Letting a property to farm workers

When farmers rent out a spare cottage on their land to one of their farm workers it may seem like a win-win all round: the farmer gets to fill their empty property and have a worker on site, and the farm worker gets somewhere convenient to live.

However, as Andrew Little, Commercial Property Solicitor and agricultural law specialist at Pearsons & Ward (Malton office of Ware & Kay Solicitors) explains, farmers should ensure they do not inadvertently grant an assured agricultural occupancy instead of an assured shorthold tenancy in such situations as this would give their tenant more rights than they perhaps intended.

Unless farmers take specific steps to ensure the tenancy granted to an agricultural worker is an assured shorthold tenancy, an assured agricultural occupancy regulated by the Housing Act 1988 will automatically arise where a tenancy is granted on or after 15 January 1989. Tenancies granted before 15 January 1989 will be a protected tenancy regulated by the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976.

An agricultural worker is defined as a serving farm worker or a farm worker who has retired or was forced to give up work. They must have worked in agriculture for at least 35 hours a week, for 91 of the last 104 weeks when their agricultural tenancy began, and be living in accommodation owned by or organised by their employer.

If the agricultural worker dies, the tenancy rights automatically pass to their widow or widower or to a family member who was living at the property with the agricultural worker for the two years before the worker’s death.

Both Acts afford farm workers significant rights compared to an assured shorthold tenancy under the Housing Act 1988. For example, their tenancy can carry on even after their employment ends and you cannot evict them from your property unless you can find them suitable, alternative accommodation or gain possession using a court order; this is often tricky to obtain as you can only evict on the grounds to quit specified in the Acts.

To ensure you do not accidentally grant your agricultural worker an assured agricultural occupancy rather than the assured shorthold tenancy that you intended, there are certain steps you should follow before handing over the keys. This includes providing the agricultural worker with:

• a Form 9 written notice at the start of the tenancy explicitly stating that you are granting an assured shorthold tenancy;
• an inventory;
• a Gas Safety Certificate;
• an Energy Performance Certificate;
• a government ‘How to Rent Guide’; and
• an Electrical Safety Inspection report.

You should also ensure that any deposit provided is placed into a deposit protection scheme and the tenant has been given the details of where the deposit is held. Smoke alarms in good working order should be fitted on every floor used for living accommodation and right to rent checks must have been carried out on the tenant, as well as any adult occupier and children over the age of 18 years.

If you want to ensure the tenancy you are granting to your farm worker is an assured shorthold tenancy, our highly experienced agricultural law specialists can help. We can also advise you of the steps to take if you do want to regain possession of your property from a farm worker with an assured agricultural occupancy or a protected tenancy.

For further information contact Andrew Little at Pearsons & Ward on 01653 692247 or email andrew.little@pearslaw.co.uk