The Law Commission (LC) has launched its 14th programme of law reform today. Alongside the seventeen existing projects, ten new projects are announced, including a project to examine the law governing tenancies of agricultural land which it says is an important area and long overdue.
In its introduction to the project, the LC says of both The Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and The Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995:
“We have heard that these regimes may not correctly balance the interests of landowners and tenants and that the lack of security of tenure and often short-term nature of many tenancies is a barrier to investment and the viability of some tenanted farm businesses. We have also been told that the current law may restrict tenant farmers from diversifying and adapting their businesses and benefiting from new opportunities. The current law may therefore hinder economic growth and opportunity for tenant farmers.”
According to the LC, the project will consider whether the existing law properly balances giving tenant farmers sufficient security to encourage investment and maintain viable farm businesses, opportunities for new entrants to access farming opportunities, and the interests and confidence of landlords to let land. It will also consider whether the law impedes tenant farmers from diversifying their businesses, including to farm in more sustainable ways; whether the law supports a collaborative approach between landlords and tenants; and whether there are technical issues which cause problems in practice.
This clearly signals that changes to both security of tenure and property rights – i.e. what a tenant can and can not due as a matter of law as opposed to contract – are likely or, at least, possible. Amidst the general level of anxiety and uncertainty currently impacting the agricultural sector as a whole, some may consider that the last thing that is currently required is what could be a significant change in agricultural tenancy law. It is not difficult to see that this could result in a reduction in the supply of land available to the agricultural tenanted sector until such time as what is now a material uncertainty as to how the law may change has been resolved.
It is worth recalling that the Rock Review called for the LC “to update legislation pertaining to agriculture, tenancies, and land use in England to bring it into the 21st Century and make it fit for the multiple demands being made on land” and made some detailed recommendations as to what legislative changes should be considered. None of those recommendations included a review of the law around security of tenure.
