I don’t disagree that owning a home should be an easier option, but a lower down payment necessarily means a riskier loan for banks and higher monthly payments for the borrower. Banks will use a higher standard for lending in that case, including use of credit score, not a lower one.

A bigger issue is that we have a shortage of housing stock. Corporate owners have no incentive to sell to renters because they have a captured customer base, and NIMBYism (in varied forms) has ensured that the shortage won’t be alleviated any time soon.

If we view housing as a human right (I know many don’t), it necessarily has to be affordable and that will create a dichotomy between landlords, who are in it for profit, and tenants.