I don't think owning your home is realistic in all scenarios. For example, let's say because you needed to leave your abusive partner, so you don't have the luxury of going through the whole process of saving money, then researching, and eventually purchasing a home. You need to get out, maybe live somewhere for a year or two to get your feet under you and save some money so you can purchase a home. If you couldn't rent a home, how could you possibly get out of this situation if you had no money on hand?
If you move to a new city that you've never visited before, sometimes you want to rent in a few areas to find the areas you like before commit long term to a place.
I really don't think buying a home should be your only option for living in a home. It's just not what's best for some people in some scenarios.
Government owned housing used to be a common thing in the UK and it’s how housing works in Singapore today, just because private landlords don’t exist doesn’t mean people can’t rent houses from the government