Cyril Lintern and his partner Colleen Bailey have had six happy years at Laurent Place and, like many of their neighbours, have not taken kindly to news Masterton District Council no longer wants to be their landlord.
Ms Bailey said it would be devastating if a new owner of the pensioner flats was to take over and hike rents up beyond the means of many residents.
The couple have made their one-bedroom flat a cosy home, installing a heat pump to stave off winter chills.
Although they have already responded to a council letter outlining what could become of the Laurent Place complex by putting in a submission opposing a sale, Mr Lintern is toying with the idea of circulating a petition to all residents and having it put before a full council meeting.
Resident Joyce Ditchburn said she was also against a council sale.
Originally from Masterton, Ms Ditchburn shifted to Taranaki but returned home a decade ago.
"I lived at the Truro flats for two years but have been here for the past eight. I love it here. It's handy to the Kuripuni shops and as we are all pensioners there are no rowdy parties to put up with. It's a real neat place to be."
During her eight-year tenure Ms Ditchburn has seen weekly rents rise from $65 to $93 and said if new owners were to hike rents up by $40-$50 a week it would wreck the lives of many tenants.
"All of us thought we would be here until they carry us out," she said.
Ms Ditchburn said it would be easy for a new owner to say rents wouldn't increase, "but after they have had the place for six or 12 months they could find a reason why rents had to go up.".
Council property officer Pam Cockburn, who looks after the affairs of the tenants, is always good to deal with "either in person or on the other end of the phone" but was only able to do what councillors decided, Ms Ditchburn said.
Another couple, who didn't want to be named, said they had shifted several times from pensioner housing that had been sold over their heads.
The husband, a retired storeman, said they had to move away from Waipawa and then from Dannevirke, five years ago, to Masterton to find an affordable rental.
"If this sale goes ahead it looks like we would have to move again," he said.
A letter sent by the council to residents informs them an "organisation" has asked if it can buy, or manage, the council's Housing for the Elderly Flats. This cannot include Panama Village off Ngaumutawa Road as the terms of a will that vested Panama with the council forbids it from being sold.