On one hand, traditional regulation keeps small or part-time players out of the market, because regulatory overhead is too high.
I suppose it discourages some, but it's not like there aren't small or part-time players in property rental. There are a lot of them! Small-time landlords who own a few rental units are everywhere; I know two such people in my circle of friends who do that. You can either do it as a part-time job, or hire a management company for a fee to oversee the actual management. The difference is that they do it legally. They own apartments in buildings where it's legal to rent out the units, and they rent them out legally.
I suppose it discourages some, but it's not like there aren't small or part-time players in property rental. There are a lot of them! Small-time landlords who own a few rental units are everywhere; I know two such people in my circle of friends who do that. You can either do it as a part-time job, or hire a management company for a fee to oversee the actual management. The difference is that they do it legally. They own apartments in buildings where it's legal to rent out the units, and they rent them out legally.