Help! Told to vacate paddock within 7 days or court proceedings will start

[Smudgingpastels]

Have no where else for our animals, our grazing licence expired Oct 2020 but the BHS legal helpline said stay put as it has turned into a common law tenancy as we have been there for 3-4 years and have maintained the land. What should we do? Any lawyers please?

The fact you’ve not paid. Looks really bad.

In a court of law. That wouldn’t look good for you. Nor would it work in your favour.

Just because they’ve only escalated it in the last 2 weeks. Means nothing. It’s their land. They can do this.

Post your question on Landlordzone forums, agricultural tenancies.

Yeah, the ‘David and Goliath’ mentality won’t cut any ice with the actual law.
I’d offer to buy the land straight away and ask if they have a price in mind then speak to a solicitor.

OP,

1. don't make snap decisions based on assertions from PPs some of whom are describing that they think might be the situation or what sounds fair to them and on what still might be a partial picture..

2. call BHS and ask them to set out the basis for their advice. Possibly ask them to email it so you can understand it.

3. speak to a specialist agricultural/land solicitor on Monday morning to advise on your position.

4. based on that, it might be helpful to try and engage positively with the land agent or to get a family member or your solicitor to do so if you've poisoned the relationship.

5. Try to develop a fallback position based on your solicitor's advice about the likely and worst case timeline to vacate your horses/livestock from the fields.

Good luck.

@Smudgingpastels

No, no money since October as they did not want any.

FFS OP its pretty obvious they wanted you gone. It's on you that you haven't found somewhere else in over 6mths. Newsflash: most people can't find grazing land and have to pay for livery instead. So suck it up or sell up. Entitled idiots like you give horsey people a bad rep.

We’re the BHS referring to Aquired Grazing Rights? There can be aquired rights to graze, even on privately owned land after grazing for a certain period of time (might be 12 months, not sure) BUT I’m pretty sure this will not apply if you have been privately renting and paying for use of the fields. I imagine it works in a similar way to Adverse Possession (where you can only claim possession if you have been using for a certain period of time without the permission or knowledge of the owner). If you been grazing for a period of time without a contract and just the goodwill of the owner, then I think you have rights but not when you’ve had a commercial agreement with them that ended. (Btw has your use of it been continuous through that period or have there been breaks?). Either way you need proper professional advice.

Are your horses used as a riding school. Or livery? Or farming?

@Smudgingpastels

So the consensus is that the BHS advice was wrong...

Did they explain what a common law tenancy actually is? This says it gives you less rights simply-docs.co.uk/Grazing-and-Stabling-of-Horses The money situation is unhelpful to any case you could possibly have. A contract requires, offer, acceptance, intention and consideration to be legally binding. The consideration is the use of farm paddock in return for payment. You've broken the terms of the contract by not paying.

OP, there is a section of Mumsnet called The Tack Room where people who actually own horses post. I suggest you report your opening post and ask Mumsnet if they can move your thread there. They will have a better idea about your rights.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_tack_room

Good luck! It does sound like you may have been given bad advice.

You should have left last year, they have been lenient in not issuing enforcement until now. It's not your land you were simply renting it. You need to urgently find alternative provision or arrange rehoming

There are some types of agricultural tenancy that are very long lasting and can be inherited, this is the type you cant be evicted from.
Some types are for a set number of years, many just annual.
I have tenancy of a paddock that is going to be sold this year and I haven't been charged rent for this year so I leave when its sold. I suspect thats why they didnt charge you this year. If you are not paying any rent and have no agreement you can be asked to leave at any time

So you think you can just stay there, pay no rent, and they can’t evict you?

Wow.

When the landowner wrote in October saying no more rent should be paid, what exactly did that letter say?

I think you have two things to do here:

1. Engage a solicitor first thing monday, and find temporary accomodation for your animals in the mentime depending on the solicitors advice
2. Stop hiding under the bed, stop talking to the BHS, stop with the Daid and Goliath shite - you rent a field off someone else

@mayblossominapril

There are some types of agricultural tenancy that are very long lasting and can be inherited, this is the type you cant be evicted from. Some types are for a set number of years, many just annual. I have tenancy of a paddock that is going to be sold this year and I haven't been charged rent for this year so I leave when its sold. I suspect thats why they didnt charge you this year. If you are not paying any rent and have no agreement you can be asked to leave at any time

I think she’s just a tenant. Horses aren’t seen as agricultural. So she can’t claim agriculture tenancy.

But presumably have a legal section, be extremely surprised if they didn't!

Sounds like you didn't give the BHS the full story.

Call them again, explain things calmly, clearly, step by step. Answer any questions they ask you factually and accurately. Then listen properly to what they tell you. Ask questions if you don't understand. Summarise at the end, 'so you have told me that if I do x then y will follow but I could do w, then z will follow, is that correct?

You sound like a person in a flap, who has been making assumptions, hearing what she wants to hear and burying her head in the sand.

You've misunderstood.

You can technically stay put at the moment. You can stay put until they take you to court and you are evicted. You will not win at court. You don't have any rights to the land. All they meant when they said you could stay put was that you can stay there until the legal proceedings are done and you are officially evicted.

You can face them in court if you want. You will lose. You will be evicted. You will need to then leave or be in contempt of the court order.

It just means, you have more than 2 weeks to find a new place. You need to be looking now, but if you don't find one within their timeframe then nothing bad will actually happen to you. They will start their court proceedings, but during the court process, you will still have their paddock and it gives you more time to look.

You cannot just stay forever. You won't win in court. They just meant you don't need to get out in the next 7 days.

You really should do absolutely everything you can to find a new paddock now though, because if your next landowner finds out that the old ones had to take you to court to make you leave then they may not rent to you.

Whether you are legally in the right or not, it’s their land and they don’t want you on it any more.

Do the decent thing and find somewhere else.

Your attitude disgusts me.

OP you might be right, but it could cost you a mint to prove it. The only winner here will be your lawyer.

Sorry @Smudgingpastels but you have been very naive if you relied on “legal advice’ that you haven’t paid a solicitor for.

(I’m pretty certain the BHS helpline has just given you general legal information based on your circumstances as you described them. They almost certainly explained that at the time and recorded the call, but maybe that wasn’t what you wanted to hear. I’ve been in the same position volunteering for Citizens Advice - people just want ”a bit of legal advice”. Unless you're talking to a solicitor doing pro bono work, sorry, it isn’t free legal advice.)

You need to find alternative grazing. Court proceedings won’t move quickly, so even if they start them you have time to sort this out.

The email in October simply said they were not renewing the licence nothing else and they did not say to leave. There were times before when we were not asked for payment.

@Smudgingpastels

So the consensus is that the BHS advice was wrong...

but their advice was never to stay put without paying, was it.

If I had an email saying my landlord wasn't renewing my licence I'd assume I had to leave!

I don’t have horses or rent land, but surely if you get an email saying they don’t want to renew the contract, that means it’s time for you to start making other plans? Not stop paying and stay there anyway?

@Smudgingpastels

The email in October simply said they were not renewing the licence nothing else and they did not say to leave. There were times before when we were not asked for payment.

Not renewing the licence.

In other words, they want you to leave...

Sounds like you’ve been poorly advised by BHS!