes in drywall, replacing flooring that's stained, and other more major stuff.
Generally, the landlord is also the one that has to ensure the functional maintenance of the dwelling and major appliances. If a pipe leaks, a stove dies, or the AC konks out etc, that's the landlord's responsibility.
Note that I am saying landlord. There are also people who are essentially slum-lords. They do a shitty job of maintenance and often ignore tenants pleas. Nobody likes slum-lords, just like nobody likes crappy tenants who wreck the place and often don't pay the rent properly (and are often very hard to get rid of, like the one gal who quit her job to stay home and play online games for a month).
So here's the thing. You're not paying "for my kid to go to college", that's just what I may choose to do with the portion of rent that's left after maintenance and taxes. You're paying for a maintained dwelling and no mortgage, a place where you're not responsible for a $20k bill if the roof needs repair (like the owner), major appliance repairs. You're not paying the property tax, strata fees, special assessments. You're not paying a 5-yr+ mortgage with huge penalties if you have to move and cancel early. That's all on the landlord. If you're poor, well maybe that's not your fault, but as a responsible landlord it's sure as f*** not my fault either.