With a few exceptions, you cannot terminate a rural lease to take over farmland for sale or for your own use.
We have devoted an article to the special case of "taking over a leased property in order to run it yourself". This is a possibility opened up by the law.
The subject of this article is the takeover by the owner of agricultural property leased to a farmer (whether a plot of land or a farm building) for a use other than farming. We will outline the rules protecting the lessee and the ways in which the contract can be terminated.
Let's start by looking at the situation of the people who ask us this question. More often than not, they are people who have inherited farmland and are completely unfamiliar with the subtleties of the tenancy law.
As they have no particular links with farming, and even less with the tenant of the land, they find that the rent (the fermage) they receive each year is relatively low. The question then arises as to whether they should sell the land or reclaim it for their own use (garden, land for horses, leisure land, etc.).
In response to this demand, we do our best to explain the particularities of rural leases (which are very different from contracts for houses or flats in the conventional property market).
It is extremely difficult for an owner to recover land or a farm building leased to a farmer, for a number of reasons, which we will explain in detail.
This is undoubtedly the first point to remember: any lease of agricultural property for which payment is made qualifies as a rural lease.
It doesn't matter whether the lease is written or verbal, or whether the payment is simply a reimbursement of land tax or the supply of food.
There are a few exceptions to rural leases, but these are very restrictive.
The death of the owner of a farm property has no impact on the contract, which continues in favour of the holder under the same conditions. Except for the payment of farm rents, which will be made to the undivided heirs or the beneficiary of the division.
Farm leases are usually concluded for a period of 9 years. At the end of this period, it does not come to an end, but is automatically renewed for a further 9 years.
The owner's wish to reclaim the property for personal use or for sale is not a reason for objecting to its renewal.
As the contract is renewed for 9 years at a time, the lessee grows older and will soon be able to retire. The lessor may then object to the renewal when the lessee reaches legal retirement age. This can be done at the end of the 9-year term or at the end of each three-year period (every 3 years) in the case of a renewal.
It is therefore essential to know precisely the date on which the contract was signed in order to determine the renewal date: a very difficult situation in the absence of a written agreement.
The lessee may ask the other party for permission to transfer the lease to his spouse or descendants. If the lessor does not agree, the lessee can refer the matter to the Tribunal Paritaire des Baux Ruraux, which will usually rule in the lessee's favour if the transferee is a farmer or has agricultural training.
Note that if the farmer has not faithfully performed the terms of his contract, he may be refused the benefit of this measure. This would be the case, for example, if he systematically paid his rent late, or cut down trees belonging to his landlord, etc.
Where the owner has agricultural qualifications (diploma or professional experience), he may oppose the renewal of the lease in order to take over the property and farm it himself. Non-professional takeovers will not be accepted.
The owner must comply with a specific procedure (letter sent by bailiff 18 months before the expiry date, compulsory clauses to be included, etc.) and meet a number of conditions, in addition to the requirement that he or she has agricultural qualifications: obtain authorisation to farm under the Control of Structures (Contrôle des Structures), farm the property himself or herself for a minimum of 9 years, etc.
This is a reason that allows the lessor to terminate a lease prematurely: if your plot of land becomes constructible, you can partially terminate the lease. However, you will have to pay compensation to your lessee. In principle, this compensation will be calculated according to a scale defined by the Chamber of Agriculture in your department, which takes into account the loss of income suffered by your lessee.
The tenant's fault is also a reason for terminating the contract. These grounds are listed in the law (article L 411-31 of the rural code): failure to pay rent, poor management of the property, failure to comply with environmental clauses, subletting of the lease, etc.
If the farmer makes the land available to a company, this does not constitute a sublease and is therefore not grounds for termination unless he has not informed you.
If you have no legal grounds for terminating your tenant's lease, you can ask him to terminate it amicably. Of course, he is under no obligation to accept this proposal.
This agreement will take the form of a contract signed with your tenant, setting out the terms of the termination: the plots concerned and the effective date of termination. A contractual indemnity may have to be agreed with the lessee as the price to be paid for the property to be vacated.
We strongly advise you to call on a legal professional to help you draw up such a document.
When leasing for the first time or when changing tenants, it may be a good idea to think about the objective of being able to reclaim the property freely after a few years.
There are a number of contracts that offer this possibility, which we describe in an article on other types of agricultural leases: loan for use, SAFER availability agreement, quarry lease, etc.
Si vous ne pouvez pas mettre fin à votre bail, vous pouvez toujours vendre votre bien.
You can sell it to :
The farmer's right of pre-emption has priority. If the farmer does not exercise his right of pre-emption, the SAFER's right must be purged. The SAFER has 2 months in which to exercise this right. This risk will vary depending on the geographical area and local land pressure.
As you can see, the regulations governing rural leases are extremely protective of tenants. Introduced in 1946 after the 2nd World War, the lease was designed to encourage the development of agricultural production and is therefore favourable to farmers. It was also the successor to a previous system that was highly protective of the interests of landlords, which led to a strong rebalancing.
There are therefore only a few reasons why a landowner can terminate a lease on plots of land or farm buildings. The desire to recover a property or to sell it is not a reason for terminating a lease.
The following options are therefore available to an owner:
In all cases, you should consult a notary, lawyer or specialist in rural leases.
