Maybe I would tip a landlord that goes above and beyond their role, but I've yet to meet one that even really does the bare minimum in maintaince, most hire out to avoid any responsibility.
My place was "professionally painted" which is why most of my floors, baseboards, windowsills and even my kitchen counter have paint stains on them. My "luxury apartment" that he advertised had mice coming in through some easy to patch holes in the wall. My driveway is literred with trash from previous tenants which I eventually picked up after his maintaince guy kept sweeping it to the side. I have no ventalation in my kitchen which can be a health hazard while cooking. The small lawn area got mowed once last summer and only after the city posted a notice to maintain it.
If a landlord wants to be tipped for "exceptional service" maybe they should be doing more than the bare minimum of collecting rent and paying property taxes.
I doubt I'd have been able to move cities and change careers without renting an apartment. I think there is a role for landlords in society, but I also think a lack of regulations and poor housing/urban planning laws has blurred the lines of that role and pushed the priority into profits over everything.
There are valid reason to want to rent over owning such as short term employment, college/university, or just feeling out a city/area before commiting to a property.
