Survey reveals landlords not sitting on land

Farming correspondent

Thursday 14 June 2012

Scottish Land and Estates (SL&E), one of the organisations that represents Scottish landlords, yesterday published the results of a survey that reveals landowners are not "sitting" on land that should be let.

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ROG WOOD

The survey of 20 major estates, which let more than 650 tenancies out of the 7000 or so in Scotland, reveals that 70% of the farmland on these estates is let on recognised agricultural tenancies. The remainder is either farmed on a contract basis, or in-hand, with only 6% let on seasonal grazing.

The survey comes at a time of increasing tension between landlords and tenants and Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead indicating that there will be a review of agricultural holdings legislation in 18 months to two years time. There is currently a heated debate about how best to encourage landowners to let more land to new entrants. That is in addition to the Tenant Farming Forum (TFF) attempting to find ways of resolving rent disputes without incurring six-figure legal bills.Andrew Howard, SL&E board member and a member of the TFF told farming journalist at a briefing in Perth yesterday that: "The debate needs to be underpinned with facts."This survey is a snapshot of what is happening on larger estates. The results show clearly that these landowners are not "sitting" on land that should be let on the market as some commentators have suggested."If the political imperative is to see more land being let, we must ask the question where is that land going to come from? The figures clearly demonstrate the majority of land that can be let by the large estates is indeed being let".Conceding that smaller estates account for the bulk of Scottish lettings, Mr Howard revealed that the TFF was going to conduct similar, further investigations on them.Mr Howard went on to explain that the lack of "churn" in the tenanted sector was down to landlords lacking confidence due to the uncertainty created with land reform looming in the near future and CAP reform. "There is little doubt that both landlords and tenants are waiting to see the outcome of CAP reforms", he added.That comment followed on from a Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) press release on Tuesday that warned: "STFA is well aware of landlord's attempts to second-guess the CAP rules by inserting clauses into new leases which seek to ensure that entitlements to SFP (Single Farm Payments) are transferred to the landlord at the end of the tenancy, usually for a nominal sum.Angus McCall, STFA Chairman said: "At this stage we cannot be sure of the small print in the new CAP regime, and we would urge all tenants to take legal advice before they sign any document which seeks to deprive them of SFP."We are also aware that this is a common occurrence in England where similar advice is being given to tenants by TFA, STFA's sister organisation."

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Survey reveals landlords not sitting on land

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