I must be missing something...

[MistakeNot]

Lord of the Rings Online for your answer, a nearly identical system with (wards) containing 30 houses in an instance, of three different house sizes, able to be built in four different areas(we only have three so far), but they automatically create new wards when the old ones fill up. It has the same neighborhood style of this one, and it honestly looks like that is where FFXIV got their idea from with the similarities. There is still a reclamation type of system, but your house isn't destroyed and your unmovable items aren't lost, and there is no timer to get it back, it just recreates your house when you come back since wards aren't a limitation.

There is a limit to how many housing wards there can be in LOTRO. It is high but it exists.

At one point there was starting to be a lack of available housing due to many houses being owned by people who had ceased playing, so they introduced a reclaiming system where you would lose your house if you failed to pay the upkeep for long enough.
Housing decorations are not lost however, and one can pay upkeep for up to 6 months in advance - letting you take extended breaks from the game if needed. One can even allow other people to pay the upkeep cost for you if they want to. (Useful if know you will be away for a long time, but have friends in-game that you trust.)

[Neira]

At one point there was starting to be a lack of available housing due to many houses being owned by people who had ceased playing, so they introduced a reclaiming system where you would lose your house if you failed to pay the upkeep for long enough.
Housing decorations are not lost however, and one can pay upkeep for up to 6 months in advance - letting you take extended breaks from the game if needed. One can even allow other people to pay the upkeep cost for you if they want to. (Useful if know you will be away for a long time, but have friends in-game that you trust.)

Yeah, sorry about that slight inaccuracy, I remember reading there was a cap at over 200+ "wards", but didn't think it was that relevant. Also, thank you for the additional information. A pity that it seems like people would rather shove their head in the sand than admit that a free game could more effectively do what a subscription and cash shop game can not.