Q: What are the tenant’s rights when renting land?
A:As you have written from rural Saskatchewan to a farm newspaper, I assume you are asking about a farm lease. Unlike residential leases, there is no law or code that sets out a tenant’s rights.
A lease is a contract between the landlord and tenant and the rights of the parties will be determined by the lease agreement. In an ideal situation, the parties will have entered into a detailed written agreement. However, the ideal doesn’t always happen and leases are often verbal or based on a short handwritten note. To be valid, a verbal lease must be a clear agreement on what land is rented, the rent to be paid and the length of the lease. If there are disputes about other terms, the courts will refer to common practices in the area. It will be up to the parties to bring evidence to a court on landlord-tenant arrangements in the area. While the terms of a lease are a matter of negotiation, there are general principles that apply.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
What is being rented? If the land is being rented for growing crops, is all the land rented or only the cultivated acres? Unless otherwise specified, it should be assumed that all the land is rented.
Two types of leases are commonly used in farming situations:
- A crop share arrangement under which the landlord’s rent is a share of the crop and the landlord will share in paying input costs such as fertilizer and spray.
- Cash rental.
See Saskatchewan Agriculture’s website at www.agr.gov.sk for an example of a flexible cash lease based on crop yield.
In determining rent, ask other landowners and tenants about their arrangements. The local extension agrologist may also have information on the amount of rent paid in your area.
A basic premise of the lease is that the tenant will have quiet possession of the land. This means a landlord can’t interfere with the tenant’s possession during the term of the lease. He won’t be able to come in and decide to cut some of the crop for hay, for example.
However, restrictions on the tenant’s activities that are agreed to in the lease are valid. Thus, the parties can agree the tenant will not plant hay on the land. A grazing lease can note the maximum number of cattle that can be grazed.
Another basic premise is that the tenant will use good farming practices. Suppose a tenant makes no attempt to control weeds. Even if weed control was not mentioned in the lease, the tenant would still be in breach of the lease. Even in a verbal lease, there is an implied term that the tenant will use good farming practices, which would include proper weed control.
Other issues that the lease should deal with include: payment of taxes (usually the landlord’s responsibility); whether a tenant has the right to make improvements such as building a fence or bulldozing bush (usually only with the landlord’s consent); whether there is a right to renew the lease; and if the landlord decides to sell, does the tenant have a right to match any offer.
A crop lease should also allow a tenant to enter the land in the spring, after the lease has expired, to complete harvest if unable to do so the fall before.
If the tenant has failed to pay the rent, the landlord can take back possession of the land. The rules that must be followed when doing this are set out in landlord-tenant legislation.
A tenant has the right to file a caveat against the title to the land to protect his lease. In the prairie provinces, leases less than three years are automatically protected if the tenant is farming the land.
