And I maintain, that her withholding of the rent was a forced continuation of a rental agreement that likely would not have been renewed had her withholding action not been in force. So in my mind, her rent may have been reasonable in 1984, but nowhere near reasonable in 2012. She had no right to expect to continue to pay that price. She evidently talked to a smart lawyer who told her what to do.
Had the landlord addressed and corrected the p[problems, she would have been forced to make restitution in the form of back rent and interest. As is the case, the landlord was forced to accept zero rent for several years totaling 35K as restitution to the renter of the property. He has also been orderred to correct any problems.
She used the only recourse available to her, with holding rent. That is a moral and legal way to handle a reluctant landlord in almost any area of the country.