diff --git a/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/collection.go b/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/collection.go
index 6dc95659b800..f2c900470385 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/collection.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/collection.go
@@ -138,6 +138,11 @@ type Collection struct {
 	// It must be set in the multi-tenant environment for ephemeral
 	// SQL pods. It should not be set otherwise.
 	sqlLivenessSession sqlliveness.Session
+
+	// LeaseGeneration is the first generation value observed by this
+	// txn. This guarantees the generation for long-running transactions
+	// this value stays the same for the life of the transaction.
+	leaseGeneration int64
 }
 
 // FromTxn is a convenience function to extract a descs.Collection which is
@@ -199,6 +204,7 @@ func (tc *Collection) ReleaseLeases(ctx context.Context) {
 	tc.leased.releaseAll(ctx)
 	// Clear the associated sqlliveness.session
 	tc.sqlLivenessSession = nil
+	tc.leaseGeneration = 0
 }
 
 // ReleaseAll releases all state currently held by the Collection.
@@ -210,11 +216,27 @@ func (tc *Collection) ReleaseAll(ctx context.Context) {
 	tc.skipValidationOnWrite = false
 }
 
+// ResetLeaseGeneration selects an initial value at the beginning of a txn
+// for lease generation.
+func (tc *Collection) ResetLeaseGeneration() {
+	// Note: If a collection doesn't have a lease manager assigned, then
+	// no generation will be selected. This can only happen with either
+	// bare-bones collections or test cases.
+	if tc.leased.lm != nil {
+		tc.leaseGeneration = tc.leased.lm.GetLeaseGeneration()
+	}
+}
+
 // GetLeaseGeneration provides an integer which will change whenever new
 // descriptor versions are available. This can be used for fast comparisons
 // to make sure previously looked up information is still valid.
 func (tc *Collection) GetLeaseGeneration() int64 {
-	return tc.leased.lm.GetLeaseGeneration()
+	// Sanity: Pick a lease generation if one hasn't been set.
+	if tc.leaseGeneration == 0 {
+		tc.ResetLeaseGeneration()
+	}
+	// Return the cached lease generation, one should have been set earlier.
+	return tc.leaseGeneration
 }
 
 // HasUncommittedTables returns true if the Collection contains uncommitted
diff --git a/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/factory.go b/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/factory.go
index 2db5048b50ca..25766bfda7a3 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/catalog/descs/factory.go
@@ -144,12 +144,19 @@ func (cf *CollectionFactory) NewCollection(ctx context.Context, options ...Optio
 		opt(&cfg)
 	}
 	v := cf.settings.Version.ActiveVersion(ctx)
+	// If the leaseMgr  is nil then ensure we have a nil LeaseManager interface,
+	// otherwise comparisons against a nil implementation will fail.
+	var lm LeaseManager
+	lm = cf.leaseMgr
+	if cf.leaseMgr == nil {
+		lm = nil
+	}
 	return &Collection{
 		settings:                cf.settings,
 		version:                 v,
 		hydrated:                cf.hydrated,
 		virtual:                 makeVirtualDescriptors(cf.virtualSchemas),
-		leased:                  makeLeasedDescriptors(cf.leaseMgr),
+		leased:                  makeLeasedDescriptors(lm),
 		uncommitted:             makeUncommittedDescriptors(cfg.monitor),
 		uncommittedComments:     makeUncommittedComments(),
 		uncommittedZoneConfigs:  makeUncommittedZoneConfigs(),
diff --git a/pkg/sql/catalog/lease/lease.go b/pkg/sql/catalog/lease/lease.go
index 583b5f3279d5..13842a51fa38 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/catalog/lease/lease.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/catalog/lease/lease.go
@@ -1281,6 +1281,7 @@ func NewLeaseManager(
 		sem:              quotapool.NewIntPool("lease manager", leaseConcurrencyLimit),
 		refreshAllLeases: make(chan struct{}),
 	}
+	lm.leaseGeneration.Swap(1) // Start off with 1 as the initial value.
 	lm.storage.regionPrefix = &atomic.Value{}
 	lm.storage.regionPrefix.Store(enum.One)
 	lm.storage.sessionBasedLeasingMode = lm
diff --git a/pkg/sql/conn_executor.go b/pkg/sql/conn_executor.go
index 6fda0a3770f9..1e3add294f73 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/conn_executor.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/conn_executor.go
@@ -4010,7 +4010,7 @@ func (ex *connExecutor) txnStateTransitionsApplyWrapper(
 		// Session is considered active when executing a transaction.
 		ex.totalActiveTimeStopWatch.Start()
 
-		if err := ex.maybeSetSQLLivenessSession(); err != nil {
+		if err := ex.maybeSetSQLLivenessSessionAndGeneration(); err != nil {
 			return advanceInfo{}, err
 		}
 	case txnCommit:
@@ -4115,7 +4115,7 @@ func (ex *connExecutor) txnStateTransitionsApplyWrapper(
 		// In addition to resetting the extraTxnState, the restart event may
 		// also need to reset the sqlliveness.Session.
 		ex.resetExtraTxnState(ex.Ctx(), advInfo.txnEvent, payloadErr)
-		if err := ex.maybeSetSQLLivenessSession(); err != nil {
+		if err := ex.maybeSetSQLLivenessSessionAndGeneration(); err != nil {
 			return advanceInfo{}, err
 		}
 	default:
@@ -4186,7 +4186,7 @@ func (ex *connExecutor) waitForTxnJobs() error {
 	return retErr
 }
 
-func (ex *connExecutor) maybeSetSQLLivenessSession() error {
+func (ex *connExecutor) maybeSetSQLLivenessSessionAndGeneration() error {
 	if !ex.server.cfg.Codec.ForSystemTenant() ||
 		ex.server.cfg.TestingKnobs.ForceSQLLivenessSession {
 		// Update the leased descriptor collection with the current sqlliveness.Session.
@@ -4201,6 +4201,8 @@ func (ex *connExecutor) maybeSetSQLLivenessSession() error {
 		}
 		ex.extraTxnState.descCollection.SetSession(session)
 	}
+	// Reset the lease generation at the same time.
+	ex.extraTxnState.descCollection.ResetLeaseGeneration()
 	return nil
 }