Rents are not completely artificial, and you do get services for paying them. Part of it goes to paying property taxes to fund things like 911 services, local s

Rents are not completely artificial, and you do get services for paying them. Part of it goes to paying property taxes to fund things like 911 services, local schools, libraries, public parks, sewers. Other part is for maintaining the property, things like roofs and furnaces eventually deteriorate and need to be replaced. Your landlord will replace those things for you, but it comes at a cost and it's called rent. You could argue you don't get your moneys worth, but you do get services for them...