Small landlords are the cheapest IME, and often act like they are doing you a favour. Big ones are cold, but at least treat people like customers rather than janitors

Small landlords, through ignorance or in a belief that they're too small a fish for government to go after, are often the worst with breaking laws and exploiting tenants.

A small landlord who has a normal job, if they want to improve the world, they do it through their job or personal projects, they build something or create something or whatever.

A big landlord who does nothing else, they aren’t actually creating anything, they’re just rent seeking and the most creative way they can imagine to improve the world is to rent seek even harder.

You're forgetting: Property Management is a career, and for a reason. Unmaintained properties run into bigger issues until they're so bad a tenant has to move out -- and then a tenant has no place to live without a massive rent increase as the rent is re-based on the prevailing economic rape instead of whatever it was 10 years ago with its 2% yearly increase.

Big landlords are uncaring, but they do manage the property. Good ones manage it well, fixing windows and pipes and pot-holes, etc. Less 'broken-window effect' and more peaceful days between goddamned fire alarm testing.