Housing rights of farm workers

Who has an agricultural tenancy?

You need to meet all 3 of these conditions:

• you live in a self contained home

• you work at least 35 hours a week on a farm

• you have worked in farming for at least 91 weeks out of the last 104

The 91 weeks includes paid holiday, sickness, and working on another farm for a different employer.

You can have an agricultural tenancy even if you do not pay rent or have a written tenancy or licence agreement.

What is a self contained home?

It means you:

• can decide who comes into your home

• do not share your home with people who are not part of your family

Your employment contract might call your housing a 'farm cottage'.

What is full time farm work?

You must be employed by your landlord and not be a self employed contractor.

Your tasks must include:

• farming crops

• dairy farming

• working with livestock

• working with farming equipment, for example driving a tractor

Working on a fish farm does not count.

You must do this work for at least 35 hours a week.

You can work less than 35 hours a week if you have a permit to work shorter hours because of an injury at work.

Who does not have an agricultural tenancy?

Even if you meet the conditions, your landlord might give you a notice to say that you have an assured tenancy.

They must give you this notice before your agreement starts.

From 1 May 2026, this notice must be on Form 9A.

Before this date, this notice had to be on Form 9.

See: Assured tenancy forms on GOV.UK

You must not work for a government agency

You do not have an agricultural tenancy if you are employed by:

• a government department

• the Forestry Commission

• a housing association

• a local council

• the Crown

Your rights if you have an agricultural tenancy

Your rights depend on when you moved in.

If you moved in on or after 15 January 1989

You have an 'assured' agricultural tenancy.

If you moved in before 15 January 1989

You have a 'protected' or 'regulated' agricultural tenancy.

You have similar rights to a private tenant with a regulated tenancy.

Can your landlord make you leave?

If you have an agricultural tenancy, you do not have to leave if:

• you retire or resign

• you are dismissed or made redundant

You only have to leave if a court gives your landlord a possession order telling you to leave.

Your landlord can only get a possession order in some situations.

For example, if you:

• do not pay the rent

• break a term in your tenancy

• damage your home or cause nuisance

• have suitable alternative accommodation from your landlord or the council

These rules apply if you have an assured or regulated agricultural tenancy. You have more rights if you moved in before 15 January 1989.

Your landlord must offer you somewhere else to live if they need your home for another farm worker.

Can your landlord ask for rent?

Your landlord could ask you to pay rent when you retire or stop working for them.

You could agree a new rent together.

If you moved in on or after 15 January 1989

Your landlord could ask you to pay a similar rent to other private tenants in the local area.

If you and your landlord cannot agree, you can ask a tribunal to decide the new rent.

If you moved in before 15 January 1989

Your landlord can ask you to pay a fair rent. This is less than what most private tenants pay.

Contact the Valuation Office Agency about getting a fair rent registered by a rent officer.

If you do not have an agricultural tenancy

You could have an assured tenancy if your landlord gave you a notice to say this before you moved in. Your landlord needs a reason to evict you, like rent arrears. They must give you a section 8 eviction notice.

You could be a 'service occupier' if either:

• you must live in the property to do your job

• your employment contract says you must live there to do your job properly

Your landlord needs to get a court order to make you leave unless you live there rent free.

Find out more about service occupiers.

Your landlord does not need a court order to evict you if you are a lodger.