Small claims have dollar limits and most corporate landlords enforce arbitration agreements to prevent any possibility of a smaller court from damaging their interests.

Exactly— this stuff would end up in pro-corporate arbitration, depending on the jurisdiction.

Just for reference here's a list of small claims amounts by state (link below). I grew up in $rustBelt state where the small claims max is paltry. Then I moved to $coastalState1 and was surprised by how much larger their small claims maximum amount was. Then I moved to the other coast and was surprised AGAIN by how large their amount was.

TL;DR: Depending on the state you're in Small Claims max payouts range from $2,500 (Kentucky, Rhode Island) up to $25,000 in DE and TN. Also note that some localities such as NYC, Nassau, etc. have different amounts from the rest of NY State. Also note that there are some exceptions to the max. amount in some states for eviction claims and other special classes of [small] claims.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/small-claims-suits-h...

Also, IANAL, but this "my home had poisonous gas in it that the owner knew about and was negligent in remedying" _is not_ a small claims case. Injuries / loss would, IMO, easily exceed any small claims amount.

Sure, you technically have the right to file a lawsuit, possibly in small claims court. The question is whether exercising your rights leaves you better off as a practical matter. Like, there's a similar issue with most credit-card based disputes with merchants, where you technically can file a chargeback, but practically speaking you'd rather not get blacklisted from Amazon/Uber/whatever so that's off the table completely.

Let's not forget that plenty of landlords will outright refuse to rent to anyone who has been in legal proceedings with a prior landlord. So having a landlord try to evict you (wrongfully or not) can often have the effect of leaving a renter unable to secure housing anywhere else.

The problem with America is that individuals are penalized for their history but corporations aren't.

If there was only a way to review landlords/owners.