This is called a risk investment. The risk is that nobody rents the place, in which case the landlord would lose the property.
As a renter, you have the freedom to call out that bet, but it's quite probable that somebody else will rent instead of you. Also, if the markets are efficient, it's almost 100% that you're not getting a better deal anywhere else for your place of residence.
I was a landlord for a little while, renting 1 unit in a 2 unit house.
I could have afforded my mortgage and taxes without the tenant.
They couldn't have qualified for a mortgage, and couldn't afford to rent a place half as nice anywhere else in the city because I was charging about half of the market rate.
That's not the same as profiteering corporate landlords, no. But a one-size-fits-all solution isn't going to get people where they need to be either.