Institutional landlords have been criticized in the media for their business practices, and these criticisms are mostly based on interviews with renters, said Steven Xiao. “We believe our findings provide a more nuanced picture of the role of institutional landlords,” she said. The three mergers created American Homes 4 Rent and Invitation Homes, the two largest institutional single-family rental investors in the United States. According to 2018 data, the two companies own more than 130,000 single-family homes in the U.S. — more than half of the institutional single-family rental market. “We believe our findings provide a more nuanced picture of the role of institutional landlords.