Tenants' concern at rent ruling appeal

THE Scottish Tenant Farmers Association yesterday stated they were "disappointed but not surprised" about the appeal lodged on behalf of Richard Morrison-Low, the landlord of Moonzie, over the decison of the Land Court.

Angus McCall, the chairman of the STFA, said the wide sense of relief felt among tenant farmers at the reduced rent set by the Scottish Land Court on Moonzie Farm last month had been short-lived.

"The Moonzie case demonstrates the flaws inherent in a system relying on an arcane method of reviewing rents based on an 'open market' which does not exist and a judicial procedure which can take years to complete," he said.

He claimed potential costs in dispute resolution were out of all proportion to the rent difference in question.

"It is now time for sense to prevail in what is essentially a valuation exercise - agreeing a fair rent for a farm.

"This appeal against the Land Court decision prolongs the agony for the tenant and his family. He did not initiate the original action and has had to act in self-defence in protecting his business."

McCall believed the delayed outcome of the Moonzie case will paralyse the tenanted sector for the next year or more and prolong the free-for-all that many rent reviews have descended into.

"Too often they become a war zone with any notion of partnership between landlord and tenant thrown completely out of the window.

"There is clearly a need to get back to basics and devise a simplified way of setting fair agricultural rents based on the productive capacity of the holding, the economics of farming and the respective inputs by landlord and tenant."

He descibed the current system as a "shameful waste".