In Canada, basements are very important. Most home buyers decide on a house depending on the basement. They rent out their basement, and the income they receive is used to pay their mortgage, bills, and other expenses if possible.
When I rented a whole house, I couldn't use the basement to live there because it was very cold. That cold actually made the whole house colder. Then rats came. When my landlord brought a pest controller, they told us the basement had lots of big holes or gaps through which the rats were getting inside. I also understood that that's why the basement, and consequently the whole house, became very cold.
Some basement floors stay cold like ice. They also get mold. The landlord needed to fix their floor due to the cold and mold.
But mostly, people don't want to invest in fixing it; they just make it look decent so they can secure a good amount of rent.
People who live in basements have no choice. Nobody lives there by choice. Just to save some money, people tolerate all kinds of problems, including bug infestations. They can't complain because the landlord might tell them, "If you don't like it, you can leave."
Some basement kitchens don't have windows to let the cooking smells outside; this causes the whole apartment to smell like cooked food. Even the clothes become stinky. If the exhaust fan doesn't work properly, that causes another kind of problem.
Some basements don't have proper windows to open. If there is a fire and the only stairs catch fire, they have no way to rescue themselves.
I think the city should randomly inspect the basements of houses and warn landlords to fix issues within a given timeframe.
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