Property owners choose the tenants, and didn't sell to developers sooner. I also advocate co-op housing instead of welfare driven projects, where tenants become members who get equity out of their subsidized co-ops. When you compare the safety and quality neighbourhoods with co-ops to pure public and subsidized housing, they're completely different. Even places with 100y land leases and resale value rules are better for permanent tenants.

Renting a single place for decades is less common in north america, as homeowner friendly policies were designed to prevent the society from sliding into the serfdom that is more traditional in europe and elsewhere. If a homeowner was a problem, neighbours have police. There's a dynamic that works pretty well when there isn't a thumb on the scale.