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Assured Agricultural Occupancy
One thing most people know about agricultural workers is that their employment often includes housing – what was once called ‘tied accommodation’. In the past, such housing provided little or no security of tenure. However, fifty years ago, Parliament first legislated to give agricultural workers a degree of protection. Today, they may reside under an Assured Agricultural Occupancy, which is similar to an assured tenancy, providing them with security of tenure after they cease working for their landlord.
Housing Act 1988
The key date is 15 January 1989. If the occupation began before then, the relevant legislation is the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 (“the 1976 Act”). After that, Part I, Chapter III of the Housing Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) applies. Unsurprisingly, there are relatively few remaining tenancies under the 1976 Act, so this article focuses on Assured Agricultural Occupancy under the 1988 Act.
It is important to note that not all agricultural workers living in accommodation owned by their employer hold an Assured Agricultural Occupancy. Instead, many have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (“AST”). ASTs are also governed by the 1988 Act, but provide the tenant with little protection.
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Qualifying for an Assured Agricultural Occupancy
There are three requirements to satisfy to qualify as an assured agricultural occupier:
- Qualifying worker. At some point during their occupation of the property, the occupier must have been a farm worker employed in agriculture for at least 91 out of the last 104 weeks, working a minimum of 35 hours a week (i.e. full-time). Crucially, if the worker gives up a qualifying tenancy to take up a new job with a qualifying tenancy, the accrued time continues to run.
- Qualifying tenancy. They must also have been occupying the property either under an assured tenancy (or one that would otherwise be an assured tenancy but for the fact that no rent or a low rent is being paid) or under a licence giving them exclusive possession of the dwelling house.
- Qualifying ownership. The farm worker must either be housed by their employer or have had their housing arranged by their employer.
If all these conditions overlap at some point during the occupier’s occupation, they are likely to qualify as an assured agricultural occupier.
Protection offered by an Assured Agricultural Occupation
The main protections afforded to an assured agricultural occupier are that:
- for their landlord to recover possession, they will usually need to establish one of the grounds in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, which can be challenging.
- they can be succeeded in the tenancy by their spouse or civil partner (or in some instances by another family member).
Rent payable
During their period of employment with the landlord, the rent paid by an assured agricultural occupier is set out in their employment contract. In many cases, no rent is payable. However, if rent is payable and the landlord wishes to increase the rent, they must either.
- do so by reference to a clause in the contact; or
- agree on the increase with the occupier.
Once the contract ends, the rent remains the same until the landlord decides to charge or increase rent. If the contract contains no rent review clause, the landlord can increase (or begin charging) rent using a:
- Section 13 rent increase notice; or
- Section 6 notice to vary the tenancy terms.
Occupiers can refer an increase to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine a reasonable market rent. Although the Tribunal cannot prevent the landlord from charging a market rent, it can delay the increase.
Responsibility for property repairs
During the contractual period, the landlord must ensure the property fitness for human habitation and keep the structure and exterior in good repair. The landlord is also responsible for maintaining the installations for electricity, gas, water, sanitation, heating, and hot water. The occupier must allow the landlord or their nominated agent reasonable access for repairs.
During the statutory periodic assured tenancy following the period of employment, the landlord remains responsible for maintaining the property’s structure and exterior in good repair. The landlord also continues to be responsible for keeping the installations for the supply of electricity, gas, water, sanitation, heating and hot water in good repair.
Avoiding Assured Agricultural Occupation
Generally, landlords will want to prevent a new agricultural employee from gaining security of tenure. To achieve this, they must serve a Form 9 on an employee who is likely to qualify as an assured agricultural occupant before they move into the property and sign an AST.
Form 9 puts the employee on notice that although they might otherwise satisfy the conditions of an assured agricultural occupier, the accommodation is provided under an AST, without security of tenure.
Allowing the employee to move into the property without providing the proper advance notice could create a secure tenancy, making it very difficult to evict the tenant once their employment ends. There have been numerous instances where farmers have had to rehouse a former employee to accommodate a new one.
It is also worth noting that these rights apply even when the accommodation is arguably less permanent, such as a mobile home.