Agricultural Occupancy Condition

Davesnave

stalkah wrote: »

The EA are being a pain and stipulating we must currently meet the ag tie conditions and my wife has to be the main bread winner before even considering letting us view the property.

EAs often know very little about anything, let alone legal matters surrounding AOCs, which is why they're EAs.

On the other hand, EAs will know that a lot of enquiries about ag-tied properties lead nowhere, because people are attracted by the price, hit problems and withdraw after messing the vendor around for some time. They may also be acting on the instructions of a vendor who doesn't know much about the legal aspects.

No your wife wouldn't have to be the main breadwinner, nor would she have to meet the requirements of the tie until becoming resident. If you think about it, these properties, if they had land, were originally designed to give people a foot on the ladder into farming. While that aim is now largely redundant, it still means that people don't need to be farmers etc before they own one.

Maybe the agent is confused by modern applications to convert temporary accommodation (like a mobile home) linked to a farming or horticultural business, into a permanent residence. Then, the granting of permission, with an AOC attached, would be on condition that accounts showing a profitable business were first submitted.

stalkah

Annoyingly the EA rang me first thing to arrange viewing but said we couldn't view earlier than Wednesday... Phone call this afternoon the property is now apparently sold

Will keep an eye out for Ag tie properties in case anything comes up again as now really want a place with some land and it's a possibly cheaper way to achieve that

Davesnave

stalkah wrote: »

Will keep an eye out for Ag tie properties in case anything comes up again as now really want a place with some land and it's a possibly cheaper way to achieve that

I would still talk to an independent mortgage advisor to see what the current prospects are on tied property.

Also, a further warning that some of these properties are Woolaway, or similar, pre-cast concrete-walled bungalows, so usually classed as of 'defective' construction by lenders.

Couple all that to the low returns on small areas of land and it's understanable that many proprties with an AOC need improvement!

Amme78

Hi, was after some advice please. My father has been granted planning permission for an agricultural workers dwelling on the family farm. It will be for my parents to retire to, the farm house will become my brothers. In time the new dwelling would eventually become my home, well that's the plan.
My question is, if my father was to transfer 50% of the ownership of the field planning has been granted on (land is owned outright) would I then be 50% owner of the bungalow that is eventually built on it? That may be a stupid question but I'm not sure!
I have been asked to contribute to the cost of the building but want to ensure that I'm safeguarded should we all fall out (would hope not but you never know)
If I was to become half owner of the field would this affect the planning permission granted, it has got an agricultural tie condition. I do work on the family farm
Any advice greatly appreciated, or anything else I need to think about/consider

Davesnave

Amme78 wrote: »

Hi, was after some advice please. My father has been granted planning permission for an agricultural workers dwelling on the family farm. It will be for my parents to retire to, the farm house will become my brothers. In time the new dwelling would eventually become my home, well that's the plan. It's not clear if your brother works on the farm, but even if he doesn't, it's possible the local planning dept at the council has allowed a tied retirement property and a non-tied farmhouse to accommodate both generations.
My question is, if my father was to transfer 50% of the ownership of the field planning has been granted on (land is owned outright) would I then be 50% owner of the bungalow that is eventually built on it? That may be a stupid question but I'm not sure! It's not a stupid question. If you were to become a part-owner of a field, it would not automatically make you part-owner of any property built on it, though you would be a freeholder of the land the property occupied. Your share of any property built would be defined in its title document (deeds).

Whether you could actually occupy the property would depend on the situation at the time you wanted to do this, and not now.

I have been asked to contribute to the cost of the building but want to ensure that I'm safeguarded should we all fall out (would hope not but you never know) To ensure you are safeguarded in this respect, you'd need to run the proposed title documents past a solicitor. However, if a legal expert is drawing these documents up for the family and you're a contributor, you'd expect all the different ways of doing this to be fully explained to you at the drafting stage.
If I was to become half owner of the field would this affect the planning permission granted, it has got an agricultural tie condition. I do work on the family farm It hasn't affected the planning permission because it's already been granted. You might become a part owner, but the right to occupy the property is a seperate matter, depending on your main work at the time.
Any advice greatly appreciated, or anything else I need to think about/consider

This is quite a complex scenario, so you do need to receive proper legal advice, not just comments from amateurs like me, who may be wrong, or miss the ramifications of some aspect.

Hopefully, your parents will have a long retirement, but when they do pass, it will be the laws pertaining then which will operate, and no one can predict those. For example, there are many redundant barns on farms which have become eligible for residential conversion since about 2013. Before then, they were just dilapiidated old buildings, but now people are living in them.

Hope this helps a little. The overall message is get legal advice from a professional you trust.