Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976

30 Information about housing accommodation. E+W

(1) The Minister may exercise the powers conferred on him by section 31 of this Act for the purpose of obtaining information about the housing accommodation which is on, or held in connection with, or used for, agricultural or forestry land.

(2) The Minister may give information so obtained—

(a) to the housing authority concerned for any part of the area to which the information relates, and

(b) where, since the giving of the information, other land has come into common ownership or occupation with the first-mentioned land, to the housing authority concerned for any part of the other land,

and information so given may be transmitted to any other authority to whom the Minister may give it under this subsection.

(3) The Minister may also give the information so obtained to any agricultural dwelling-house advisory committee which is to give advice under section 29 of this Act concerning any part of the area to which the information relates.

(4) No information relating to any particular land or business which has been obtained under section 31 of this Act shall be published or otherwise disclosed without the previous consent in writing—

(a) of the person giving the information, or

(b) (if different) of any person who at the time of the disclosure is the owner or occupier of the land, or as the case may be, the owner of the business.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply—

(a) to disclosure under subsection (2) or (3) (but does apply to those to whom disclosure is so made),

(b) to disclosure for the purposes of any criminal proceedings, or of any report of those proceedings.

(6) A person who contravenes subsection (4) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F1 level 5 on the standard scale].

(7) In this section and in section 31 of this Act—

• “agricultural land” means land used for agriculture as defined in section 109 of the M1 Agriculture Act 1947,

• “forestry land” does not include agricultural land,

• “occupier” includes a person responsible for the carrying on of any activity on agricultural or forestry land as servant or agent of the occupier,

• “owner” includes a person exercising, as servant or agent of the owner, functions of estate management in relation to the land.

(8) In this section and in section 31 of this Act reference to the Minister are references to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, so far as the reference relates to forestry land, to the Forestry Commissioners [F2 in relation to land in England and the Natural Resources Body for Wales in relation to land in Wales].

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46

F2 Words in s. 30(8) inserted (1.4.2013) by The Natural Resources Body for Wales (Functions) Order 2013 (No. 755), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 154 (with Sch. 7)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Certain functions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under ss. 30, 31 now exercisable (W.) by Secretary of State or Minister and Secretary of State jointly: S.I. 1978/272, art. 2, Sch. 1

C2 S. 30: certain functions transferred (27.12.1999) by S.I. 1999/3141, arts. 2(1)(5), 3, Sch.

Marginal Citations

M1 1947 c. 48.