Changes to the Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) 1986, relating to tenancy succession laws in the UK, came in to effect of September 1.

Upon eligibility, a close relative of a tenant can inherit the agricultural holding under two circumstances: On death of a sole surviving tenant; or on retirement of a sole tenant (or all joint tenant).

However, the tenancy must be governed by the AHA 1986 before the new rules apply and only two successions are permitted in every tenancy case.

An applicant must fulfil certain criteria before they are permitted to takeover the tenancy lease upon the death or retirement of the previous occupier.

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The candidate looking to takeover must be categorised as an “eligible person” meaning they must be a close relative of the deceased or retiree, for example, a spouse/civil partner, sibling, or a child/treated as a child.

Under the new changes, the applicant will need to undertake a suitability test to demonstrate that they have the likely capacity to farm the holding “commercially to high standards of efficient production and care for the environment.”

The test may include an assessment of the applicant’s experience, training or agricultural expertise as well as their health, financial standing and strength of character.

If the tenancy was on the open market, consideration would be given to whether “a prudent landlord would regard the applicant to be of a standard which they would be willing to grant them tenancy.”

Previously, an applicant would be excluded from a tenancy succession if they were already in possession of a commercial unit of agricultural land.

This occupancy condition has been abolished under the new changes as it was considered discriminatory to entrepreneurial tenants. These changes were brought in to ensure the law is more reflective of modern farming practices and align with current agricultural policy within government.

The changes will however potentially weaken a landlord’s ability to recover vacant land but strict statutory time periods for service of notices under the AHA will continue to apply.