The choice after the lease term was neither an extension nor an eviction for 75-year-old Jane Sayner.
For over two decades, Jane called St. Albans in Melbourne, Australia, her home, renting a two-bedroom apartment from multimillionaire John Perrett for AUD$250 a week.
Despite having been paying the same rent since she moved in, Jane, who had worked at her previous job for twenty-five years, had no intention of returning to work.
Fortunately, her landlord, John Perrett, passed away in September 2020. A multimillionaire without a spouse or children, John had undergone a kidney transplant thirty years prior, which prolonged his life.
In his will, John left a substantial portion of his fortune, around AUD$18.6 million, to the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Nephrology Department.
Jane, now the owner of the house she once rented, received the two-bedroom apartment from John.
This generous gesture wasn’t entirely unexpected for Jane. John had called her one day to ask for her complete name, revealing that he intended to leave her the unit.
Devastated by John’s passing, Jane felt a mix of emotions but found solace in the fact that she now owned the house. Her more than 20 years in the space allowed her to make it truly her own, adding plants and flowers to the garden.
Their relationship went beyond the typical landlord-tenant dynamic; they were friends. John often shared stories about his father with Jane, and she occasionally cooked for him. As an only child without a family of his own, John’s decision to leave Jane the unit reflected the genuine friendship they had developed over the years.