I don't disagree but having been on both sides of the token (I've rented a LOT of properties more than I care to count) I can tell you that homeowners nowadays are doing a lot of work themselves, maybe even work that they shouldn't be doing themselves. There can be some financially devestating costs to home ownership that people try to maliciously hide from you during inspection unless you're buying a house brand new. My point being that I'd imagine that at least partially factors into all of this and I'd guess that people renting out houses are more likely to simply 'hire someone to get it done' or have a handyman on speedial. Again, clarifying 'good' landlords. I wouldn't saying most are good, about 20% maybe in my experience, but still I do think there are reasonable folk that do a majority of their work servicing rental properties frankly I'd rather buy houses worked on by people like that as opposed to unqualified homeowners neglecting proper upkeep and creating time bombs for people trying to enter the market later on.

In the US there are city departments that do nothing but examine local housing and notify landlords that things need to be updated. Correct most landlords won't do anything on their own even if it's a safety risk.