999-year lease

A 999-year lease, under historic common law, is an essentially permanent lease of property. The lease locations are mainly in Britain, its former colonies, and the Commonwealth.

A former colony, the Republic of Mauritius (The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)) established legal precedent on 30 July 2008 in respect of a 1901 'permanent lease' on the Thirteen Islands of St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos) which were adjudged as being a permanent grant by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.[1][2]

Examples of land subject to a 999-year lease agreement or Permanent Grant
Leased item Type Place Year term Lease/Permanent Grant by Leased to Notes
Shannonville, Ontario Town Hastings County, Ontario 1818–2817 Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation Turton Penn, later the municipality of Tyendinaga, Ontario The townsite and an additional 200 acres were leased from the Mohawks for 3 tonnes of flour a year, which was paid annually into the late 20th century
The Crystal Palace Private seats London, England 1851–2850 Joseph Paxton Seat holders/owners Cost of building venue financed by the sale of seats for £100
Queen's Park Parkland Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1859–2858 University of Toronto Province of Canada Park is now home to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Originally leased to City of Toronto, the Government of Ontario now owns the land where the Legislature resides.[3]
Point Pleasant Park Park Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 1866–2865 British Crown

Department of Canadian Heritage

 City of Halifax, Nova Scotia Park was owned by British government as it was military site in 1860s and transferred to Government of Canada.
Royal Albert Hall Private boxes London, England 1871–2870 The Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences Seat holders/owners Financed by selling seats and boxes
Ontario and Quebec Railway Railway Eastern Ontario and Quebec, Canada 1884–2883 Canadian Pacific Railway Owners of the OQR Now owned by St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway, a subsidiary of the CPR
Mullaperiyar Dam Dam and water Cardamom Hills, Kerala, India 1886–2885 Maharaja of Travancore, Visakham Thirunal
From 1949 State of Travancore-Cochin
From 1956 Government of Kerala		 British Secretary of State for Periyar River Irrigation
From 1947 Madras State
From 1969 Government of Tamil Nadu		 The lease was made after 24 years of negotiation.
WACA Ground Stadium Perth, Western Australia 1889–2888 Government of Western Australia Western Australian Cricket Association Land reclaimed from the Swan River
Commonwealth Institute building site Property London, England 1951–2950 Holland Estate Commonwealth Institute
Pusey House Building Oxford, England 1981–2980 Oxford University Excludes the chapel
Inverhuron Provincial Park Park Inverhuron, Ontario 1973–2972 Ontario Hydro Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario) Lease now controlled by Bruce Power
Hampshire CCC Land Hampshire, England 1996–2995 Queen's College, Oxford[4] Hampshire County Cricket Club Former farmland
U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong Building Hong Kong 1999–2998 City of Hong Kong[5] Government of the United States Formerly on a 75-year lease with 26 years left
Millennium Dome Building and surrounding land London, England 2001–3000 UK Government Quintain and Australian retail developer Lend Lease
Stanley Park Stadium Association football stadium Liverpool, England 2006–3005 Liverpool City Council Liverpool Football Club Proposed replacement for Anfield, home to Liverpool F.C.
St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos) 13 Islands in the St. Brandon Archipelago St. Brandon, Mauritius 2008– Government of Mauritius Raphaël Fishing Company The Thirteen Islands of St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos), Mauritius, were converted from a 1901 Permanent Lease (999-year lease) to a Permanent Grant by the Privy Council (United Kingdom) in 2008.[6] The islands on Permanent Grant are l'île du Sud (l'île Boisée), Petit Fou, Avocaré Island, l'île aux Fous, l'île du Gouvernement, Petit Mapou, Grand Mapou, La Baleine, L'Île Coco, Île Raphael, Île Verronge, l'île aux Bois and Baleines Rocks.

See also

References
  1. Le bail permanent de Raphaël Fishing confirmé sur St.-Brandon
  2. Privy Council Judgment 30 July 2008 - Raphaël Fishing Company Ltd.
  3. Micallef, Shawn (2019-10-05). "Queen's Park's landscaping offers a tale of two parks". Toronto Star.
  4. "Hampshire strike rich vein with 'community dream'". Electronic Telegraph via CricInfo. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  5. "A rare 999-year leasehold in world's costliest city makes US government one of Hong Kong's biggest foreign real estate owners". South China Morning Post. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  6. "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". Southern African Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
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