Tenants cite landlords entering ag schemes for loss of land

Landlords entering government agri-environment schemes was named as the main reason for tenant farmers having to surrender land within the next two years.

A survey of 3,900 farm businesses as part of Defra’s June census found that roughly 59% expected to rent the same amount of land during the next two years, with 24% of farmers unsure, 13% anticipating a decrease in land, and just 5% expecting an increase.

Looking at respondents expecting to lose rented land in the next two years, almost two-thirds of cases were due to landlords asking tenants to surrender rented land before the end of an agreement, or tenants not having the option to renew.

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More than half (56%) of tenants expecting to lose land said it would affect the farm business’s viability, while 24% did not believe it would have an impact and a further 20% were unsure.

Tenant farmers who reported they were expecting landlords to make them give back land before the end of a tenancy agreement were asked for the reasons behind this as part of the survey.

More than a third suggested it was due to landlords wanting to use the land for government-funded agri-environment schemes, while a further 32% suggested it was due to land being repurposed for non-agricultural use, such as development.

Other reasons, which covered new special sites of scientific interest (SSSIs) designations and tax reasons, accounted for a further 19% of cases.

Meanwhile, just 11% were expecting landlords to end tenancies for them to farm the land themselves and only 5% believed it was due to landlords renting the land to someone else.