Q&As

Where there are no rent review provisions provided in a long lease of farmland (50 years), are there default statutory rent review provisions whereby the landlord could require a rent review?

read titleRead full title
Produced in partnership with Jonathan Edwards of Radcliffe Chambers
Published on: 20 October 2016
imgtext

It is assumed for the purposes of this Q&A that the 50-year term still has a substantial period to run.

What type of farmland tenancy?

The starting point is to identify which statute applies to the tenancy in question. For many years, there have been specific statutory regimes for agricultural tenancies that apply instead of the provisions applicable to most business tenancies—see the exclusions at section 43 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). The key statutes are the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) and the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995). However, just because a tenancy comprises farmland does not necessarily mean it comes within either of these, although the vast majority of long tenancies of farmland will. It is necessary to check the statutory provisions.

Leaving aside tenancies of farmland which fall outside the specific statutory regimes for agriculture, the main issue

Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards chambers

Barrister, Radcliffe Chambers


Jonathan Edwards practises at Radcliffe Chambers in Lincoln’s Inn. He specialises in contested probate, claims to trust and estate assets, claims for partnership and estate accounts, property litigation including landlord and tenant, and insolvency and commercial disputes.

He is regularly instructed to represent clients in the High Court and County Court, and has been instructed to assist with proceedings in Jersey. Cases in which he has acted include Taylor v Taylor [2017] EWHC 1080 (Ch) and Burki v Seventy Thirty Limited [2018] EWHC 2151 (QB).

Powered by Lexis+®
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Rent Review definition
What does Rent Review mean?

A re-assessment of rent, often by reference to the market rent for comparable properties equivalent to a new lease of the property on the review date by a willing landlord to willing tenant for the actual property and terms of the existing lease, but subject to various assumptions and disregards

Popular documents