DEFRA

• Independent tenant farming champion appointed to promote stronger relationships in the sector.
• Tenant farmers manage over a third of England's farmland and are essential for food production and environmental recovery.
• Building a fairer and more profitable sector as the government delivers on the Plan for Change.

Tenant farmers across England will now benefit from the creation of the country’s first Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector. 

Alan Laidlaw, an experienced CEO with more than 25 years’ experience in agriculture and land management, has been appointed to the new role. He will act as a trusted and impartial point of contact for tenants, landlords and advisors, ensuring fair practice and tackling poor behaviour across the sector. 

The Commissioner will promote the standards set out in the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice, working closely with Defra and the Farm Tenancy Forum, the government–industry group that advises Defra on supporting and improving the farm tenancy sector in England. 

His responsibilities include investigating complaints, tracking trends, offering guidance, and reporting regularly on tenant-landlord relations.   

This appointment delivers on a key government commitment to support the tenanted sector, which manages a third of farmland in England, and secure a fair, profitable and sustainable farming future. 

Secretary of State Emma Reynolds said: 

“Tenant farmers are the backbone of food production and play a vital role in caring for our countryside – I visited a tenant farm this week alongside our newly appointed Commissioner Alan Laidlaw to see their work and discuss how he can better support them.

“Alan’s decades of experience in farming and land management make him uniquely placed to strengthen relationships and drive-up standards across the sector. 

“This appointment will provide an impartial voice between tenants and landowners to promote best practice and foster fair, collaborative relationships as we deliver on our Plan for Change to back farmers and build a sustainable future.” 

 Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector Alan Laidlaw said: 

“I am honoured to be appointed as England’s first Commissioner for the tenant farming sector, supporting this vital sector with the fair framework it needs to thrive. 

“Having worked across farming, land management and the rural economy, I know how strong tenant-landlord relationships can drive innovation, resilience and shared success. 

“I look forward to working with farmers, landlords and advisors to promote best practice, address challenges, and help build a fair, profitable and sustainable future for tenant farming in England.” 

George Dunn, Chief Executive of the Tenant Farmers Association, said:

 “I warmly welcome the appointment of Alan Laidlaw to be the first Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector in England. Having worked with Alan previously, I am sure that he will be thorough, diligent and impactful in this important role.

“Alan’s appointment marks a crucial step forward in cementing the industry-approved Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice into the landlord tenant system of agriculture in England.

“Alan’s appointment will bring focus on achieving better relationships between landlords and tenants for their mutual benefit and improvements in the conduct of all parties, including landlord’s agents. The TFA looks forward to supporting Alan in this vital work.”

Biography  

• Alan Laidlaw is an experienced CEO and respected voice in the UK’s rural, agricultural, and land management industries, with over 25 years’ experience across public, private, and charitable organisations.
• Alan spent more than a decade on the senior management team at The Crown Estate, where he was responsible for a 250,000-acre UK-wide rural portfolio, one of the country’s largest agricultural tenanted estates. 
• He introduced innovative tenancy agreements and co-investment models that delivered sustainable revenue growth for both tenants and the landowner.

TFA

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has hailed the appointment of Alan Laidlaw as the first Tenant Farming Commissioner for England as a major success for its lobbying and as hugely significant for the landlord tenant sector in agriculture.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “I warmly welcome the appointment of Alan Laidlaw to be the first Tenant Farming Commissioner in England. Having worked with Alan previously, I am sure that he will be thorough, diligent and impactful in this important role. The announcement of his appointment highlights both the importance of the landlord tenant sector within agriculture and marks a crucial step forward in cementing the industry approved Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice in England. Alan’s appointment will bring focus on achieving better relationships between landlords and tenants for their mutual benefit and improvements in the conduct of all parties, including landlord’s agents. The TFA looks forward to supporting Alan in this vital work.”

The TFA notes that the Commissioner’s role will be non-statutory and he will therefore need to work hard to ensure he has real influence and impact on a sector which needs to see huge change in the conduct of relationships between landlords, tenants and land agents. A survey carried out by the TFA last year found that 30% of tenant farmers felt that they were being bullied or harassed by their landlords and this rose to 37% by reference to landlord’s agents.

“Bullying and harassment at any level in our sector is unacceptable but sadly the TFA sees this almost as a daily occurrence in the job that we do with and for our members. However, there are also many examples of good practice, and it will be important for the Commissioner to shine a light on those situations to draw the contrast with those landlords and landlord’s agents who must improve their conduct,” said Mr Dunn.

One way that the Commissioner could gain real traction would be to convince landlords to incorporate the agreed Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice into their tenancy agreements. That could be further enhanced if those landlords could also be convinced to write into their tenancy agreements that the Commissioner will be used to adjudicate on any issues of poor conduct that arise through the course of a tenancy and that the Commissioner’s adjudication would be binding.

“We have already seen some institutional landlords including the code of practice as a standard term in their tenancy agreements and it would be an easy win for the Commissioner to see that practice expanded to other institutional landlords and into the private sector. Given Alan’s previous involvement with The Crown Estate he will clearly have some intuition into the mindset of institutional landlords that he can use to his advantage in his new role,” said Mr Dunn.

No doubt, the Commissioner will be in receipt of a raft of early cases that will need his careful and wise deliberation. Some of these cases will be long-standing and difficult. Indeed, the TFA is anticipating being involved in referring cases to the Commissioner to review. Although confidential, the way in which these early cases will be handled by the Commissioner will have a major influence over the extent to which the role will be seen as adding value.

Alongside issues of conduct, the Commissioner will also have a role to consider the way in which disputes are resolved within the landlord tenant sector in agriculture with a particular focus on arbitration. The TFA would like to see the Commissioner pulling together the principal organisations involved in dispute resolution to determine what improvements could be made to improve experience and consistency.

“It is vital that we see arbitration becoming less onerous, less expensive, quicker and more consistent. It is a major limitation that individual arbitrators are not permitted to see or use the awards of other arbitrators to assist them in making better awards themselves. This system operates well within the courts, so it would be good to find a way to operate it within the realm of arbitration. It will be important for the Commissioner to find the time to give attention to this within the terms of reference DEFRA has established for his role,” said Mr Dunn.