An agricultural occupancy condition is often imposed on new rural properties. They limit the use and occupation of the property to those employed in agriculture and were originally aimed at ensuring that the dwelling remains available to the wider agricultural community. It is only when properties subject to such conditions are being sold or change hands, that the conditions can become problematic.
New owners may not be able to comply with the conditions and owners may find it difficult to sell properties subject to them. Faced with this, there are several options as to how best to deal with them.
Option 1 – Satisfying a condition
Those satisfying the agricultural occupancy condition have no issue. Others need to consider if they can comply with the condition. Agriculture is defined in the Agricultural Acts dating back to the 1940s. Employed in agriculture means “involved with growing crops or looking after livestock”. Those supplying services to agricultural businesses such as contractors, do not normally comply.
Option 2 – Removal of condition
This has to be done by way of a planning application, underpinned by proof that there is no longer any need for an agricultural dwelling on the holding or in the locality. This can usually be demonstrated by the failure of an extended marketing campaign to find a buyer for the property who is able to comply with the condition.
Option 3 – Non-compliance with a condition
Breach of the condition will be unenforceable if sufficient time has passed and the local authority can no longer take action. In the case of agricultural occupancy conditions, this is 10 years. If non-compliance has occurred continuously for 10 years or more, a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development (CLEUD) can be applied for and this allows for occupation without complying with the condition.
Option 4 – Amending the condition
It is possible to amend a condition, for example, to bring it into line with modern wording or to add other quasi-agricultural uses such as grazing horses. This also has to be done by a planning application to the local authority.
Our Chambers-rated agriculture and estates team handles the acquisition and sale of a wide range of rural property including agricultural land, farms and country houses.
We are delighted to welcome senior associate Adam Hale to our agriculture & estates team this month. Adam, a specialist in agricultural law, estate planning and estate administration, joins the…
For prescriptive rights to arise over land, they have to have been exercised without force, secrecy or permission of the landowner. Winterburn v Bennet In the case of Winterburn v Bennett, the…
The High Court decision in Lancashire County Council v The Secretary of State for Environment is a salutary warning to landowners of the risks of not taking steps to prevent…
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use performance cookies such as Google Analytics to help us count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work, please see our cookie policy.