The government is seeking farmers' views on proposals such as a new Tenant Farming Commissioner role as well as more collaborative tenant-landlord and advisor relationships.
Defra's call for evidence, launched on Thursday (16 November), aims to build on insights gained from the recent Rock Review by seeking the industry's views on the extent of poor practice in the tenanted farming sector.
This includes lack of communication between landlords, tenants and their advisors on key business issues such as tenancy renewal and rent reviews.
Defra said it will also gather evidence on whether existing ways to register complaints in the industry are effective in addressing poor practice.
The potential role of an independent Tenant Farming Commissioner, who would provide more scrutiny of conduct in the sector and promote codes of good practice, will also be explored.
Announcing the call for evidence, Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: “[We] will continue to work closely with tenants, landlords and the wider industry to drive further positive change.
“The call for evidence is a further important step forward in achieving this and I encourage farmers, landlords and advisors to express their views to their relevant trade body.”
Today’s call for evidence builds on other announcements made by the government to deliver on key recommendations from the recent Rock Review.
This includes the establishment of the Farm Tenancy Forum, made up of industry representatives of tenant farmers, landlords and professional advisors, to prioritise the delivery of the commitments.
The UK's post-Brexit Environmental Land Management schemes are also being made more accessible to tenant farmers.
The government is also working with the sector to develop a new code of practice setting standards of responsible conduct for all parties to tenancy agreements.
The new call for evidence will run for 12 weeks until 8 February 2024.
