Four Five-Year Options Turn a 20-Year Lease Into a Change of Ownership
California reassesses a property at market value when a lease of 35 years or more is created, and the count includes every written renewal option. A 20-year data center lease with four five-year options is 40 years. The Board of Equalization drew the line at whether the lease has ever crossed 35 years before, and the Court of Appeal once told an assessor that a long-term lessee buying its own landlord out is not a scam.