"I get along really well with my landlord, who lives below me in a three-unit building, and I want to live here for as long as possible - the rent is low, the location is good. The only problem is that she's 94 years old. How do I broach the topic that she might ... die soon? I want to know what her plan for me is as her tenant. I have this idea of asking for a ten-year lease. Is that even a thing?"
"Becoming the beneficiary of some nice old lady with a house is a classic New York fantasy. Once, while biking through Ditmas Park, I saw an older woman struggling to bring her trash down the stairs of her Victorian and had an entire life flash before my eyes: Me, stopping to help. Her, inviting me in. Us, become fast friends because of our shared joie de vivre. Her, dying and leaving me the house as I am the closest thing she has to family."
A tenant loves their apartment and gets along well with a 94-year-old landlord but worries about housing security if the landlord dies. The tenant wonders whether a ten-year lease is possible and how to ask about the landlord’s plans. Asking about the future can be difficult, but lease renewal offers a natural opportunity to raise the issue. Lead with appreciation for living in the building and express a desire to continue. Frame the conversation as part of a business relationship and discuss long-term tenancy and contingency arrangements sensitively and practically.
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