Landlord wants our renewal answer before Diwali, with a baby on the way

sunny_notebook_639527 Oct 2026

Our lease ends with the year and the landlord wants to know before Diwali whether we're renewing, at a higher rent. If not, he'll start showing the flat. The flat works for my job and our son's preschool is ten minutes away. But my parents, who are going to be our main help after the birth, are about an hour away in traffic, and that drive with a newborn and a 4 year old isn't something I want to do every other day. What I'm thinking of is asking for six months instead of the usual eleven, so we stay through the birth and move somewhere nearer my parents in the spring. Has anyone asked a landlord for a short renewal? Did they agree, and did it cost more?

2 comments

linen_spoon_767727 Oct 2026
We asked for a six-month extension once while waiting for our own flat to be ready. The landlord agreed but wanted a little more rent for the shorter term and two months' notice either way. Worth asking. If he says no, you're no worse off than now.
- moss_sketch_288927 Oct 2026
  Get the notice period in writing. Ours agreed verbally to a short renewal and then wanted us out a month early because he'd found a buyer. Not common, but it happens.
willow_compass_226927 Oct 2026
We moved house when our daughter was about three months old. Hard, but easier than I expected, because she slept through most of the packing and I wasn't the one lifting anything. Moving while pregnant I'd avoid unless family can come and help. Six months where you are, then the move, sounds sensible to me.