Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976

1 Interpretation and commencement

(1) In this Act—

(a) " agriculture " includes—

(i) dairy-farming and livestock keeping and breeding (whether those activities involve the use of land or not);

(ii) the production of any consumable produce which is grown for sale or for consumption or other use for the purposes of a trade or business or of any other undertaking (whether carried on for profit or not);

(iii) the use of land as grazing, meadow or pasture land or orchard or osier land;

(iv) the use of land for market gardens or nursery grounds; and

(v) forestry;

(b) " forestry " includes—

(i) the use of land for nursery grounds for trees, and

(ii) the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the use of land for other agricultural purposes.

(2) For the purposes of the definition in subsection (1)(a) above—

• " consumable produce " means produce grown for consumption or other use after severance or separation from the land or other growing medium on or in which it is grown;

• " livestock " includes any animal which is kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the carrying on of any agricultural activity, and for the purposes of this definition " animal" includes bird but does not include fish.

(3) The expressions listed in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act have for the purposes of this Act the meanings given by the provisions shown in column 2 of the Schedule.

(4) In this Act " relevant licence " and " relevant tenancy " have the meanings given by Schedule 2 to this Act.

(5) Schedule 3 to this Act, of which—

(a) Part I is for determining for the purposes of this Act—

(i) whether a person is a qualifying worker,

(ii) whether a person is incapable of whole-time work in agriculture, or work in agriculture as a permit worker, in consequence of a qualifying injury or disease, and

(iii) whether a dwelling-house is in qualifying ownership,

(b) Part II postpones the operation of this Act in relation to certain persons employed in forestry, and

(c) Part III contains supplementary provisions,

shall have effect.

(6) This Act shall, subject to subsection (7) below, come into force on such date as the Secretary of State and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food acting jointly may by order contained in a statutory instrument appoint, and that date is in this Act called "the operative date".

(7) Subsection (6) above has effect subject to the said Part II of Schedule 3 to this Act.