There is a consultation seeking views on options for reform of agricultural tenancy law.
The plans include:
- Enabling tenants with Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) agreements who have no natural successor to have the option to assign their tenancy to a new, unrelated tenant farmer. This would provide an exit route to older tenants seeking to retire by releasing the value of their tenancy. It would also provide a route for new tenants to enter the sector.
- Widening the pool of relatives that qualify to succeed on the tenancy to include nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
The reforms would also encourage landlords to grant longer farm business tenancies of ten years of more, Unfortunately for landowners, this might be by restricting entitlement to Agricultural Property Relief on shorter lets. The consultation will end on 2 July 2019. You can contribute your views by following this link.
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