Land Acquisition and Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 1973

Acquisition of part of tenanted agricultural holding N.I.

52.—(1) Where—

(a) a person is in occupation of an agricultural holding being a person having no greater interest therein than as tenant for a year or from year to year; and

(b) a vesting order becomes operative in respect of part only of that holding; and

(c) the acquiring authority require that person to give up possession of that part before the date on which his term or interest therein would apart from the operation of the vesting order have expired;

that person (in this Article referred to as “the claimant”) may, within the period of two months beginning with the date on which he was required to give up possession as aforesaid, serve on the acquiring authority a notice—

(i) claiming that the remainder of the holding is not reasonably capable of being farmed, either by itself or in conjunction with other relevant land, as a separate agricultural unit; and

(ii) electing to treat the requirement to give up possession as relating to the entire holding.

(2) Where a notice is served under paragraph (1) the claimant shall also, within the period mentioned in that paragraph, serve a copy thereof on the landlord of the holding, but failure to comply with this paragraph shall not invalidate the notice.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), “other relevant land” in paragraph (1) means—

(a) land comprised in the same agricultural unit as the agricultural holding; and

(b) land comprised in any other agricultural unit occupied by the claimant on the date on which he was required to give up possession as mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) being land in respect of which he is then entitled to a greater interest than as tenant for a year or from year to year.

(4) Where an acquiring authority have published notice of application for, or intention to make, a vesting order in respect of land in the agricultural holding other than that to which the requirement to give up possession relates or in respect of other relevant land as defined in paragraph (3) then unless and until the application is withdrawn or refused, or, as the case may be, the intention to make the vesting order is abandoned, this Article and Article 53 shall have effect as if that land did not form part of the holding or did not constitute other relevant land as the case may be.

(5) In this Article and Article 53 “agricultural holding” means the aggregate of the agricultural land comprised in a contract of tenancy.