How many years can you legally lease and can you guarantee renewals in the contract? What are some of the legal steps you should take before signing a lease? (Obviously you should hire a lawyer not related to the property owner but even that doesn't promise you won't be screwed over.) If you build a house on the property what are you options once the lease expires? Do you just hand it over to the property owner? Can you negotiate a lessor lease renewal price based off of the house value? I have some additional questions but I'll see if I get any replies to these before I waste anymore ink.
An attorney would be the obvious provider of this info, however, I believe a lease maximum is 25 years with a 25 year option. I think you indeed just hand the house over to them once the lease is finished.
I had similar questions that I put to lawyers and other foreigners who had done similar things. The answers I got (which were all different as will be all the answers on this thread) can be summarized: The lease is only as good as the person you lease it from as they can sell the property and then its up to you to convince the new owners to honor the lease (which could get expensive for you). Its best to get a 25 year lease that you can opt to renew for a further 25 years at a set amount and its best to pay the entire 25 years in advance and get the lease and receipt notarized. The plan is to die before the lease expires and then the property owner gets the property and all improvements but I have not heard any reason why you cannot sell or remove any of the improvements unless the lease specifies otherwise. I have seen no guarantees that stop a foreigner from getting screwed over so I re-emphasize my first point about being sure you are leasing from a reputable person or business. Let the buyer/lessor beware.
If it's a purchase through a proxy and lease-back, make sure you register a lien in the land at the assessors office, both local and provincial. Then they can't (well, not as easy) as if there isn't. No one will buy a land with a lien.
You can have the details of a 25 year lease entered on the TCF (Transfer Certificate of Title) of the property, which would make it very difficult for the owner to sell it behind your back.
I entered a lease for 25years and renewable for another 25 years with the same amount. Our neighbours which are also Europeans have the same lease of contract. Just let me know if you want to consult more infos to our lawyer. I have 2 different lawyers, one is pricey but good government connection and the other is for minor documentation and cheap.
