Survey of the Agricultural Tenant Farmers

8 CONCLUSIONS

8.1 Agricultural land arrangements have long been contested in Scotland and agricultural holding legislation has attempted to steer a course that maintains a delicate balance between the interests of tenant farmers and those of landowners, as well as supporting the overall state of farming in Scotland.

8.2 While good relations between tenants and landlords was seen as very important for a good agricultural tenancy system by almost all respondents, current levels of satisfaction with landlords were mixed. While the majority of tenant farmers said that they are satisfied with their landlord, only around a third said that they are very satisfied and 15% said that they are either fairly or very dissatisfied. The longer that a tenancy had been held, the more likely that tenant farmers were to say they were dissatisfied with the relationship with their landlord.

8.3 The tenant farming sector is seen as an important route into farming for new entrants and there have been concerns about the decrease in the number of holdings that are tenanted over the last decade.

8.4 The survey results show clearly that tenant farmers in Scotland, as with farmers in general, are a relatively old population. Almost three-quarters of respondents were over 50 years old. Fewer than one in ten was under 40. Moreover, the survey also suggests that there are few new entrants into the sector at the moment. Only one in ten respondents said that they or their family had farmed their main tenancy for fewer than ten years.

8.5 One of the key measures being considered by the Agricultural Holdings Legislation Review Group is the introduction of an Absolute Right to Buy for Secure 1991 tenancies. The survey found that support for the Absolute Right to Buy is considerable but not universal. Although the majority of tenant farmers think that some form of the Absolute Right to Buy should be introduced, less than half think that it should be given to all Secure 1991 tenancies. Indeed, given that tenant farmers may gain from its introduction, that nearly a third (29%) of tenant farmers who responded do not think that the Absolute Right to Buy should be introduced for any Secure 1991 tenancies is considerable. Concerns were expressed about the effect of ARtB on the supply of rented land in the future.

8.6 The strongest predictor of support for ARtB for all Secure 1991 tenancies was tenants satisfaction with their landlords - the less satisfied they were with their landlord, the more likely that they would support ARtB.