Agricultural occupiers’ rights

  • Most agricultural occupiers have strong rights against eviction 
  • Assured agricultural occupiers whose agreement began on or after 15 January 1989 have a can’t be evicted without a good reason
  • If you still live in the home and are no longer working in agriculture you keep the rights of an agricultural occupier

This page refers to farm workers renting their homes from their employers as ‘agricultural occupiers’. As this is a complicated area of law, you should get help from a Shelter Cymru adviser or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.  

How do I know if I am an agricultural occupier? 

You are an agricultural occupier if you meet certain conditions relating to the type of home you have, who your employer is, and the job you do. The conditions are shown below. 

The type of home you have
You have to live in a self-contained home. You will not be an agricultural occupier if you share a house with your landlord or if you live in a hostel. If your landlord provides services such as cleaning your home, you will not be an agricultural occupier. However, if your landlord provides meals, this does not affect your right to be an agricultural occupier.  

Who your employer is
Your employer must own the home you live in or have arranged for someone else to supply the home so that you can do your work. If your employer is the government, the royal family, a local authority, the Forestry Commission or a housing association, you will not be an agricultural occupier. However, all these employers should give you extra housing rights as part of your employment contract. Ask your employer or trade union about these rights. 

If you work for yourself on farm land that you rent, you probably have an ‘agricultural holding’ or a ‘Farm Business Tenancy’. Advice for these types of agreements is not included on this page and you should check Gov.uk guidance for further information. 

The job you do
You have to be an agricultural worker. 

This means the following: 

  • you work 35 hours or more a week (unless you have a permit to work shorter hours because of an industrial injury), and 
  • you have to work, for at least some of the time, with things like crops, livestock or forestry. Maintaining tractors and other equipment on the farm is included in this work. Just working on a fish farm, keeping animals mainly bullet for sport, or working in a research station do not count, and 
  • you have been employed in agriculture for 91 out of the last 104 weeks. Time from previous employers can be counted, as can time when you were on paid holiday or sick leave. If an industrial injury stopped you from working before you had worked 91 weeks, you will still pass this test. 

I meet all the conditions – what sort of renting agreement do I have? 

 If you moved into your home or became an agricultural occupier before 15 January 1989, you will have a protected or statutory agricultural tenancy. 

 If you moved into your home or became an agricultural occupier on or after 15 January 1989, but before 1 December 2022 and you have a community landlord you will have a converted secure occupation contract. You should be given a  written statement of your occupation contract on or before/by 1 June 2023 

 If you moved into your home or became an agricultural occupier on or after 15 January 1989, but before 1 December 2022 and you have a community landlord your agreement converted to a secure occupation contract on 1 December 2022. 

If you moved into your home or became an agricultural occupier on or after 15 January 1989, but before 1 December 2022 you have a private landlord you will have a converted standard occupation contract.  

Due to special rules converted secure or standard contract-holders that were assured agricultural occupier before  1 December 2022 can’t be evicted using the ‘no fault’ eviction procedure, providing you did not receive notice that your tenancy is a shorthold tenancy before or when you originally moved in. 

Also, succession rules that apply to secure contracts will apply to assured agricultural occupancies that converted into a standard contract. 

You should be given a written statement of your occupation contract on or before/by 1 June 2023 

 If you (moved into your home or) became an agricultural occupier on or after 1 December 2022 you will have a secure occupation contract if you have a community landlord, or a standard occupation contract if you have a private landlord. You should be given a written statement of your occupation contract within 14 days. 

I meet all the conditions but I am not working any more 

Once you have become an agricultural occupier, you will keep that tenancy or occupation contract, even if you lose your job. You may have retired, been sacked, been made redundant or given up your job, or you may not be able to work because of sickness – it does not matter. You are still an agricultural occupier and you will still have all the housing rights this gives you. 

What if I don’t meet the conditions? 

If you live in a separate home owned by your employer, you are probably an  occupier with basic protection and s/he will have to get a court order before s/he can evict you. If you do not need to live in the home in order to do your job you will have other housing rights. Get help if this is the case. 

If you share a house with your employer, you are probably an excluded occupier and s/he must give you reasonable notice before you have to leave. Check your agreement or employment contract as that may give you extra rights. 

How much rent will I have to pay? 

The amount of rent you pay, and the way that the amount of rent is decided depends on what type of agreement you have. 

I have a protected or statutory agricultural tenancy 

Your landlord will not usually charge you rent while you are working for her or him. Not paying rent does not affect or reduce your rights. 

Your landlord will probably start to charge you rent when you stop working for her or him. You can agree the amount of rent with your landlord, or you or your landlord can ask Rent Officers Wales to set a fair rent.  Rent Officers Wales is an independent government body. Fair rents are much lower than most rents paid to private landlords. 

I have a ______ occupation contract 

Your landlord will not usually charge you rent while you are working for her or him. Not paying rent does not affect or reduce your housing rights. If your landlord does charge you a ‘market rent’, this will be an amount agreed by you and your landlord. 

If your landlord gives you a notice about increasing your rent, you can ask a Rent Assessment Committee to set a rent. You can only go to the Rent Assessment Committee if you have not agreed to pay the rent increase your landlord asked for.  Get help if this is the case. 

Your landlord can charge you rent when you stop working for her or him, even if you paid no rent before. You can either agree a rent with your landlord or he or she must give you formal notice of the rent you must pay. If you receive formal notice of the rent you must pay, get it checked. If you do not agree to the amount of rent, ask the Rent Assessment Committee to set a rent. You should normally do this within one month of getting the notice. The rent notice will tell you what to do. The Rent Assessment Committee can lower or increase the amount of rent set out in the notice. 

What happens to my family if I die? 

If you have a protected or statutory agricultural tenancy, your wife, husband or partner will be able to take over the tenancy if s/he is living with you when you die. If you are not married or do not have a partner, a member of your family will be able to take over the tenancy if, when you die, s/he has lived with you for at least the previous two years. This type of tenancy can only be passed on once. 

Due to special rules, if you were an assured agricultural occupier that became a standard contract-holder succession rules will apply. This means that your wife, husband or partner will be able to take over your occupation contract, or if you die without a wife husband or partner, then a reserve successor may be able to take over your contract. You can read more detailed information about succession rules here. 

If you became an agricultural occupier on or after 1 December 2022, then succession rules will apply if you have a community landlord. If you have a private landlord, you should check your contract. 

Succession is a complex area of law and it is always best to get help if you are unsure. 

Can I stay in my home if the landlord wants me to leave? 

If you have an agricultural tenancy, you can stay in your home until a court issues a possession order telling you to leave. Your landlord may go to court for a possession order if you do not pay the rent, you break a condition of the tenancy, you cause a nuisance or you damage your home. Your landlord may give you written notice before going to court for a possession order. Get more advice if this happens. 

If you give up your job, are sacked or made redundant, or cannot work because of sickness, you can still stay in your home. If you stop working, your landlord may need your home for another farm worker. Get more advice if this happens. 

Repairs 

Your landlord normally has to repair the structure and outside of your home. This includes things like the roof, gutters and windows. Your landlord also has to repair and maintain the following: 

  • the system for heating your home and providing hot water, this does not include portable fires you own 
  • the system in your home for supplying gas, water and electricity, this includes toilets, baths and sinks. 

You must tell your landlord about any repairs that need doing. Your landlord will not have to repair any damage deliberately caused by you. The landlord is not normally responsible for decorating the inside of your home. 

If you have a _______ occupation contract, your landlord must also keep the property fit for human habitation. 

Further information 

This is only an introduction to agricultural renting agreements. For more information contact a Shelter Cymru office, Citizens Advice, housing advice centre or law centre. 

You could also contact: 

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Yn anffodus, ni allwn ddarparu'r wybodaeth hon yn Gymraeg. Mae cyfieithiad Cymraeg ar gael trwy'r ddolen Cymorth Clyweledol ar frig y dudalen. Fodd bynnag, ni fydd y cyfieithiad yn gwbl gywir bob amser gan ei fod yn cael ei gynhyrchu'n awtomatig
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This page was last updated on: November 24, 2022

Shelter Cymru acknowledges the support of Shelter in allowing us to adapt their content. The information contained on this site is updated and maintained by Shelter Cymru and only gives general guidance on the law in Wales. It should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of the law.