Business Clinic: Lifting an agricultural occupancy condition

Whether it’s a legal, tax, insurance, management or land issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help.

Here, Nick Curnock, associate at Carter Jonas, advises on the options for removing an ag tie.

See also: Business Clinic: Should I sell farm cottages or improve them?

Q. We are wondering whether we might be able to remove an agricultural tie from a farm cottage. What steps do we need to follow and are there any risks in trying to do so? What should we be aware of in the process?

A. Agricultural ties are planning conditions attached to properties in the open countryside, usually where development is not normally permitted. More formally known as agricultural occupancy conditions (AOCs), agricultural ties are permitted by a local planning authority (LPA) when there is a genuine need by an agricultural business.

They restrict the occupancy of the property to someone employed in agriculture or forestry (sometimes including those last employed in these sectors) plus other related rural enterprises and were originally allowed to support businesses that needed an employee to be available on site 24 hours a day.

The valuation of properties subject to an AOC is dependent on context.

For a farmhouse or cottage/bungalow as a secondary dwelling on a commercial farm holding where there is a need for staff it would not be expected that there would be much differential with or without an AOC.

However, if someone has a surplus cottage they’re looking to sell, then the impact on value could be significant.

Two methods for removal

It is possible to remove an agricultural tie from a residential dwelling and there are two main methods.

The first centres on proving a 10-year breach and the other requires the owner to prove no local demand.

The owner therefore needs to be very clear before they start the process what their objectives are.

Successfully proving a 10-year breach will mean the LPA can grant a certificate of lawful use or development (Clued).

This requires that you need to have been in breach for more than 10 years, and the breach must have been continuous throughout that period.

An application setting out reasons for a lawful development certificate will need supporting evidence, including the planning condition attached to the property.

If you don’t have a copy, this would usually be kept by the LPA. Statutory declarations by the owners and occupiers may also be needed.

When you go down the Clued route, there is the potential for enforcement action from the LPA as you have identified and acknowledged a breach.

Law behind agricultural ties

The specific legislation defining an agricultural worker is section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which provides a broad definition of an agricultural worker.

Formerly, Section 290 (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 similarly defined an agricultural worker for older consents.

This means applicants need to be very careful in demonstrating a breach.

The other common method to remove an agricultural tie is to demonstrate that no local demand exists for the property.

This requires the owner to market the property for at least 12 months at a price that reflects the condition restriction.

If no eligible buyer is found, the owner can then apply for the condition to be removed through a section 73 application. However, by taking this route there is the risk that someone who meets the occupancy conditions could want to purchase the property.

As a vendor you would not be obliged to sell it to them, but it would invalidate any claim that there was no demand for a property with an AOC.

Both options are fairly straightforward, but seeking expert advice is advisable in order to navigate the potential breach or determine the risk of putting the property on the market for 12 months.

Every scenario is different and there are other more bespoke methods available that depend very much on the nature of the individual property.

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