This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Agricultural Holdings Act comes into force
15/12/2004
New provisions to promote economic opportunities in
rural Scotland come into effect today.
New tenancy arrangements will give many tenant farmers
the chance to buy the farms they rent should the landowner
choose to sell.
The introduction of these opportunities means the
Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 is now fully
in force.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"This legislation provides the security that our tenants
and landlords need to invest in their businesses, helping
to boost the rural economy and support rural
communities.
"Tenants will benefit from enhanced freedoms to develop
their farm business, including the pre-emptive right to buy
their farm and new rights to diversify for those who
continue to rent.
"The new tenancy options provide greater choice for
landowners enabling them to better manage their land. This
is good news for the sector.
"We are confident that this Act will stand the test of
time and have no plans to legislate further. We look now to
the industry to make it work in the interests of rural
Scotland."
The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 received
Royal Assent on April 22 2003. The 2003 Act modernises
legislation governing farm tenancies so that it better
reflects the needs and expectations of tenants and
landlords today. In particular it:
- introduces the limited duration tenancy and short
limited duration tenancy, which will enable landlords
to manage let land with greater certainty than existing
statutory tenancies have allowed while also giving
tenants strong security of tenure;
- introduces affordable, simpler and quicker
arrangements for resolving disputes between landlord
and tenant, with an enhanced role being given to the
Scottish Land Court; and
- extends tenants' rights in numerous respects (e.g.
rights to use farmland for non-agricultural purposes,
guaranteed rights of compensation at the end of a lease
for farm improvements made by the tenant), but in ways
that ensure that landlords' reasonable rights and
expectations are protected.
Another such right for tenants comes into effect today.
The pre-emptive right to buy will be available to tenants
whose tenancy is governed by the Agricultural Holdings
(Scotland) Act 1991. It also applies to 1991 Act tenancies
in which the tenant is a limited partnership, where the
right to buy applies to the general partner within that
partnership (who is the de facto tenant). In order to be
able to exercise the right to buy, a tenant or general
partner must register interest in acquiring the farm on the
Register of Community Interests in Land.
The new Act is the product of almost seven years' work
in close consultation with the industry. In developing
provisions both in the 2003 Act and supporting regulations
and orders, the Scottish Executive has liaised with key
representative bodies involved in agricultural tenancy law.
These include NFU Scotland, the Scottish Tenant Farmers
Association, the Scottish Rural Property Business
Association, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
in Scotland, the Scottish Estates Business Group the
Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association and
the Law Society of Scotland.