What a 987-Year Lease Actually Means

Buyers see a four-figure lease length and assume it is meaningless marketing. It is not. Here is what a long lease actually protects, and what it does not.

Why leases are that long

Developers and freeholders set new leases at 999 years, or occasionally 987 if it has been extended once already, because it removes lease length as a factor in mortgageability and resale for the practical future. A 99-year lease starts causing mortgage problems within a couple of decades as it runs down; a lease measured in centuries never will, in any buyer’s lifetime.

What it does not change

A long lease is not the same as a low ground rent or good management; check both separately. It also does not affect your obligations under the lease itself: service charge, alterations consent and subletting restrictions apply exactly as they would on a 99-year term. We have seen buyers assume a long lease means an easy lease, and it does not automatically follow.

Treat the lease length as one box ticked, not the whole form. Read the ground rent clause and the last service charge demand before you rely on the rest.