1 Introduction
8.72 The Agricultural Holdings Act 1984 extended the succession scheme by introducing provisions enabling an existing farm tenant to ‘retire’ and nominate a qualifying successor to take over his holding.130 These provisions are now contained in ss 49–58 of the 1986 Act.
The retirement scheme is an extension of the scheme applicable on death. It should therefore be appreciated that the right to apply for succession on retirement only applies to tenancies to which succession rights on death already accrue, either because the tenancy was granted prior to 12 July 1984 (ie before the coming into force of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1984), or because the tenancy agreement (if granted subsequently) expressly contracts into the succession scheme.1318.73 There are, however, some important differences between the succession scheme applicable on the tenant’s death, and the provisions for succession on retirement. The retirement succession scheme only allows for a single ‘nominated successor’ to apply for a tribunal direction entitling him or her to a tenancy of the holding. Under the scheme for succession on death, multiple applications can be made and the tribunal can make a direction entitling up to four people to take the tenancy as joint tenants. And if the tenant has more than one holding, the applicant can, on the tenant’s death, make multiple applications for succession – in this event the applicant is entitled to determine the order in which the tribunal determines his applications. Multiple applications are not permitted in a retirement succession. Neither can the successor be granted succession to the tenancy of only part of the holding on the tenants retirement – on the tenants death succession to part of the holding is possible if the tribunal so direct. There are also minor differences in the eligibility criteria applicable on death and on retirement, as will be explained below. The time limit for applying to the tribunal is also shorter in a retirement case. The applicant for succession must apply to the tribunal for a direction within one month following service of a retirement notice by the current tenant. Where the tenant has died, the applicant has three months following the tenants death in which to make the application for succession.