Agricultural holdings notices and who must receive one

Where any part of the application site is, or was within the 21 days before the application, an agricultural holding, the applicant must give notice to any tenant of that holding and certify that they have done so. The requirement sits in section 65 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and in the Development Management Procedure Order 2015, and it operates separately from the owner notification rules. A tenant farmer with no ownership interest still receives a notice.

Applicants who own the land outright and sign Certificate A without thinking about who occupies the field are the usual source of the problem.

Why agricultural tenants get a separate notice

Owner notification exists so that anyone with a legal interest in the land knows an application affecting it has been made. Agricultural tenants often hold interests that fall outside the definition of owner used for that purpose, because a periodic farm business tenancy or a short-term grazing arrangement does not confer a freehold or a lease with seven or more years unexpired.

Parliament dealt with that by creating a parallel duty. The application form carries an agricultural holdings certificate alongside the ownership certificate, and both must be completed.

The practical effect is that a landowner applying for permission on a field let to a neighbouring farmer signs Certificate A on ownership and still has to serve notice on the tenant under the agricultural holdings provisions.

Who counts as an agricultural tenant

The relevant question is whether any part of the land is an agricultural holding and whether there is a tenant of that holding. The usual categories are a tenancy under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, which covers most arrangements granted before 1 September 1995, and a farm business tenancy under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 for most arrangements granted since.

Grazing licences and short-term seasonal arrangements need care. A genuine licence does not create a tenancy, but many documents described as grazing licences operate in substance as tenancies, and the substance governs. Where there is doubt, serve the notice. Serving a notice on someone who turns out not to need one causes no harm. Failing to serve one on someone who does is a defect.

Contract farming and share farming agreements, where the landowner remains in occupation, do not usually create a tenancy. Check the agreement rather than the label on the front.

An agricultural holding that ended within the 21 days before the application still triggers the duty, so recent terminations matter.

Which certificate the form requires

The application form has two certificate groups. The ownership certificate is A, B, C or D. The agricultural holdings certificate is a separate declaration, and the applicant signs one of these positions:

1. None of the land is, or was in the previous 21 days, an agricultural holding.
2. The applicant has given the requisite notice to every person other than the applicant who, 21 days before the application, was a tenant of an agricultural holding on any part of the land.
3. The applicant has given notice to the tenants it has been able to identify, and the remainder could not be traced after reasonable enquiry.

Where the applicant is themselves the sole agricultural tenant, that should be stated rather than left blank.

Each notice served has to be in the prescribed form, and the certificate records the names of those served and the dates of service. Those details go on the public file, so a tenant can check whether they were notified.

Serving notice and recording service

Notice can be given by delivering it to the person, by leaving it at their usual or last known address, or by sending it by post to that address. Where the tenant is a company, service at the registered office is the safe route.

Record everything at the time:

• A copy of each notice as served, dated.
• The name and address of each recipient.
• The method of service and, for post, proof of posting or recorded delivery confirmation.
• A note of the enquiries made to identify tenants, including the tenancy agreements reviewed and anyone asked.
• The date 21 days before the application, calculated and written down.

The 21 day period is the trap. The certificate speaks as at 21 days before the application, so a tenancy that ended 10 days before submission still requires notice to that former tenant.

Serve the notices before the application is submitted, since the certificate declares that notice has been given rather than that it will be.

Tenancies that have ended or changed hands

Where a tenancy ended within the 21 day window, the former tenant is still entitled to notice. Where a tenancy was assigned, the current tenant is the one to serve, though serving both is prudent where the assignment date is close to the window.

Where the holding is let to a partnership, serve each partner named in the tenancy agreement. Where it is let to a company, serve the company.

Where the tenant has died and the tenancy may pass by succession under the 1986 Act, the position can be unclear, and the practical answer is to serve the personal representatives and any person claiming succession, then record the enquiries made.

Where a tenant cannot be traced, the certificate position covering untraced persons applies, and reasonable enquiry means more than a look at the deeds. Ask the land agent, the neighbouring occupiers and the Rural Payments Agency records held by the landowner.

Consequences of a false certificate

Section 65(6) makes it an offence to issue a certificate that purports to comply with the requirements and contains a statement known to be false or misleading in a material particular, or to recklessly issue a certificate containing such a statement. It is a criminal offence, not a procedural irregularity.

Beyond the criminal position, a permission granted on a false certificate is vulnerable. The courts have quashed permissions where the notification requirements were not met and the defect caused prejudice, and a tenant who was not notified and who would have objected has a real grievance.

Councils do not verify certificates. They take them at face value, which means the risk sits entirely with the applicant and whoever signed on their behalf. Agents should ask the client the question in writing and keep the answer.

Checks to make before submitting

Run the same sequence on every application involving land outside a residential curtilage.

1. Identify every parcel inside the red line and establish its current occupation, not just its ownership.
2. Review any tenancy, licence or grazing agreement affecting those parcels, and the dates.
3. Calculate the date 21 days before the intended submission date and test every arrangement against it.
4. Serve notices in the prescribed form on every tenant identified, keeping proof.
5. Complete the agricultural holdings certificate accurately, naming those served.
6. Keep the file, because the question may be asked years later.

Where the application also involves a change of use of agricultural land, an Agricultural Land Classification survey may be needed to deal with the loss of best and most versatile land, and the Planning Statement should address that policy test. The companion piece on what must be submitted before work starts on site covers the post-permission sequence.

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This is general guidance rather than legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.