Rating Act 1971



Rating Act 1971

1971 CHAPTER 39

An Act to extend the provisions relating to the exemption from rating of land and buildings used in connection with agriculture.

[27th May 1971]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

I Agricultural Derating in England and Wales

Part I

Agricultural Derating in England and Wales

S-1 Extension of definition of ‘agricultural buildings’ and ‘agricultural land’ for purposes of derating in England and Wales.

1 Extension of definition of ‘agricultural buildings’ and ‘agricultural land’ for purposes of derating in England and Wales.

(1) In section 26 of the General Rate Act 1967 (in this Part of this Act referred to as ‘the principal section’)—

(a ) the expression ‘agricultural buildings’ shall include any building which is an agricultural building by virtue of section 2, 3 or 4 of this Act; and

(b ) the expression ‘agricultural land’ shall include land occupied with, and used solely in connection with the use of, one or more such buildings.

(2) In this Part of this Act and in the principal section ‘building’ includes a separate part of a building; and in determining for the purposes of this Part and that section whether a building used in any way is solely so used no account shall be taken of any time during which it is used in any other way, if that time does not amount to a substantial part of the time during which the building is used.

(3) In this Part of this Act ‘livestock’ includes any mammal or bird kept for the production of food or wool or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land.

(4) In section 115(1) of the General Rate Act 1967, at the end of the definition of ‘agricultural land’ there shall be added the words ‘and section 1 of the Rating Act 1971’.

(5) This section shall have effect for any rate period (within the meaning of the General Rate Act 1967 ) beginning after the end of March 1971.

S-2 Livestock buildings.

2 Livestock buildings.

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) of this section, each of the following is an agricultural building by virtue of this section—

(a ) any building used for the keeping or breeding of livestock; and

(b ) any building (other than a dwelling) which is occupied together with one or more buildings falling within paragraph (a ) above and is used in connection with the operations carried on in that building or those buildings.

(2) A building used as mentioned in subsection (1)(a ) of this section is not an agricultural building by virtue of this section unless either—

(a ) it is solely so used; or

(b ) it is occupied together with agricultural land (as defined in the principal section) and used also in connection with agricultural operations on that land, and that other use together with the use mentioned in subsection (1)(a ) of this section is its sole use.

(3) A building occupied and used as mentioned in subsection (1)(b ) of this section is not an agricultural building by virtue of this section unless either—

(a ) it is solely so used; or

(b ) it is occupied also together with agricultural land (as defined in the principal section) and used also in connection with agricultural operations on that land, and that other use together with the use mentioned in subsection (1)(b ) of this section is its sole use.

(4) A building is not an agricultural building by virtue of this section unless it is surrounded by or contiguous to an area of agricultural land (as defined in the principal section) which amounts to not less than five acres; but in determining for the purposes of this subsection—

(a ) whether a building is contiguous to or surrounded by an area of agricultural land; or

(b ) whether an area contiguous to or surrounding a building is an area of agricultural land and what is the size of such an area;

there shall be disregarded any road, railway or watercourse, any agricultural building (as defined in the principal section or this Part of this Act) and, if occupied together with the first-mentioned building, also any other building and any land which is not agricultural land.

(5) In this section ‘railway’ includes the former site of a railway from which railway lines have been removed.

S-3 Buildings occupied in connection with bee-keeping.

3 Buildings occupied in connection with bee-keeping.

3. A building, other than a dwelling, is an agricultural building by virtue of this section if—

a ) it is occupied by a person keeping bees and is used solely in connection with the keeping of those bees; and
b ) the same condition is satisfied as has to be satisfied under subsection (4) of section 2 of this Act for a building to be an agricultural building by virtue of that section
S-4 Buildings occupied by bodies corporate and certain associations.

4 Buildings occupied by bodies corporate and certain associations.

(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a building, other than a dwelling, is an agricultural building by virtue of this section if—

(a ) it is used in connection with agricultural operations carried on on agricultural land (as defined in the principal section); and

(b ) it is occupied by a body corporate any of whose members are, or are together with the body, the occupiers of the land.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a building, other than a dwelling, is also an agricultural building by virtue of this section if—

(a ) it is used in connection with the operations carried on in one or more buildings which, being used for the keeping or breeding of livestock, are agricultural buildings by virtue of section 2 of this Act; and

(b ) it is occupied either—

(i) by a body corporate any of whose members are, or are together with the body, the occupiers of that building or those buildings, or

(ii)by persons who would satisfy the requirements of subsection (4)(b )(i) or (ii) of the principal section if the other building were agricultural land as defined in that section

(3) A building used as mentioned in either of the preceding subsections is not an agricultural building by virtue of this section unless that use, or that use together with the use mentioned in the other of those subsections, is its sole use.

II Agricultural Derating in Scotland

Part II

Agricultural Derating in Scotland

S-5 Livestock buildings.

5 Livestock buildings.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in section 7(2) of the Act of 1956 (which relates amongst other things to the definition of agricultural buildings), any lands and heritages consisting of—

(a ) one or more buildings (other than a dwelling-house) to which this section applies; or

(b )...

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