Entitlements on Unused Land

Anynameilldo

Asking for a relative. They had land leased out on a yearly basis for the last 20 years. Difficulty with customer and decided to sell. It is possible to tell if somebody else is claiming entitlements on their land.

zetor 4911

Anynameilldo wrote: »

Asking for a relative. They had land leased out on a yearly basis for the last 20 years. Difficulty with customer and decided to sell. It is possible to tell if somebody else is claiming entitlements on their land.

Whether anyone else is drawing entitlements on the land or not will not have any effect on your relatives desire to sell the land. Entitlements are not attached to land they are attached to the herd number. Not sure what you mean by unused land if it is leased out for the last 20 years is it not been used by the lessee? Hope this answers your question.

Anynameilldo

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Whether anyone else is drawing entitlements on the land or not will not have any effect on your relatives desire to sell the land. Entitlements are not attached to land they are attached to the herd number. Not sure what you mean by unused land if it is leased out for the last 20 years is it not been used by the lessee? Hope this answers your question.

Land was not rented out in 2018. The man leasing the land did not make any payment in 2016 and 2017, so they did not let him have it this year. They just don’t want him claiming grants on it when he owes so much money and has no intention of paying it.

I know you need a herd number to claim but I thought it had to be connected to land. Surely you can’t claim it on land you are not farming?

Sacrolyte

Get someone else to lease it. That should take care of all administrative issues also.

Sacrolyte

Sorry didn’t read your post properly. Your relatives selling the property. So.
Entitlements are attached primerly to a herd number,however land is required to activate the entitlements and it doesn’t have to be any specific land. So if the farmer was using your relatives land to activate his entitlements he now can move them to other lands or sell or lease them.

zetor 4911

I know you need a herd number to claim but I thought it had to be connected to land. Surely you can’t claim it on land you are not farming?[/QUOTE]

Yes you are right you can't claim on lands which you are not farming so if you did not rent it out in 2018 then no one has the right to claim on it. But the Department won't tell you if anyone has claimed on the land in 2018 as they can't discuss anyone's business with another party even if that other party is the owner of the land.

Anynameilldo

zetor 4911 wrote: »

I know you need a herd number to claim but I thought it had to be connected to land. Surely you can’t claim it on land you are not farming?

Yes you are right you can't claim on lands which you are not farming so if you did not rent it out in 2018 then no one has the right to claim on it. But the Department won't tell you if anyone has claimed on the land in 2018 as they can't discuss anyone's business with another party even if that other party is the owner of the land.[/quote]

Thank you, can they notify the department that the they are not leasing it and ask them to investigate. What would the implications be for the person claiming?

Siamsa Sessions

Sorry to hear the tenant has messed you around.

Unfortunately they can include your parcel of land on their annual Single Farm Payment (SFP) application and activate their entitlements on it. Unless someone else has included the same parcel on their SFP, then the Dept are unlikely to see an issue. You could contact the Dept but they are unlikely to speak to you about what's officially someone else's SFP - even though it may be your land. Land ownership and leasing arrangements are not within the remit of the Dept. as far as I know. However, you may be able to make a formal query if you can submit a farm map, folio numbers, proof of ownership, etc.

Whether the tenant has or hasn't been activating entitlements on your land is now in the past. Get it sold or leased properly ASAP and move on. Entitlements are a messy business with unofficial leases and often one party (either tenant or landowner) knows much more than the other.