GeniesLoki

my landlord and manager are both lovely

That's how they get you. (Your manager isn't necessarily who I mean by "your boss" though - a manager-report relationship is less intrinsically adversarial)

I've lived here for 6 years in two different units and landlord has yet to ruthlessly exploit me Almost like... it's good business to have happy longterm tenants?

You could say "everyone you have a relationship with that involves the transfer of money doesn't count as a person" and that'd be more consistent but that's not what I believe "Be soft on the person, hard on the problem" - Getting to Yes

It's not about the money, it's about the dramatic power imbalance.

Okay fair. The less able you are to move flats or quit your job the more of a problem this is.

Moving flats is always a non-trivial expense, even in terms of emotional costs. I guess this would be balanced: - without rent, the landlord's mortgage will fall through and they'll lose the flat - there's a significant risk they won't find another tenant - both sides know this

Yeah, but this is never going to be the case in most big city property markets.