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Eddie - some good points there that I will pursue. As for withholding a portion of rent - the outlaws are of the sort that fret about using the blue badge in Tesco disabled parking bays, and have lived in awe of any kind of officialdom all their lives. I don't think a rent protest will happen - sadly.
OG, the sad thing is that this is the second flat they've had since retiring and in both cases a similar path has happened: they moved in because it was exclusively for the elderly / retired, with warden on site, owned by 'responsible bodies'(councils / charities partnership).
In both cases the properties' ownership and running has been repeatedly sold on, and with each step a saving is made. First no on-site warden, then moving in tenants who are clearly safe bets in that their rent is paid by the DSS, and who are not retired but often long-term ill, including people with mental health issues.
It is an absolute exemplar of the Thatcher effect. The original tenants are being short-changed and the needy new tenants have been parked 'in the community' and forgotten about.
The simple message is don't ever get old or frail or anything less than very rich and robust, because society certainly does not give a flying one about what happens to you.