Scotland’s tenant farming commissioner Bob McIntosh writes about his work to improve relations with tenants and landlords
Coronavirus is making everyone reconsider activity, and the farming community is no different.
As tenant farming er (TFC), and along with the industry bodies NFU Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates, I am issuing advice about the implications of the coronavirus situation for on-farm meetings.
With the tenants amnesty discussions reaching a conclusion for many, and rent reviews being notified at this time of year, there would – in normal times – often be a need for the parties involved to meet on the farm to see, and discuss, tenants’ improvements and other issues.
Clearly face-to-face meetings of this nature give rise to close social contact and may potentially involve people in particularly vulnerable categories due to age or underlying health issues.
To keep everyone safe during this unprecedented and challenging time, I have discussed the situation with our industry bodies and we are advising landlords, tenants and their agents to act in accordance with government advice and avoid such face-to-face meetings.
Maximum use should be made of other methods of communication to discuss pressing matters that cannot be postponed until the restrictions are lifted.
If a simple telephone call will not suffice, there are a range of digital options such as video conferencing available, many of which are free and will operate on a smartphone, allowing you to give a “virtual tour” of improvements if necessary.
We are advising landlords and tenants to postpone rent reviews due this spring unless these are likely to be straightforward and can be concluded without the need for a face-to-face meeting.
We are aware that there are still outstanding farm inspections needed to finalise claims made under the tenants amnesty provisions.
All landlords, tenants and their agents are asked to take a reasonable approach to concluding amnesty agreements. If matters cannot be settled without an on-farm inspection, this should be postponed until the restrictions are lifted.
I know that this may mean that the meeting has to be held, and the schedule of improvements agreed, after the end of the amnesty period.
We are asking all landlords and tenants to be reasonable about allowing the process to remain alive even after the end of the amnesty period. They should agree in writing that they will enable finalisation of amnesty claims to be carried out, if necessary, after June 12.
Where such agreement cannot be reached, the TFC should be informed.
The Scottish Government is exploring legislative options for extending the amnesty period for six months.
However, these are complex times and there is significant pressure on parliamentary time so, at this stage, an extension cannot be guaranteed.
This should not be seen as an opportunity to delay the start of the process, and tenants must be prepared to use the existing process to serve an amnesty notice on their landlord if the extension cannot be achieved.
The TFC can be contacted on 01463 423 300 or tfc@landcommission.gov.scot