A small act of Christmas kindness on the part of a Los Angeles landlord has spread across the Internet – restoring some people’s faith in humanity.

A picture posted by Reddit user Mikeoley shows a letter he and other tenant’s received telling them that because it is the Holiday Season, he is lowering their rent.

Explaining that the generous gesture is a tradition, the landlord known as Joel offers to ‘deduct $70 from your regular rent for the month of December and perhaps use those monies to purchase a gift for someone special in your life.’

Telling his tenant’s that he is in the fortunate position to be able to offer this, he thanks the recipient of the letter for his continued residence with them, saying that it means a great deal to him.

However, in a reminder that Christmas comes only once a year, Joel clearly states that rent will return to normal in January – just in case anyone had begun to think he was going soft on them.

This inspiring tale follows the New York Police officer whose act of kindness in giving a pair of boots to a homeless man on a cold winter’s night inspired thousands across the nation.

NYPD Officer Larry DePrimo, 25, was photographed on November 14 kneeling down to give the unidentified homeless man the boots and the heartfelt offering has sparked a massive response, with thousands on social media hailing the man’s deed as an example of the transforming impact of a simple gift.

Speaking about the incident on Friday’s Today show, DePrimo said he had acted impulsively because he wanted to help the homeless man and didn’t consider the financial cost to himself.

‘I really didn’t think about the money,’ he said. ‘I said, I don’t care what the price is. We just got to help him out.’

Talking about the media attention and outpouring of public praise that he had received over the incident, DePrimo said the experience had been ‘surreal and extremely humbling.’

‘It’s a great experience,’  he said. ‘I think it’s a lot about the people, though, because you see such great comments. People are saying that their faith in humanity is restored and that’s the biggest thing that I can take away from all of this.’

The NYPD posted Foster’s photo on its Facebook page on Tuesday night and it became an instant hit. It has received more than 466,000 Likes and more than 140,000 people have shared it.

Thousands of people have commented, including one person who praised him as ‘An officer AND a Gentleman.’

Elite.