Such a shame, particulary over Christmas. My husband and I live abroad and we have decided that when the times comes for us to move back to Australia we will be quite flexible with our tenants - provided our parents are happy for us to live with them for a bit! We will give our tenants 90 days notice, and if they find a place in three weeks then we would be willing for them to leave the house (without penality). We've been renting for years and know how frustrating it is!

I think you should bring this up with the landlords and explain given the timing isn't great, can they be flexible with the terms?

Good luck, hope you find something x