Why don’t people protest against landlords to lower their rent?

unless you have a 20% down payment i can tell you for sure in western oregon, the willamette valley it is NOT cheaper to own then rent.

and the at 20% down payment including closing costs could EASILY be in the $60,000 to 80,000 range do you have that kind of dough in the bank?

Tiescore- the guy who owns 8 rental units must be very bad at picking tenants or has really bad luck. I know several landlords and every now and then they have to go to court. I know one guy who has 27 units. He will have to go to court anywhere between 2 to 5 evictions per year. Most of them time they work out some deal then leave.

I own my own home; I would never consider being a LL.  It makes no difference if you rent or buy a home.  Unless you own your home outright, you'll be paying all the bills related to that rental unit; the mortgage, interest on that mortgage, property taxes (which are higher for rentals vs owner/occupied units), insurance, mainentance and repairs, in some cases trash, water and electric serices.  There's a profit motive in being a LL.  But that profit has to be banked to cover major repairs that may not be covered by insurance; it's not all pocket money.  The maintenance and repairs are spread out over the year's time frame.  It's not true that buying a home is cheaper.  A homeowner has little control over who lives next door.  A renter can move out within a year if their neighbors are obnoxious.

I know a guy had to give up his full time job because he was always in court because of his 8 multi family rental properties.  Price is set by supply and demand, if you think it is so high you should become a landlord...  you'll probably start singing a different tune.  I know I want nothing to do with rental properties, they sound like a pain to manage. 

Owning a home is FAR more expensive than simply the monthly payment. A renter has no maintenance, taxes, insurance or repair fees. A homeowner has all of those, and it adds to the monthly bills. Additionally, most homeowners pay for things a lot of renters don't, such as trash pickup, or water bills, plus their utility costs are usually higher overall. 

I agree that prices are out of control, but protesting against higher rents are not going to work. Landlords will charge what the market can bear--always. If the economy tanked, and they could not get renters, they would probably lower costs somewhat. But that hasn't happened. 

Additionally, there are a growing number of renters who are trying to get away with not paying rent because of the 'no evictions' ruling in many places. This has driven landlords' costs up. And it's also made it impossible for them to pay THEIR bills--so that is going to fuel the higher-rent trend. 

No one enjoys struggling. But the problem does not have just a simple 'lower your rent' solution. 

You think you have it all figured out, don't you?  Well, you don't.  Not everyone wants to own.  It comes with a huge responsibility.  Things are always needing maintenance, repair, replacement, and it is costly.  Many people would prefer that it is all done for them, by the landlord.  Then, there's the group that lives there temporarily.  A house is only worth buying if they stay, usually for 10 or more years.  Fewer than that, they lose money.  So those that are not settled, haven't found their dream job, or a spouse and aren't sure where their lives will be taking them - owning a house is a huge liability.  Then, there's the group just out of college.  Why on earth would they tie up all of their money in a house when they only recently started a full time job?  They haven't worked there long enough to know if it a job they want to stay with, or whether their employer will be happy with them.  Then, there are the people who don't have a stable job.  Then, there's the group who don't have enough money saved for a down payment, can't afford the closing costs or any of the other costs associated with buying a house?  Oh - you thought it would just be the price of the house.  Ha ha.  You have a lot to learn.

What good would that do?

Landlords are running businesses, not charities.  Businesses  stay in business because they make a profit.

If you think it's so easy, you should go buy some rental properties and then deal with whiny assed tenants like you.

If all tenants decided to protest, what stops all landlords from deciding they will no longer rent and instead will sell their rental properties. The people who are struggling each month just to pay rent will not be able to get approved for mortgages to buy their own properties, and without rentals will abruptly become homeless. How is that better?

It's for certain not cheaper in all markets I know of to rent than buy.  When you buy, you have insurance and taxes on top of your mortgage.  You also have to have a large down payment (cash) to even be able to get that far.  Then there's maintenance.  That could be a few thousand one year to $20k or more the next if something major is needed such as a new roof.  Many landlords include landscaping as their cost as well because tenants don't want to do the upkeep themselves and won't pay out of their own pocket to hire someone.  

If you feel you can find a place that is cheaper by buying, then by all means 

You can always buy your own house.