This is a huge problem for residential real estate too. Among other things, a felony in a town where a real estate company controls nearly all of the cheap apartments is basically a condemnation to homelessness. While private landlords are often willing to consider the circumstances of the felony (being young and dumb, having been addicted to drugs or alcohol, etc.), corporate landlords won't. Credit scores are another problem -- a private landlord will often accept proof of income in lieu of a credit check, but if you have even one bad item on your credit report, you'll never get a place from a corporate landlord. And of course, they jack the rent prices all the way up thanks to a monopoly or near monopoly. If you're poor or you did something stupid when you were young, you're really fucked in these towns.