Agricutural Tenancies
What is an Agricultural Tenancy?
If you are employed in agriculture and are provided with accommodation by your employer you are likely to have an agricultural tenancy. It is your rights and responsibilities that we are considering here.
If you are a tenant farmer who is not employed by his/her landlord your rights are different; these will be considered at a later date.
What type of tenancy do I have?
Your rights and responsibilities depend upon when your tenancy began. If it began before January 15th 1989 your rights are set out in the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976. If it began after January 15th 1989 your rights are set out in the Housing Act 1988.
To avoid confusion we will consider each tenancy in turn.
Tenancies that began before January 15th 1989
To qualify, your tenancy must have begun before January 15th 1989 and you must have worked full time in agriculture for 91 weeks out of the last 104 weeks.
How secure is my tenancy?
Your landlord can only gain possession of your property by applying to court to end your tenancy. A court will only grant possession if one or more of the 'grounds for possession' are satisfied.
There are 13 grounds for possession, 10 of these are discretionary whilst 3 are mandatory. If the ground is discretionary, a court can only grant possession to the landlord if it is reasonable to do so. If the ground is mandatory, the court must award the landlord possession of the property if the ground is proved.
What are these grounds for possession?
A landlord will use a discretionary ground for possession if you have failed to perform a duty or you have broken a condition of your tenancy. Failure to pay your rent, causing nuisance or annoyance to your neighbours or damaging furniture provided by your landlord are all examples of these discretionary grounds.
There are two discretionary grounds that need to be paid particular attention. If the landlord provides or arranges suitable alternative accommodation or has arranged the local authority to provide alternative accommodation, they can apply to the court for possession of the property.
Mandatory grounds for possession will be used by the landlord if he/she wants to live in the property, if the property is overcrowded or if it is required as a retirement home.
What happens to my tenancy if I die?
If you have a spouse or cohabitee and they lived with you immediately before your death they are entitled to take over or 'succeed' your tenancy. If there is no spouse a close member of the family can succeed to the tenancy if they have lived with you the 2 years immediately before your death. Only one succession is permitted.
Tenancies that began after January 15th 1989
The Housing Act 1988 created a tenancy called an 'assured agricultural occupancy'. To qualify you must hold the tenancy of a property and worked full time in agriculture for 91 weeks out of the last 104 weeks.
How secure is my tenancy?
Your landlord can only gain possession of your property by applying to court to end your tenancy. A court will only grant possession if one or more of the 'grounds for possession' are satisfied.
There are 16 grounds for possession, 8 of these are discretionary whilst 8 are mandatory. If the ground is discretionary, a court can only grant possession to the landlord if it is reasonable to do so. If the ground is mandatory, the court must award the landlord possession of the property if the ground is proved.
What are the grounds for possession?
Mandatory;
The landlord wishes to return home to his/her property
Mortgage lender needs vacant possession to sell the property
Property was an out of season holiday let
Property was let as student accommodation
Property required for a minister of religion
Landlord intends to demolish, reconstruct or carry out substantial work
Person has inherited a tenancy and is not eligible to take it on
At least 8 weeks rent arrears outstanding when action is taken and when the case reaches court
Discretionary;
Suitable alternative accommodation is available
Rent arrears outstanding
Persistently delayed rent payments
Tenant has broken a term of the tenancy
Damage or neglect to the property
Nuisance or annoyance to neighbours or convicted of using the property for illegal or immoral purposes
Damage to furniture owned by landlord
Tenant has knowingly or recklessly made false statements to the landlord
What happens to my tenancy if I die?
If you have a spouse or cohabitee and they lived with you immediately before your death they are entitled to take over or 'succeed' your tenancy. If there is no spouse a close member of the family can succeed to the tenancy if they have lived with you the 2 years immediately before your death. Only one succession is permitted.
Further information
If you have an agricultural tenancy and you do need further advice and assistance then please contact the Housing Options Team.
| email: | HousingOptions@northshropshiredc.gov.uk |
|---|---|
| telephone: | 01939 238520 |
| fax: | 01939 238456 |
