Case H: Ministry Certificate
7.129 Case H enables the Minister or Secretary of State for Wales (whichever is appropriate), to serve notice to quit in order to enable him to effect an amalgamation or reshaping of an agricultural unit.
The Agriculture Act 1967 gives the Minister statutory power to acquire land for the purpose of reshaping or amalgamating holdings. Any tenancy of land so acquired should contain an acknowledgement that the tenancy is subject to Case H or s 29 of the 1967 Act. If it does so, then Case H enables the Minister to certify that the notice to quit is given for the purpose of enabling him to use, or dispose of, the land so as to effect an amalgamation or reshaping of an agricultural unit.284 If a certificate is given the notice to quit will take effect under Case H, arbitration not being available to challenge the notice in this instance.8Servicemen tenants: Special Rules
7.130 The security of tenure provisions of the 1986 Act are modified in some respects by s 30 and Sch 5 ibid to confer additional protection on certain categories of serviceman. These anachronistic provisions were originally introduced in the immediate post war period to confer additional protection on servicemen who were called up to the armed forces (for example for national service).285 A serviceman performing a period of ‘relevant service’ (which includes most forms of service in the reserve and auxiliary services, though not the regular services), is given a ‘period of residence protection’ comprising his period of service and the four months following its termination.286 The agricultural holding must, however, include a dwelling-house occupied by the person responsible for the control of the farming of the holding.287 Where a notice to quit is given pursuant to Cases B to G (above), the tenant can serve a counter notice referring the notice to the agricultural land tribunal for consent.288 When considering whether to grant consent, the tribunal must, if satisfied that any of Cases B to G are made out, consider whether, and to what extent, the existence of those circumstances is directly or indirectly attributable to the tenant’s performing the service in question.289 They must also, in any case, consider to what extent the giving of consent to the notice to quit during the period of service residence protection would cause special hardship to the tenant. Furthermore, Article 17(2) of the Arbitration on Notices Order290 provides that the tribunal may, if the notice to quit was given pursuant to Case B, D or E and it is expedient to do so, require any of the reasons stated in the notice to be determined by arbitration before they consider whether to consent to the notice to quit.
Article 17(3) modifies the operation of Art 9 ibid so that a failure to demand arbitration on the notice to quit will not preclude the tenant from challenging the reasons stated in subsequent tribunal proceedings for consent.