Chapter IHTM24083
| Published date | 20 March 2016 |
| Record Number | IHTM24083 |
| Court | HM Revenue & Customs |
Examples where a property is not occupied for the purposes of agricultural relief are
- a person who lets a farm to a tenant farmer who himself carries on the trade of farming is not in occupation.
- arrangements which do not confer exclusive occupation will not necessarily destroy the lessor’s ‘legal occupation’ of the land (IHTM24071), but could end the lessor’s occupation of the land for the purposes of agriculture’. The farming circumstances of each arrangement will need to be carefully considered. Any areas of difficulty should be referred for advice (IHTM24073).
- Any land let on a farm business tenancy will confer exclusive occupation upon the tenant so the land owner will not be in occupation for the purposes of s.117(a).
The above should be borne in mind when considering whether or not, any farmhouse (IHTM24091) is occupied for the purposes of agriculture (IHTM24060). If the land is let under a farm business tenancy, it is highly unlikely the deceased will have had sufficient involvement on the land and so the requirements outlined at IHTM24091 for a farmhouse to be occupied for the purposes of agriculture will not have been met.
- a salaried employee, such as a farm manager, is not in occupation of the land - their employer is the occupier
- a person who leaves an agricultural property vacant is not physically in occupation and may not be in occupation for the purposes of agricultural relief, as in the case of Harrold deceased and Atkinson (see below). The period of non-occupation in both cases was considerable. It is going to be a question of fact, extent and degree in each case whether vacating a property so remedial work can be carried out, or because of ill health, puts the availability of relief at risk. So a necessary absence whilst a building is cleared of rot and re-roofed would normally be disregarded provided that the remedial works are carried out in a business like manner.
- Cases where the owner is absent due to ill health can be contentious and difficult to decide. You will need to ascertain the length of, and reasons for, the absence. Any desire on the part of the transferor to return will be relevant but this should be viewed in the light of how realistic such a return might be. Other relevant factors might include the state of the house, its state of readiness for a return, whether the transferor’s possessions were retained ready for a return. The question of how matters such as payment of insurance, utility bills and council...
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