Landlords contribute plenty to society: they provide optionality. Without landlords, folks would be forced to pay or borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead of time to build or purchase homes[0]; they would be forced to incur more severe transaction costs (having to sell) when moving; they would be forced to find the funds to handle maintenance issues; they would be forced to have a significant portion of their net worth tied up in housing. A tenant avoids all of that: he only has to make a relatively small deposit; he can leave relatively quickly and easily; he can rely on someone else to handle maintenance; he doesn’t care if housing prices decrease. Those benefits are not free, of course: they cost money, because they have value.

Indeed, given how many people flat-out couldn’t afford to buy in a world without landlords, landlords prevent homelessness. Just like farmers, distributors and grocers prevent starvation.

There are plenty of live-in landlords that rent rooms to people and live in the same house.

Many renter commenters assume that anyone owning a house automatically owes the society to provide housing to those that don't. Of course such people don't actually like taking care of the house or pretend that depreciation and maintenance don't exist.

You should probably fix that also, no? Unless you want all housing to look like abandoned blocks in Detroit.