An inheritance tax relief which reduces the value for inheritance tax purposes of a transfer of ‘agricultural property’ by the appropriate percentage (ie 100% or 50%) of the value of that transfer which is attributable to the ‘agricultural value’. Agricultural property relief also applies to charges arising under the relevant property regime.

With some exceptions, the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) applies only to agreements entered into before 1 September 1995. An agricultural tenancy created on or after 1 September 1995 will almost certainly be a farm business tenancy governed by the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995). For further guidance in relation to farm business tenancies, see Practice Note: Farm business tenancies. However, practitioners still frequently have to deal with tenancies governed by AHA 1986, which continues to apply to: • all agricultural tenancies created before 1 September 1995, and • certain tenancies (principally succession tenancies) granted after that date which are specifically excluded from the application of the ATA 1995 Agricultural land for the purposes of AHA 1986 The AHA 1986 protects qualifying tenancies of ‘agricultural land’. Land only qualifies as agricultural land if it is used for ‘agriculture’ (as defined in AHA 1986, ss 1 and 96), and is so used for the purposes of a trade or business. The statutory definition includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming

At common law, a tenant’s ability to remove agricultural fixtures and buildings was more restricted than was the case in relation to trade fixtures and buildings — involving a more stringent application of the common law rule that anything fixed to the freehold becomes part of the freehold (and, consequently, the property of the landlord). This discrepancy is addressed by both the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) in relation to tenancies of agricultural holdings and the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995) in relation to farm business tenancies. Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 The tenant’s right under AHA 1986 to remove fixtures and buildings is subject to two pre-conditions: • the tenant must not be in breach of the tenancy, and • the tenant must also have given at least one month’s notice to the landlord, before both the intended exercise of the right and the end of the tenancy, of the fixtures or buildings that the tenant intends to remove Where these pre-conditions are met,

Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 General position A landlord and tenant may reach any agreement that they choose in relation to assignment, underletting or parting with possession. In practice, however, the tenancy will probably prohibit dealings. This will be as a result of: • the parties expressly agreeing the terms of such a prohibition (by way of either an absolute or qualified covenant), or • the tenancy agreement (whether oral or written) being silent in relation to dealings, in which case section 6 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) entitles the landlord to apply to an arbitrator for a written agreement to be produced which includes the matters listed in AHA 1986, Sch 1, one of which is a covenant by the tenant ‘not to assign, sub-let or part with possession of the holding or any part of it without the landlord’s consent in writing' The effect of an absolute prohibition is mitigated to some extent following the expiry of the original fixed term, because any tenancy from year to year which subsequently

Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 The Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) provides three different forums for the resolution of disputes in relation to tenancies that fall within the Act: • arbitration or third party determination • the ‘appropriate tribunal’, and • the court Under AHA 1986, certain disputes are compulsorily referred either to arbitration or to the appropriate tribunal. Any contractual term to the contrary is of no effect. Choosing the wrong forum is fatal to the claim (but choosing the wrong party is not: see Adams v Jones). Arbitration or third party determination Any dispute between the landlord and the tenant of an agricultural holding (to which AHA 1986 applies) arising: • under AHA 1986 or any custom or agreement, or • on or out of the termination of the tenancy of the holding or part of it must be determined by arbitration or by a third party under AHA 1986. Statutory arbitration or third party determination A number of disputes which arise during the currency of the tenancy must be referred to arbitration

Where the tenant quits all or part of the land occupied under an agricultural tenancy, including where termination is the result of the landlord serving a notice to quit, both the landlord and the tenant may be entitled to compensation. The amount of any compensation payable by the landlord to the tenant may be a factor in determining whether, and if so when, a notice to quit should be served. The basis for compensation is mainly statutory, under either the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) or the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995), but common law and customary rights to compensation continue to play a small residual role. Regard must also be had to the express terms of the tenancy agreement. Claim by Tenant Tenant-right A tenant under a tenancy which is protected under AHA 1986 and which was entered into after 1 March 1948 is entitled to compensation for ‘tenant-right’. The existence of the right to claim compensation under the Act excludes the right to claim compensation base on either custom or agreement. ’Tenant-right’

This Practice Note sets out the requirements under common law and the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) in respect of notices to quit served in respect of an agricultural holding and the special grounds (or ‘Cases’) under AHA 1986, Sch 3. Any notice served under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) must, at the bare minimum, comply with the common law requirements in relation to notices to quit, save as modified by the tenancy agreement. However, any requirement (common law or contractual) may be overridden by the more onerous provisions of AHA 1986. In the large majority of cases, a tenancy of an agricultural holding will be an annual periodic tenancy, either because it was granted as such or because it has been converted into one by the operation of AHA 1986, ss 2 and 3. The following rules (common law and statutory) apply: • the notice to quit must be given by the person entitled to the landlord's reversionary estate and relate to the whole of the land comprised in

Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 Under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986), either the landlord or the tenant may ‘demand’ that the ‘rent properly payable’ in respect of the holding ‘from the next termination date’ should be determined by arbitration or by a third party. The ‘next termination date’ will be the earliest date on which the tenancy could have been determined by a notice to quit given at the date of demand. This is the first anniversary of the term date which is at least 12 months after the date of the rent review demand. This formulation means that the statutory machinery cannot be used to secure a rent review in the case of a fixed term tenancy, as only yearly tenancies (including fixed term tenancies which have been continued under AHA 1986, s 2 after the fixed term has expired) are determinable by notice to quit: the only exception would appear to arise where the fixed term tenancy is `broken' by a provision or event that determines it before the expiry of the full term. This has prompted

Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 Where a tenancy agreement is governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986), the obligations of the landlord and the tenant in relation to the repair, maintenance and insurance of ‘fixed equipment’ (which includes buildings) will be dealt with: • in accordance with the terms of the tenancy agreement, or • (to the extent that the tenancy agreement is silent) in accordance with the terms of the ‘model clauses’ contained in: ◦ with effect from 1 October 2015 where the property is in England, the Agriculture (Model Clauses for Fixed Equipment) (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/950 (AMCFEER 2015) ◦ with effect from 1 November 2019 where the property is in Wales, the Agriculture (Model Clauses for Fixed Equipment) (Wales) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/1279 (AMCFEWR 2019) in each case replacing (from their respective commencement dates) the Agriculture (Maintenance, Repair and Insurance of Fixed Equipment) Regulations 1973, SI 1973/1473 (AMRIFER 1973). In practice, written tenancy agreements often expressly incorporate the model clauses in the form current at the

Statutory rights of succession in relation to an agricultural tenancy only exist if the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) applies to that tenancy. There are no succession rights in relation to farm business tenancies (ie tenancies granted under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995)). In substance, this means that: • where a tenancy granted before 12 July 1984 is one to which the AHA 1986 applies, the tenant automatically enjoys statutory rights of succession • where a tenancy granted on or after 12 July 1984 and before 1 September 1995 is one to which the AHA 1986 applies, the tenant enjoys those rights only if any one of the circumstances described in AHA 1986, s 34(1)(b) applies (the most common of which is that the parties have expressly included those rights in the tenancy agreement) • where a tenancy granted after 1 September 1995 is a ‘succession tenancy’ (ie it is a tenancy granted pursuant to a right of succession contained in an earlier tenancy agreement to which the AHA 1986 applied), it will remain subject

The European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee adopted its position on proposed amendments to EU rules on the production, labelling, certification and trade of organic products, backing measures aimed at protecting EU organic producers from unfair external competition and strengthening consumer confidence. Under the proposal, products imported from non-EU countries may use the EU organic logo only where they meet equivalent standards and comply with additional production and control requirements, ensuring fair competition between EU and non-EU operators.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note tracks and summarises EU regulatory legislation guidance and other ongoing policy developments in the agriculture and food sector. More specifically, this tracker covers all live, closed and upcoming consultations, evaluations and proposals related to guidance, code of practice and legislation in the agriculture and food sector. Key initiatives include the revision of EU Geographical Indications system for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, the revision of EU marketing standards of agricultural products, the revision of the EU Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation as well as the revision of promotion policy for EU agri-food products. It also includes Court of Justice cases in the agriculture and food sector. EU food policy aims to ensure a high level of food safety and animal and plant health within the EU. Agricultural policy also ensures food safety, as well as the availability of affordable food to EU citizens, fair living for farmers and the sustainable management of natural resources, through the Common