Valued guide to ins and outs of farming act

FOR most of us, it is daunting to enter a lawyer's office with shelves full of countless tomes on legislation and case law. So it is with considerable relief that the first book dedicated to a legal commentary on the 2003 Agricultural Holdings Act is both attractively laid out and written so that untrained minds can find their way around.

Entitled Scottish Agricultural Law Handbook, the book is by an expert on the subject, Somerled Notley, who has worked for Brodies, initially as a partner and now as a consultant on agricultural law, for more than 20 years.

Notley said: "It is meant to be different from other law books on the subject. It is meant to be user-friendly to a wider audience, such as land agents, factors and surveyors. While there are some excellent books on agricultural law, none currently deal with the 2003 act."

The 2003 act was considered by the Scottish Parliament as one of its major pieces of legislation because of its potential effect on land tenure. It set up new types of farm tenancies, while also consolidating other pieces of legislation relevant to letting farmland.

Prior to the new legislation, the inadequacies of the previous acts were demonstrated by agreements to get round the problems of letting land without creating an indefinite agricultural tenancy.

Notley added: "The 2003 act was both necessary and well-intentioned. At a stroke, it removed the legal fiction of limited partnerships as a way of getting around existing legislation."

There are two new types of tenancy now, in addition to the traditional or 1991 act tenancies. The new ones are termed short limited duration tenancies, which run up to five years and limited duration tenancies, which run for a minimum of 15 years.

Notley commented: "The introduction of fixed-term tenancies was an excellent idea. It is possible that more could have been done, but landowners were, rightly, very concerned about tenants of limited duration tenancies acquiring a right to buy their properties in the run-up to the new legislation being passed.

"I believe that is one reason why limited duration tenancies have received such a lukewarm welcome from landowners. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has now unequivocally excluded any extension of the pre-emptive right to buy.

"This should provide reassurance for more limited duration tenancies to be created."

Speaking earlier this week, Notley worried that there were still inherent problems in the tenanted sector. The gap between the two types of new tenancy was a problem, he said. He observed that too many tenants were still farming beyond normal retirement age, while landlords often amalgamated farms into bigger units. They also tend to let to existing tenants, rather than encouraging new blood into farming.

However, Notely was hopeful answers to these and other problems would come from the Tenant Farmer Forum, which is looking at how it can help the tenanted sector.

If and when these issues come through in amendments to the legislation, Notley said he would be keen to bring out another edition of the book to reflect the changes.

• Scottish Agricultural Law Handbook by Somerled Notley is published by Avizandum, price 90.