How communication can help bridge the divide between farmers and landlords

“We get it from both sides”, she said, “but, I have always said good quality communication is very much key.

“The sooner a land-owner knows there is potential for a scheme to take place, like solar, housing or something else, that should trigger, at least, an initial conversation with the tenant.

“Forewarned is forearmed. The tenant can start to think about ‘how will that affect my business’, what level of compensation do I consider fair, is there something else the landlord has I might want instead.’”

Should the landlord wanted a section of land from the east of its estate, for example, the tenant could ask for land elsewhere within the estate, even if it was only available in a couple of years time, Ms Salt-Crockford explains.

The landlord also might not know whether the tenant is considering retirement, leaving agriculture or wanting to grow their business which can impact decision-making and negotiations.

“It comes back to communication, “ she added. “The sooner you have constructive conversation rather than thinking ‘what is the landlord taking from me’, you can facilitate what is possible.”

Being a tenant farmer always comes with an element of risk, says the surveyor, much like house renters who can be at risk of landlords wanting to sell or changing plans.

There are two main types of farm tenancy agreements.

Farm Business Tenancies governed by the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 – are relevant to agreements after September 1, 1995. For those taken out before September 1, 1995 they are 1986 Act Tenancies governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

Each has different clauses and inclusions but regardless, landlords and tenants of a Farm Business Tenancy can end the tenancy by issuing a notice to quit.

The minimum notice period to quit is 12 months.

When it comes to land being taken back by the landlord for another use it can take years to get through scoping and planning stages and gives enough opportunity for a compensation deal to be struck.

Ms Salt-Crockford added: “You are going to have a three year lead time, if you have a good agent and the tenant is open to conversation, both sides can come off happy.

“It does happen (that the landlord won’t co-operate) but not very frequently. We have professional members as well as land-owners and we do speak about this.

“If it comes to the point of a tribunal or court, that shows communication has been really poor and broken from an early stage.

“If both parties come with the best of intention, what you can achieve is brilliant.”

Communication will be more pertinent in future as land supply becomes more finite.

In the past, new entrants or smaller farms could come by 60 acre plots where they can manage 30 dairy cows for example,

However, in order to be more commercially viable, farms need to be looking at 200 acres as a starting point so some holdings have merged with others.

What may have been Park Farm, Fir Tree Farm or Holly Farm is now Park Farm Limited, for example.

Ms Salt-Crockford says this is not unique to tenant farmers, but more as a result of the government having “not paid attention” to the bigger picture of farming over the last 30 years.

Even with the government’s Land-Use Framework, revealed in March this year, it doesn’t offer a clear way forward.

She said: “It claims it sets out answers for food security, infrastructure, nature and the environment but it is not overly prescriptive. Is it there to support farmers or is it because we need a plan for infrastructure and solar?

“Tenant farmers are one part of a much larger question around the future of agriculture in the UK and how much importance it is being given.”