Renting out stable yard

[liftthatup]

Hi anyone who is out there, I'm hoping that some of you in the know might be able to advise me. We live on a farm which has a now unused stable block, sand school, hacking track, paddocks etc. We have been approached by someone who would be interested in renting the yard as a whole to run as his own business. As it is the stables are unused and will eventually deteriorate and to be honest they are all sitting there doing nothing.We are not horsey at all and nor are we experienced in the area of renting so we really have no idea of rental value, expectations of tenants or even where responsibility for utilities and insurance would lie...

If any of you knowledgeable ladies could make any suggestions it would be very helpful- oh, there are about 16+ stables- I'm sure that's relevant!

I don't know much about it but a few thoughts.
Rental price will depend on where you are in the country. eg in South East you could probably go around +/- £1500pcm but very dependent on how much land they have to use, condition of the facilities etc.
Are they planning to use it as a 'one man operation' such as a competition rider etc or will they be 'sub-letting' the stables in a livery yard type arrangement. Or dealing - buying and selling horses.
How many people will be coming onto your property on a daily basis, how many owners, staff, cars, horseboxes etc
You will have to think about where the muck will go, make sure they make arrangements for it to be removed. Who will pay for maintenance and upkeep? How will they manage the fields? Will they limit turnout of horses in the winter so the fields stay in decent condition.
Sure someone who knows a bit more will come along soon!

Renting out to a business can be very different from renting to a private user. Renting out grazing/agricultural land can carry it's own pitfalls. For example, in some circumstances you can create a different type of tenancy (a more permenant type) simply by doing a grass let for too long a period.

I really do believe that (at least as a starting point) you would do better to have a bit of professional specialist advice. Can you consult an equestrian estate agent, a 'land solicitor or an agricultural letting agent? Some sort of professional, at least to begin with.

What part of the country are you in? If you're not sure what's available in your area contact the NFU.

Thank you so much for replies. We are in Northern Ireland...I'm sure that will make a big difference. My understanding is that is that it would be run as a livery arrangement but that is as much as I know. I think that consulting the NFU is a great idea, as is detailed discussion with the "proposer".

I hadn't even considered muck etc although on around these parts I reckon they would fight over manure for fertiliser!

Again, many thanks for your input.

Might be easier for everyone to use an estate agent. '?'

Ditto the specialist estate agent, but also one little point to keep in mind: you may want to specify in your contract how many horses are kept on the premises and what kind of turn out they get. Depending on how much land you have, too many horses can wreck your paddocks (and your Single Farm Payments can be affected for the paddocks used for turn out).

I agree with speaking to a specialist. I am sure they will advise about a lot of issues, but here are a few things that came to mind.

If it is intended to be a livery yard, you may end up with lots of cars (maybe sometimes towing trailers) coming on and off your land early in the morning and late in the evening. Is this something you would be happy with? There will also probably be regular deliveries of hay/haylage and bedding as well as visits from the vet and farrier.

You may wish to make it very clear about where on your land liveries would and would not be allowed in order to keep your privacy. Is the stable block etc close to your house?

Hopefully it wouldn't happen often, but occassionally horses can jump out of paddocks or get away from their handlers. Would this bother you?

I'm assuming he wouldn't be living on site. If this is the case, you should probably discuss what would happen if there was ever an emergency if he was not on site.

I agree with making sure they do not completely wreck your fields.

Also it needs to be clear who is responsible for maintaining what.