Rents fall, but TFA calls for bigger cuts
Rents fall, but TFA calls for bigger cuts
RENTS for tenanted farms under review dropped last year, but the Tenant Farmers Association believe there is a case for even greater reductions this year.
Figures released by the TFA indicate that rents fell in all sectors (see graph) but the biggest decrease was on livestock holdings where the average payment is now £111/ha (£45/acre) – a drop of 27%.
TFA spokesman George Dunn says agreements coming up for review this year were last looked at in 1998. He believes trading conditions have gone downhill since then and rents should also go down. "Nobody is making any money and that has to be reflected in rents."
Large landowners, such as the Crown Estate and National Trust, have tended to react positively, adds Mr Dunn. But he is critical of some agents who act for smaller private landlords. "Farm incomes are showing a major decline yet certain people are looking at ways to keep rents artificially higher than they would otherwise be." Some are trying to obtain higher rents using valuations and comparables which have no basis in law, according to Mr Dunn. A number are still trying to compare rents under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 with farm business tenancies, which is not permissible.
Landlords are also accused of trying to implement reviews where particularly high values are attached to farmhouses and cottages, which the TFA maintains is not relevant.
Not unfair
But the Country Land and Business Associations Oliver Harwood denies landlords are acting unfairly. "Not every landlord is 100% honest, but nor is every tenant. The majority of the CLAs members are sympathetic to the needs of their tenants.
"It is not true that tenancy agreements are written solely in favour of the owner, most of whom are simply looking for a proper rent based on a farms merits," says Mr Harwood. *