Time is of an essence so beware legal deadlines
It is worth stressing to land owners and tenants alike the importance of complying with notice periods laid down by statute and in particular to draw attention to time limits and the fact that missed legal deadlines will often prove to be disastrous if they are missed, writes Steven Corfield.
In some of the worst cases tenants have lost farms and landlords have seen tenancies turned into perpetual tenancies.
There are a raft of notices where time is "of the essence". This expression means notices have to be served within prescribed periods of time. The calculation of deadlines often comes down to a single day and there can as an example be a difference when a time period is given as "from a day" as opposed to "commencing on a day".
Under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 in the case of the death of the tenant the landlord is under a duty to serve a notice within a given period of time once having received formal notice of the death of the tenant.
If the landlord fails to do so then the tenancy can become vested in the executors of the deceased which can lead to a perpetual tenancy. On the other hand if the deceased tenant has a potential successor then the potential successor has to make an application to succeed within a tightly prescribed timescale failing which any right of succession will have been lost.
Similar rules can apply to retirement and other claims to obtain possession of the premises.
The law relating to farm business tenancies under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 is meant to be more flexible. However whilst vacant possession of properties can be obtained subject to compliance with the agreements and the law, nevertheless there can be hold over beyond a term expiry date, and the tenant can in some cases have the possibility of holding over for up to two years which could make it difficult to sell the property without vacant possession.
With regard to land transactions owners and buyers maybe provided with an option to buy and sell. The period of time to exercise the option will usually be interpreted as time being of the essence and failing to comply can result in options being lost.
Taxation law is often governed by strict time limits. Failure to comply can for instance result in lost tax relief and tax penalties in the worse cases.
In short owners and tenants dealing with legal documentation and matters where there are time limits and deadlines should consult with their solicitors to make sure valuable rights are not inadvertently lost.
For further advice please contact Steven Corfield on (01743) 266268 or s.corfield@fbcmb.co.uk. Or visit www.fbcmb.co.uk for further details.
