A 999-year lease, under historic common law, is a permanent lease of property.
Permanent lease locations are in Britain, its former colonies and the Commonwealth.
A former colony, the Republic of Mauritius established a legal precedent through a decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)) on 30 July 2008 in respect of a 1901 'permanent lease' on the following islands of St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos) :
These islands were converted from a 1901 999-year lease to a permanent grant by the Privy Council in 2008. The Privy Council judgment (Article 71) confirmed Raphaël Fishing Company legally as "the holder of a Permanent Grant of the thirteen islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed (transcribed in Vol TB25 No 342) subject to the conditions therein referred to."'