Agricultural tenants warned over withholding rent
Tenant farmers adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic are advised that they must still pay their rent if they have been served with a two months’ notice to pay despite adjustments made to possession legislation in the Coronavirus Act.
New Civil Procedure Rules 55 amended by Practice Direction 51z to stay any possession proceedings by a landlord for at least 90 days will not remove the risk of not paying rent for an Agricultural Holding Act tenancy after a notice to pay has been served.
Practice direction strongly advises landlords however, not to commence new proceedings.
Non-payment of rent for a Farm Business Tenancy is usually dealt with by forfeiture which may be harder during the Covid crisis.
I was recently a panellist on an online seminar organised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors considering the impact on agricultural tenancies and other issues from Covid-19.
We ascertained that agricultural rent levels have not noticeably been affected by Covid yet, as Brexit is still the main concern, although Covid may feed in later in the year following the drop in some commodity prices such as potatoes and fall in demand for milk and beef.
Philip Meade, Davis Meade Property Consultants, Oswestry office
