Agricultural holding — Notice to pay rent — Notice to quit — Informal discussion to permit tenant to take crops — Whether licence — Whether licence became a yearly agricultural tenancy — Counterclaim by tenant dismissed
The plaintiff company is the freehold owner of Lower Lodge Farm, Upton, Cambridge. The defendant held an annual agricultural tenancy that commenced on April 6 1967. The rent was increased to £6,422 per annum as from July 1986. The defendant failed to pay the half-year rent due in October 1986 and the plaintiffs served a notice to pay in accordance with the regulations in force at the time. Although the defendant later paid the rent, he failed to pay the amount due within the two months stipulated by the notice to pay. In March 1987 the plaintiffs served a notice to quit by April 6 1988 on the ground that the defendant had not complied with the notice to pay. The defendant failed to give up possession.
In the action brought by the plaintiffs to recover possession of the holding, rent arrears and mesne profits, the defendant counterclaimed that at a meeting in August 1987 he was granted a licence to remain on the holding until October 1988 to harvest his crops and that by virtue of section 2 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 that licence became a tenancy protected by the Act.
Held The claim for possession, rent arrears and mesne profits was allowed and the counterclaim dismissed.
On the evidence of the witnesses at the meeting in August 1987, the defendant was to be permitted to harvest the 1988 crops and was not granted a licence which for the purposes of section 2 of the 1986 Act would become a tenancy. He was to be allowed to stay until September 1988 to take the crops because of his financial and family problems; there was no licence to occupy and so no tenancy arose under the 1986 Act.
Andrew Gore (instructed by Hegarty & Co, of Peterborough) appeared for the plaintiffs; and Martin Collier (instructed by Buckle Mellows, of Peterborough) appeared for the defendant.
