In theory American renters are protected by the contract they sign with their landlord, with some basic protections guaranteed by law.

In practice,

• landlords have essentially no competition, since they own many properties in an area, meaning that contract terms rarely differ in any way that matters;

• landlords don't compete meaningfully with home ownership (see OP);

• alleging breach of contract requires an expensive court case against a landlord who has more money than you and can hire a better lawyer;

• those basic legal protections are rarely enforced, and when they are it's in civil court, not criminal court, meaning that they can be ordered to comply, but any penalty is financial (and only a pittance goes to the claimant), considered by many landlords to be the cost of doing business and an acceptable loss.