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Woman was living in a rented house for over 2 decades—then a sudden call from landlord made her its owner

When the landlord was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he decided to give the tenant the gift of a lifetime.
PUBLISHED JAN 24, 2025
(L) A woman talking on a call in her home. (R) A woman standing on the porch of her house. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | left image by Yan Krukau and right image by Nikita Korchagin)
(L) A woman talking on a call in her home. (R) A woman standing on the porch of her house. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | left image by Yan Krukau and right image by Nikita Korchagin)

The home prices continue to soar with each passing year. Owning a property has become an unattainable dream for many. However, a Melbourne resident named Jane Sayner had a transformative experience in her life when her landlord did something unexpected, per A Current Affair. Sayner was a tenant at the property of John Perrett for over two decades. However, when Perrett was battling Parkinson's disease, he summoned Sayner and gave her the gift of a lifetime.

An old man in the hospital wearing oxygen mask (Representative Image Source: Pexels | 
Engin Akyurt)
An old man in the hospital wearing oxygen mask (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Engin Akyurt)

"I want you to talk to my solicitor, he is here at the moment, and can you give him your full name because I'm leaving you the unit," Sayner recalled Perrett's words before he was getting moved to a nursing home. Perrett was known in the community as a generous fellow who was also a pharmacist, a football player, a property investor and even a philanthropist. He had spent 83 years of his life building a multi-million dollar fortune. Sayner had moved into the St. Alban's neighborhood back in 1999 when she found a perfect two-bedroom unit with a garden.

According to Positive Outlooks, when Sayner moved into the residence as Perrett's tenant, she never thought she would end up as its owner in the future. Gradually, Sayner made it her forever home and even decorated the barren yard with plants and flowers. As a landlord, Sayner found Perrett to be a friendly and kindhearted individual. Over 20 years, he noticed how Sayner loved her rented property and he eventually decided to leave the house to her in 2022. Sayner, who was in her late 70s, worked at a market in Epping before she retired and was trying to process how she was no longer the tenant but the owner of the house she had lived in for so long. "I still think sometimes, 'Did this really happen?'" she wondered, per the outlet.

An elderly woman looking outside the window (Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock project)
An elderly woman looking outside the window (Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock project)

The house that he gifted to Sayner wasn't the only possession Perrett had anyway. He also donated $19.6 million to the Royal Melbourne Hospital's nephrology department where he had received a kidney transplant three decades ago. "Words can barely describe how unselfish and incredibly generous he was," Professor Nigel Toussiant from the Royal Melbourne Hospital said. "We are extremely grateful as a department of the Hospital for such a bequest. It's just amazing." Toussiant recalled how Perrett's kidney transplant helped him for many years and was still functioning when he passed away in his mid-80s.

"That was a life-saving gift, I guess, to take him off dialysis and he was grateful for the care that he received, for all the doctors and nursing and medical staff to look after him at the Royal Melbourne Hospital," he added. Perrett's donation to the hospital would help the organization and its patients for decades to come. The hospital also planned to honor Perrett with commemorative plaques after his death in 2020 at the age of 86. As for Sayner, she continued to enjoy her retirement in her home and remained grateful for Perrett's gift. "I thank him still, every day of my life and just privately, I say, 'Thanks, John,'" she concluded.



 

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