A streamlined form of agricultural arbitration to resolve tenancy disputes has been welcomed as a milestone by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.
The short-form arbitration introduces a simplified procedure and is the brainchild of the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association (SAAVA). Its main use is likely for rental determination.
SAAVA president Martin Hall said the service would be carried out by a person drawn from a panel of professionally qualified arbiters. “It should take the heat out of farm tenancy disputes and avoid the extreme level of costs incurred when a case is taken to the Land Court,” he added.
Scottish Land Court chairman Lord McGhie said while it itself was not expensive the race to arms which followed any decision to take a case there certainly was.
“The Land Court then becomes a heavy-handed negotiation tool only for those with deep pockets. The cost of dispute resolution must be proportionate to the scale of the dispute itself. With no disrespect to the Land Court I would also suggest that rental matters are a matter best dealt with by practical valuation. SAAVA has tailored the short-form arbitration with this in mind and the principle has been to make this something that could be dealt with round the kitchen table.”
The unveiling of the new procedure is significant as it will allow it to be used in rental determinations ahead of the Martinmas rent reviews on November 30. Mr Hall estimated the cost at somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500, a cheaper option than the recent court hearings to determine the rent on Cupar’s Moonzie Farm and which are estimated to run into six figures.
Mr Hall also unveiled a new practitioner’s guide to help the rent review process. TFF chairman Professor Phil Thomson expects to update the Scottish Government on the forum’s discussions on various issues, including waygo, tenant’s diversification and assignation of tenancies, before the start of its review of land tenure and land reform.
Mr Lochhead said the new arbitration process had the “potential to be one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw” to creating a “fair and transparent” tenanted sector. He said radical solutions may well be needed to achieve the government’s aim of encouraging more people into farming through the creation of new tenancies. He said the review of tenancy legislation would distinguish between the areas where the TFF has reached agreement and those which required government to take a view.