Case A: Retirement of Statutory Smallholders

7.58 The Agricultural Holdings Act 1984, following recommendations of the Northfield Committee, introduced compulsory retirement for tenants of statutory smallholdings. This was achieved by introducing what is now Case A to Sch 3 of the 1986 Act, enabling a smallholdings authority to serve a notice to quit upon the tenant attaining the age of 65.

(a)if the result of the notice to quit would be to deprive the tenant of living accommodation occupied by him under the tenancy, then suitable alternative accommodation must be available for him, or must be available at the date the notice takes effect;

(b)the tenancy agreement itself must contain an acknowledgement, signed by the tenant, stating that the tenancy is subject to Case A (or its predecessor, Case I to s 2(3) of the Agricultural Holdings (Notices to Quit) Act 1977;

(c)the tenancy must have been granted on or after 12 September 1984 (ie on or after the commencement of the 1984 Act);

(d)the right to serve notice to quit under Case A arises where the tenant has attained the age of 65; Sch 3, Case A(a). Notice to quit of at least 12 months’ duration expiring on a term date will have to be given. It follows that the tenant may be 67 years of age (or older) before retirement actually takes place;

(e)for Case A to apply the tenancy must be granted by a smallholdings authority or the minister in pursuance of Part I of the Agriculture Act 1970;¹³⁹

(f)the notice to quit must clearly state that it is given pursuant to Case A, or by reason of the matters contained therein.

7.59 Criteria for assessing the suitability of alternative accommodation are contained in Sch 3, Part I, paras 1–7. These provisions are modelled on Sch 15, Part IV to the Rent Act 1977, and are similar to the equivalent provisions in the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976, and the Housing Act 1988 applicable to domestic and tied accommodation. The case law on the parallel Rent Act provisions, while not of authority, is of assistance in interpreting Sch 3, Part I.

7.60 The burden of proof is on the landlord, who must discharge it as at the date of the order for possession.¹⁴⁰ The existence of suitable alternative accommodation can be established in one of two ways:

(a)A certificate of the housing authority for the district in which the living accommodation is situated, certifying that the authority will provide suitable alternative accommodation by a specified date, is conclusive evidence that suitable alternative accommodation will be available on that date.¹⁴¹

(b)If no housing authority certificate is obtained, accommodation is deemed to be suitable for the purposes of Case A if the premises concerned are such that the letting will be a protected tenancy under the Rent Act 1977 or an assured tenancy under the Housing Act 1988. Alternatively, the premises must be available to let to the tenant on terms that will afford him security of tenure ‘reasonably equivalent’ to that of a protected tenancy under the Rent Act 1977 or an assured tenancy under the Housing Act 1988.¹⁴² If a housing Authority certificate is not available the accommodation must, additionally, be reasonably suitable to the needs of the tenant’s family as regards proximity to place of work, and either similar as regards rental or accommodation to other accommodation provided by the authority to tenants with similar needs, or reasonably suitable to the means of the tenant and the needs of him and his family as regards extent and character.¹⁴³ The reference to proximity to the tenant’s place of work will be superfluous in most Case A cases, as this will be the smallholding from which the tenant is retiring. It may be relevant where the tenant has other full- or part-time employment, however.