Harsh reality of crumbling old farmhouses
WHAT do people think of when they’re asked to imagine a farmhouse?
I guess most folk would think of a big, cosy kitchen, probably with a big old stove like an Aga or a Rayburn, and a selection of cats, dogs, wellies and jackets – perhaps even some pet lambs – fighting for space beside the fire. There might even be the aroma of crusty bread cooking in the oven.
Beyond that, though, the picture might get a bit more blurred and hazy. If you’re a romantic it might move up to spacious, bright bedrooms, with the first rays of the dawn’s sun streaming through the leaves on the nearby trees – as the birds strike up their dawn chorus in an attempt to outdo the crowing rooster.
I’ve no doubt there are a few like that outside the story books but in truth they’re probably a bit thin on the ground.
Damp, draughty, dingy and difficult to heat might be the slightly more jaundiced opinion held by many of the people who have to live in them the year round – and it’s probably closer to reality than the romantic picture outlined above.
And this more pessimistic view has been backed up by the findings of a Scottish Government committee which, as it looked into some of the problems facing tenant farmers, discovered conditions which simply wouldn’t be allowed in other sectors of the rented housing market.
As farmhouses have always been treated as part of the business, many of the rules and regulations on upkeep which apply to other rented houses simply don’t apply – and even if they do there is often very little chance of getting repairs done.
It’s true that many rented farms have been in the same family for decades. But the incentive to spend a lot of cash on a house which someone else owns is often limited.
With neither landlord nor tenant willing to invest much, there’s often little in the way of modernisation. And, so, a lot of farmhouses remain equipped with all mod cons – from the 1780s.
While these old buildings often don’t lend themselves to today’s creature comforts, another disincentive to modernise has been that until very recently, any improvements carried out by the tenant to the farmhouse – unlike those in the fields or the sheds – weren’t likely to be compensated if the family had to leave the farm.
That’s changed now – but further moves are still needed to bring many farmhouses closer to the 21st century than the 18th.