Government signs up to major farm tenancy reforms
Plans to help secure a profitable future for tenant farmers, including a new code to stimulate more diversification, have been broadly supported by government.
Most proposals by the Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) to boost the tenant farm sector have been accepted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), including changes to legislation.
New measures include
- A Code of Good Practice on diversification for tenant farms, and a new adjudication scheme to handle disputes.
- Removal of barriers to ensure that diversification does not prevent tenancy succession
- Greater flexibility for landlords and tenants to agree rent review provisions
- Flexibility for landlords and tenants to agree limits on compensation payable at the end of tenancies
Other recommendations are being considered further within wider work by Defra.
Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty said:
"I am delighted to be able to agree to the majority of recommendations in the TRIG report. Turning these proposals into reality will help to ensure that tenant farmers and their landlords can make an important contribution to the government's objective of a more sustainable, diverse, modern and adaptable farming industry."
Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael said,
"Tenant farmers make an important contribution to the rural economy - but until now they have been hampered by outdated legislation preventing them from moving into new and profitable areas. The changes we are making now will remove some of the barriers that prevent tenant farmers diversifying, and rural communities will profit as a result."
Julian Sayers, Chairman of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group said,
"I am pleased that ministers agree with the majority of the Group's proposals, which once implemented will help to strengthen the tenanted sector within the farming industry. The members of the Group worked hard to produce their detailed recommendations, which have the support of all the organisations they represent."
