Transferring agricultural property

Transferring agricultural property—overview

General

In principle the sale and purchase of agricultural land operates in the same way as for any other land or buildings. Nevertheless, some special factors must be taken into consideration. For example, if the land is subject to tenancies, the rights granted for agricultural tenants are quite distinct from, and often more extensive than, the rights afforded to residential or commercial tenants. See Practice Notes: Identifying a farm business tenancy and Farm business tenancies.

Prior to Brexit, farmers were able to claim direct subsidy payments as a result of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which from 2015 was implemented in England and Wales by way of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (replacing the earlier Single Payment Scheme). In conjunction with subsidy payments made under the BPS, farmers in England and Wales were also entitled to receive additional payments if they participated in any one or more of a wide range of agri-environmental schemes.

Following Brexit, payments to farmers in England and Wales are funded entirely domestically in accordance with the provisions of the

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