Would love opinions……I sold my house early last year and since then I have been renting a single family (ranch) home from an elderly (and feisty) lady who owns a few other rental properties. I have a 2 year lease that is up in January 2016. The actual ad for the house was posted by her son-in-law (who showed me the house) and according to her he posted the property for the wrong amount and I was ‘forced’ to pay the higher amount ($30/month). My landlady is 91 and lives alone in her 2-story home. In late May she fell in her garage and broke her leg (and laid there for 7 hours until someone found her). I found this out when I received a call from her son, who I have never met.

Last week I received a call from son-in-law who says that landlady wants to move into my rental when she is released from rehab. She cannot return to the 2 story home she was living in and my house is the only ranch style that she owns. It was suggested that perhaps landlady and I could swap homes.

BUT – they want me to pay more rent – over $200/month. This just seems wrong to me on many counts. They are asking ME for a favor and yet she benefits financially from it? The son-in-law appears to have a contentious relationship with landlady (his MIL) and I feel like I am stuck in the middle. I can’t get a straight answer out of him regarding time frame of the possible move, how this will affect the current lease, etc. I think they should let me swap homes at the same price and he just keeps saying it’s a nicer house and ‘ we could rent this house for more than the discounted rate she is willing to rent it to you for’. They act like they are doing ME a favor!

What would you do? Stay put until the end of the lease and then move? Move now (they are willing to let me out of my lease – and yes, I will get THAT in writing!) into some place different (which is hard to find)? Call her son and see if I can work with him to get the rent lower?

personally, I would just cut bait and find something else. I have a fairly low tolerance to being pulled into others personal problems.

I'd have to agree with DoS. Greedy jerks.

Agree. Sounds like you may wind up in a family dispute with landlady, son and son-in-law. Too messy for my taste. You should get while the gettin's good.

Run away

You have a contract to rent, correct?
Any guess as to when she'll be released from rehab?
At 91, healing from breaks takes a long time.
I'm thinking the sil is jumping the gun and the landlady may not have any idea about this.
I would definitely tell him there's no way you're going to do him the favor of switching AND pay more. I'd negotiate to move for the same amount for at least six months to a year. Then research similar house rents and go with a low figure for a year beyond that.

And I would start looking for another place to live too. You never know what you might luck into finding.

IMO - I would start looking for another place to live. This sounds like a bad situation in the making. I agree that I would also get everything in writing, it says headaches down the road. I guess I have been watching Judge Judy, but it sounds like they are trying to illegally evict you and put you in a situation that you did not sign up for.

While it would be nice to do them a favor and move mid rental period I would not pay the extra 200. Like others have noted I would also start looking elsewhere.

I would start looking, but that being said - I would also remind them that you have a contract, and either they can trade at the contract price you are paying - or you will be staying in the house you are in until your contract is up. I wouldn't pay the extra.

you have the ability to get out of the current lease early with no loss of deposit? I'd do that, and get as far away from these people as possible. Heck, just to be a pain, I may even tell them i'll leave early for their benefit but the cost to do that is 1-months rent, which they will need to provide to me in cash or certified check prior to my move, as well as my deposit back and notarized letter amending the original lease and they requested me to leave early, are paying me for my inconvenience, and have no claim on me for any additional rent or damages.

Actually, they need to buy you out of your lease. The purpose of the document was to protect both parties. Your being willing to move early if there is no financial impact or inconvenience on you at all would still be hallmarks of a very nice person...going for sainthood is overkill.

Charge them whatever they would have charged you for early termination. If there is no clause in the lease on the subject, assume they would not have allowed you to terminate and just be nicer than they would have been; e.g. 2 months' rent, under Happy's terms, minimum.

P.S. If SIL is not named as the attorney-in-fact in a POA from MIL, there is no point in talking to him about anything.

Thank you to everyone for your input!

Got a call late yesterday afternoon from landlady's son (who seems to be the most intelligent of the family). Apparently the SIL 'thought' I was on a month-to month basis. Which is a lie because SIL and I specifically discussed my lease when SIL and I had talked. Anyway - the son says that since I have a lease that they cannot ask me to move and do not expect me to move. He apologized for the misunderstanding.

So I'll stay put until the lease runs out.

Thanks again for the opinions!