The OP also does not address the huge expenses a landlord incurs when a tenant doesn’t pay the rent. Sure, you can evict. Try evicting an elderly tenant or a single mother with kids. Even if the tenant is in the wrong and the landlord is in the right, a judge will automatically grant the tenant an extension. During that time, you think the landlord will be forgiven utility bills? Real estate tax bills? Mortgage bills? What do you think happens to a landlord who depends on the rents as their only income? That’s right! They stand a good chance of losing their investment. Now, is a landlord allowed to discriminate against single mothers or elderly tenants and only rent to single people or DINKS? They are not.

The above are just some of the reasons a prospective landlord prefers to turn rental properties into short term rentals. You get your money up front, and a dud tenant is gone in a week.