Change of contract in light of changed circumstances
Question
Dear Rabbis! Greetings! We would like to ask the following question. There is an elderly couple who rent out a unit adjacent to their apartment (this used to be one large apartment, but once they had no need for the apartment this size, they split it, and rented out a part of it). The rental contract ends in 3 months. There is a stipulation in the contract that if the renter wants to extend the contract for another year, he has the right to do so and must give a month’s notice of the extension. In recent months, the (elderly) landlord has often needed urgent medical help at night or on Saturdays, and there has been a lot of stress on him and on his wife because of the need to call a family member to come and help. On Shabbat, when it is impossible to call on the phone and therefore there is a lot of pressure every week to find someone who can come and be nearby, as well as finding an apartment to stay in close proximity so that the lady can call for help even in the middle of the night (of course, it's not easy for an elderly woman in the middle of a Friday night to go to a remote apartment to call someone for help). The desire of the family members when the original contract expires (in 3 months) to receive the apartment and for one of the married grandchildren to live there. There is a grandson who already agreed to this. Of course, the aforementioned elderly couple are very happy with this idea. The problem is that the couple living in the rental unit are not willing to leave and want to extend their contract due to difficulty in finding an apartment and moving, etc. (Even though it was made clear to them that in any case next year the rental period will end, and despite the fact that there are still 3 months until the end of the current contract). For their part, the family members said that they are willing to pay the tenant NIS 1500 each month for the next rental year, thus making it easier for him to find another apartment. But the couple currently living in the rental unit is not open to this idea either. Our question is whether, in light of the aforementioned medical circumstances, is the option mentioned in the contract still valid? Is there no possibility not to extend the contract, and does the decision rests only with the tenants? If they wish to continue to rent there, is there nothing that the landlord can do despite his poor health? Or maybe, due to the changed situation, the contract can be terminated without further extension? Thank you very much.
Answer
Dear …!
I forwarded the content of your question to our teacher, Rav Fried.
His response is that the tenant could not be forced to vacate. But you should try to reach an agreement with him.