217.This section inserts new section 16A into the 1991 Act and applies to those 1991 Act tenancies which have leases that contain terms which purport to require the tenant to reside on the holding. There is no right under common law for a landlord to irritate a lease as a result of a tenant’s failure to reside on the holding.
218.Section 16A(1) prohibits a landlord from terminating an agricultural lease and evicting the tenant on the basis that the tenant has not been resident on the land. Section 16A(2) replaces such a lease term with an undertaking by the tenant, where that tenant does not reside on the holding, to ensure that a person with suitable skills and experience resides on the holding instead.