Agricultural Holdings Act 1986

36 Right of any eligible person to apply for new tenancy on death of tenant

(1) Any eligible person may apply under section 39 below to the Tribunal for a direction entitling him to a tenancy of the holding unless excluded by subsection (2) or section 37 or 38 below.

(2) Subsection (1) above (and section 41 below) shall not apply if on the date of death the holding was held by the deceased under—

(a) a tenancy for a fixed term of years of which more than twenty-seven months remained unexpired, or

(b) a tenancy for a fixed term of more than one but less than two years.

(3) For the purposes of this section and sections 37 to 48 below, "eligible person" means (subject to the provisions of Part I of Schedule 6 to this Act and without prejudice to section 41 below) any surviving close relative of the deceased in whose case the following conditions are satisfied—

(a) in the seven years ending with the date of death his only or principal source of livelihood throughout a continuous period of not less than five years, or two or more discontinuous periods together amounting to not less than five years, derived from his agricultural work on the holding or on an agricultural unit of which the holding forms part, and

(b) he is not the occupier of a commercial unit of agricultural land.

(4) In the case of the deceased's wife the reference in subsection (3)(a) above to the relative's agricultural work shall be read as a reference to agricultural work carried out by either the wife or the deceased (or both of them).

(5) Part I of Schedule 6 to this Act, which supplements subsection (3) above and makes provision with respect to the assessment of the productive capacity of agricultural land for the purposes of paragraph (b) of that subsection, shall have effect.