Crossword Genius

Caretaker's rent reduced on New Year's Day (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

janitor

'caretaker's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'rent reduced on new year's day' is the wordplay.
'rent' becomes 'tore' ('rend' and 'tear' both mean to rip something).
'reduced' means to remove the last letter.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'new year's day' becomes 'JANI' (resembles Jan 1st).
'tore' with its final letter taken away is 'tor'.
'tor' after 'jani' is 'JANITOR'.

(Other definitions for janitor that I've seen before include "Person looking after building" , "Caretaker or doorkeeper" , "Caretaker (mainly US)" , "One employed to clean and maintain a building" , "(In Scotland) school caretaker" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Times.
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