Agriculture Act 1947

37 Liability for repair, maintenance and insurance of fixed equipment.

(1) The Minister may, after consultation with such bodies of persons as appear to him to represent the interests of landlords and tenants of holdings, make regulations prescribing terms as to the maintenance, repair and insurance of fixed equipment which shall be deemed to be incorporated in every contract of tenancy of a holding, whether made before or after the commencement of this Part of this Act, except in so far as they would impose on one of the parties to an agreement in writing a liability which under the agreement is imposed on the other.

(2) Where an agreement in writing relating to a tenancy of a holding, whether created before or after the commencement of this Part of this Act, effects substantial modifications in the operation of regulations under the last foregoing subsection, the landlord or the tenant of the holding may, if he has requested his tenant or landlord to vary the agreement so as to bring it into conformity with the provisions of regulations under that subsection but no agreement has been reached on the request, refer to arbitration under the Act of 1923 the terms of the tenancy with respect to the maintenance, repair and insurance of fixed equipment:

Provided that where there has been a previous reference under this subsection relating to the same tenancy, no further such reference shall be made before the expiration of three years from the coming into effect of the award of the arbitrator on the previous reference.

(3) On any reference under the last foregoing subsection the arbitrator shall consider whether (disregarding the rent payable for the holding) the said modifications effected by the agreement are justifiable having regard to the circumstances of the holding and of the landlord and the tenant; and if he determines that they are not justifiable as aforesaid, he may by his award vary the terms referred to arbitration in such manner as appears to him reasonable and just between the landlord and the tenant.