That doesn't make any sense at all.

Normal homeowners are people like my parents, who own a house that they live in. They have no leverage over anybody because they're the ones who live there. They paid money for a house that isn't being used to generate income directly from other sources. They pay taxes for the privilege of even owning a home. That's what being a normal homeowner is.

A landlord, by its most basic definition, has leverage over a tenant/renter. What part of that is "normal", especially in a hyper competitive environment such as real estate? Everyone is clamoring for a comfortable, safe place to live. Being a landlord is dangling that need over literally everyone else who can't front the money to own property, but need to live somewhere regardless.

You can't tell me with a straight face that being a landlord isn't a position of power. As long as people need a place to live (and that's everyone,everywhere, forever) then being a landlord is strictly an advantage, and any liability you encounter is easily resolved because someone is always willing to rent.