Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tenant farmers and landlords told to consider Brexit during rent negotiations

STFA said landlords cannot ask for rent increases in light of Brexit
STFA said landlords cannot ask for rent increases in light of Brexit

Landlords and tenant farmers have been asked to take Brexit into consideration when negotiating rent reviews.

The Scottish Tenant Farmers’ Association (STFA) says the potential impact of Brexit in the years to come should be considered during current rent reviews.

It has reminded both tenants and landlords that rents set this year cannot be reviewed until 2020 – by which time the UK may have left the EU and the Single Market.

Writing in the association’s spring newsletter, STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson said: “At the moment we are enjoying a short-term boost in commodity prices on the back of the drop in Sterling, but this is likely to be negated by rising input costs.

“Land prices appear to be levelling or even falling due to Brexit uncertainties, both north and south of the border, and the devaluation of Sterling could create a period of higher inflation when the profitability of agriculture, and land prices, are heading in the opposite direction. Rents in England seem to be falling and we would expect to see the same thing happening in Scotland.”

He said landlords should not be expecting rent increases in the next few years, and tenants should think carefully before signing up to a rent increase which could “jeopardize the viability of their business” in future.

“Prior to rent reviews, tenants should look at the types of commodity produced on their farms, how reliant they are on export markets, and realise the risks involved post 2019. In short, lamb is most at risk, cereals and milk the least at risk, and beef somewhere in between,” added Mr Nicholson.

“Given that rent reviews are conducted with a view to the three years ahead, tenants need to factor in rising input costs when negotiating rents, particularly imported goods such as nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers, and animal feed proteins which will be affected by the fall in Sterling.”

A spokesman from landowners’ organisation, Scottish Land and Estate, said: “There are many factors that are taken into account when the rents are assessed between the tenant and the landlord in order to achieve a fair rent for both parties.

“The vast majority of farm tenants and landlords reach agreement on rents amicably and our position has always been to encourage constructive dialogue between parties which in turn should produce a mutually satisfactory outcome. This has to be placed in context against a backdrop of government statistics which suggest that farm rents are good value.”