What happens if your landlord passes away? They can either choose to keep or extend your lease, letting you stay. On the other hand, if a new landlord decides to start fresh, they might cancel your lease, and you’ll need to find a new place to live.
For 75-year-old Jane Sayner, it wasn’t either of these choices. Jane has been a resident of St. Albans in Melbourne, Australia, for over two decades, renting a two-bedroom apartment from multimillionaire John Perrett for AUD$250 per week. The rental cost had remained unchanged since she first moved in.
After working at her previous job for twenty-five years, Jane had reached a point where she’d had enough. Despite the temptation to return to work, she couldn’t bear the thought because she still had rent to pay. Fortunately, she is spared from this dilemma.
John Perrett, Jane’s landlord, passed away in September 2020. Despite being a multimillionaire, he lived a solitary life without marriage or children. Thirty years before his death, John underwent a kidney transplant, which significantly extended his life. Grateful for his extended years, John decided to allocate a substantial part of his wealth—approximately AUD$18.6 million—to the Nephrology Department of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
A flat bequeathed to the hospital was sold for AUD$400,000, and two long-term tenants, including Jane, inherited properties. Jane, now the owner of the house she once rented, received the two-bedroom apartment from John. Surprisingly, Jane had heard about this arrangement before.
One day, John called her to ask for her full name. “Then one day he just rang me and said, ‘My solicitor’s here, can you please give me your full name, because I’m leaving you your unit.’ I thought I hadn’t heard it right. Surely not. For the whole time I had known him, (leaving all his money to charity) was always what he was going to do,” Jane recalled.
Despite Jane’s sorrow over John’s passing, the knowledge that the house now belongs to her must have brought her a profound sense of relief. Over the more than 20 years she’s lived there, she has infused the space with warmth and charm.
“I treated this place like it was my own. When I first came here, there was no garden out the back. Because I was living here, I planted lots of plants and flowers, which are still here today,” Jane shared. Instead of discouraging her, John encouraged Jane to make the place feel like a true home. He even provided old pots from his father for her to use in growing more plants. It was evident that John and Jane were more than just landlord and tenant; they were friends.
During their conversations, which often lasted about an hour, John would share stories about his father, and Jane occasionally prepared meals for him. John, being childless, single, and the only child himself, found comfort in giving Jane the unit, recognizing the friendship she had shown him.
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