Cruse v F J Snook & Son Limited, 2017
Under Paragraph 9 Part II of Schedule 3 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 a landlord of an agricultural holding can apply for what is commonly known as a certificate of bad husbandry against their tenant. Applications for a certificate of bad husbandry are rare, and it is even rarer that they succeed.
However, in the recent case of Cruse v F J Snook & Son Limited, 2017 this is just what happened. The application related to a small field in Wiltshire that was enrolled in a long-term Environmental Stewardship Scheme. The tenant argued that because it was enrolled in the scheme they could not farm the land how they wanted, but had to comply with the requirements of the scheme. However, the tenant had not obtained Mr Cruse’s consent to enter into the scheme. This failure to obtain consent proved fatal to the tenant. The Tribunal decided that as the land was not producing a crop the tenant company was not maintaining a reasonable standard of efficient production and the tenant was therefore not fulfilling its responsibilities to farm the land in accordance with the rules of good husbandry. The Tribunal therefore issued the certificate requested by Mr Cruse.
If you have any similar issues relating to land you rent or occupy please contact us.