What you're describing sounds much more like VCs with offices subletting that space to startups they're funding until the startups grow big enough to get their own space than the more conspiratorial "VCs own the property management companies your startup is leasing from."

In any case, what you're talking about is renting office space -- the linked article is reporting on renting residential space. There's no evidence I can find to suggest that Silicon Valley style VC funding is secretly behind Essex Property Trust, AvalonBay Communities, or other residential REITs.