I became homeless by choice. The thing you're missing is that if your landlord tries to evict you, you'll end up with a record of that eviction on your record. The next time you try to rent an apartment, you'll be super screwed. I was able to get enough money together a couple months after being homeless, and I was able to get another apartment because I didn't have an eviction on my record.

Can you take advantage of the landlord by not paying rent for several months? Sure. But that's not a social safety net. It's an inefficiency in the system that will screw you if you use it, kind of like overdrawing a checking account & calling it free money.