Farming law

Bob McIntosh, the Tenant Farming Commissioner, recently issued a Code of Practice about the maintenance of the condition of tenanted agricultural holdings. Legally, landlords are obliged to provide fixed equipment in a thorough state of repair at the outset of the lease and replace and renew it when it wears out because of fair wear and tear. The tenant’s obligation is to maintain and repair it.

Practically, however, difficulties often arise about who is responsible, for example, in the case of a building. Does it need to be replaced because it is worn out through fair wear and tear or because of a lack of maintenance on the part of the tenant?

The code does not wave a magic wand to solve these problems but does set out a means of tackling them. It suggests regular meetings to discuss and agree on the state of the fixed equipment and who is responsible for what. It also recommends agreeing a timetable for carrying out repairs or replacing equipment. The code also suggests that where an obligation is likely to involve significant expenditure for either party, it is important that both parties are realistic about affordability. If there is a large backlog of work or a significant cost to be incurred by one party, compliance with an obligation may need to be scheduled over a longer period than might be considered desirable by the other party. The code also proposes that if either party lacks financial resources to meet a particular obligation within a reasonable timescale, the other party might agree to pay for part of its obligations in return for an appropriate adjustment to rent.

Fixed equipment liabilities are a vexed question in agricultural tenancies. The code will at least provide a framework within which landlords and tenants can work towards reaching agreement about who does what.

Hamish Lean is a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn. For more information you can contact him on 01224 621166 or at hamish.lean@shepwedd.com