What happens if your landlord dies?
Either the landlord honors or renews your lease, in which case you can stay.
You may also need to find a new home to live in if your new landlord decides to start over and end your lease.
When a landlord dies, the fate of his tenants can be uncertain. Two scenarios typically come into play: either the new landlord decides to honor the existing leases and allow the tenants to stay, or they decide to terminate the leases, requiring the tenants to find new accommodation. However, a tenant named Jane Sayner, her situation takes a surprising turn when her landlord dies, leading to an unexpected and heartwarming outcome.
Jane Sayner, a 75-year-old resident of St. Albans in Melbourne, Australia, has been renting a modest two-bedroom unit for over two decades. Her owner, John Perrett, a multi-millionaire, charged her a reasonable rent of AUD$250 a week, a rate that had remained unchanged since she first moved in. For Jane, this unit wasn’t just a place to live; it was her home and she didn’t want to leave.
She had been paying the exact same amount since she moved into the house.
If she had to move, she wouldn’t be able to afford another house.
She would either have to move in with her stepchildren or start working again.
Jane did not want to continue working as she had previously worked at her previous job for 25 years.
He doesn’t even want to think about going back because he has to pay the rent.
Fortunately, they don’t have to.
Her owner, John Perrett, died in September 2020.
He was a multi-millionaire, never married, and never had children.
However, 30 years before his death, he received a kidney transplant, which extended his life span.
John appreciated that he donated a significant portion of his fortune – approximately AUD 18.6 million – to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Nephrology Department.
Three more conditions were added to John’s will.
One apartment, which was also let to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, sold for AUD$400,000.
Jane was one of two long-term tenants who acquired two properties.
Yes, John let Jane have a two-bedroom apartment; she now owns the house she previously rented.
It was hard for her to believe.
However, Jane wasn’t the first to hear about it.
To learn her full name one day, John actually called her.
“Then one day he simply called and said, ‘My lawyer’s here, can you please give me your full name because I’m giving you your unit?'” I believed I had misheard. Certainly not. She remembered that when Jane knew him, he always planned to give all his money to charity.
Although Jane was devastated by John’s passing, it must have been so comforting to learn that the property was now hers.
Since she moved in over 20 years ago, she has definitely made the property more pleasant.
“I treated this place like it was my own. The back garden wasn’t there when I first moved in. I planted a lot of plants and flowers when I lived here and they’re still there today,” Jane said.
Instead of yelling at Jane, John urged her to make the space feel like home.
He also brought Jane some of his father’s old flower pots so she could grow more plants.
Their friendship went beyond mere courtesies; Jane and John engaged in hour-long conversations during which John fondly remembered his father. Jane occasionally cooked for him and their bond grew stronger over time. John’s life was marked by a lack of immediate family, and Jane’s friendship undoubtedly brought him comfort and companionship.
In the end, it was no surprise that John decided to leave his beloved two-bedroom to Jane. She offered him the gift of friendship and in return he gave her the security of a home to call her own. John’s gesture serves as a heartwarming reminder of the extraordinary bonds that can develop between people, even under unexpected circumstances.