Land Lease Contract Issue

T

Tomjim

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I leased land to a farmer under a 5 year lease. Two years of this lease has been completed.

The terms of the lease says " a yearly rent of 7000 euros and the payment is to be made in two installments on the 1st July of each year in the summer of 5500 and on the 1st December of each year in the sum of 1500 which includes the value of the entitlements (75 euros per acre) attaching to the land (single farm payments) which were determined by Teagasc."

Now the value of the entitlements have decreased by circa 15 euros since the start of the lease. And the farmer is saying he's going to pay me the current value of the entitlements only.

What is the position here, there is a signed agreement stating the full value of the lease, but in fairness the entitlements have decreased.
This farmer would be known for being a bully and I have no difficulty in telling him to get out and finishing the lease if he doesn't pay the full amount
 
Are we talking about a reduction of € 15 euros - how many acres?
 
Without getting into too much detail here, it's not a large amount, circa 200 euros
 
If the lease insists on €75 rather than €60 per acre then presumably you would be within your rights to invoke any relevant breach of contract clause? That being the case, only you can decide whether or not it's worth doing that for the amount involved. Presumably you could have hassle terminating the lease and getting the current leaseholder out and then leasing again? You might want to get a professional option on the contractual issues regardless of any feedback received here. Just curious, why did you lease to an allegedly known bully in the first place?
 
At the time there wasn't much interest in the land so my options were limited. Also he would be regarded as being OK to pay. I suppose I also like a challenge, so I wouldn't have an issue if I have to throw him out. And like everything the land is more valuable to him than it would be to anyone else as it borders his land. The last thing he would want to is lose that land.

So I want to put down a marker to him as well that I won't take any guff from him
 
Tomjim said:
The terms of the lease says " a yearly rent of 7000 euros and the payment is to be made in two installments on the 1st July of each year in the summer of 5500 and on the 1st December of each year in the sum of 1500 which includes the value of the entitlements (75 euros per acre) attaching to the land (single farm payments) which were determined by Teagasc."
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I'm not a lawyer but I think you made a mistake agreeing to the clause in bold.
 
T McGibney said:
I'm not a lawyer but I think you made a mistake agreeing to the clause in bold.
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Yeah - it seems potentially open to interpreteation - e.g. the value of the entitlemets at the time that the contract was signed or reviewable on an ongoing basis according to ongoing Teagasc valuations? IANAL either though.
 
ClubMan said:
Then tell him that you want to stick to the terms of the contract and take it
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The contract says he pays the esb, it's only 80 a year, but so far I have paid this ( my choice) but he can pay me this back now. It's such a small amount, I was happy to do so, but if he starts messing so will I.
 
Maybe that's part of your problem - not sticking to the letter of the contract from the start? Anyway it's obviously your prerogative to try to reset and do so now but if both parties are going to start messing over relatively small amounts in the greater scheme of things then I could easily see the situation deteriorating rapidly and causing you even more hassle in the longer run.
 
Tomjim said:
The contract says he pays the esb, it's only 80 a year, but so far I have paid this ( my choice) but he can pay me this back now. It's such a small amount, I was happy to do so, but if he starts messing so will I.
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Good idea to get this sorted at the same time.

The lease is open to interpretation and as it's an imposed reduction in the entitlements that neither party have control over, any argument would normally favor the leasee.

If the lease is renewed have the entitlements listed under a schedule at the "current value as determined by teagasc.
 
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