In France, such is the level of security of tenure granted to a farmer on an agricultural tenancy (bail rural) it is impossible to terminate the tenancy without a significant breach of the terms by the farmer.

The lease can also be transferred to a family member who succeeds to the business, it is transferred to inheritors on death, and in the event of sale of the land the tenant farmer has the right of first refusal.

As a result, over the years legal alternatives to a formal tenancy have developed that enable a landowner to recover the land at the end of the term or earlier.

The most common form of such an agreement is a prêt à usage, which grants the farmer use of the land free of charge, and without title.

However, such an agreement needs careful drafting and management, as there is the risk that it could be requalified as a tenancy by the courts.

In a case that was heard in the court of appeal sitting in Pau (Hautes-Pyrénées) a landowner entered into a prêt à usage agreement to allow a farmer to exploit several parcels of land in their ownership.

Subsequently, a dispute arose between the owner and the farmer over tree pruning, hedge clearance and relocation of fencing carried out by the farmer.

As a result, the owner served formal notice on the farmer that the licence would not be renewed at the termination of the current licence period in a year's time.

The farmer responded by launching an action in the local court for the licence to be qualified as a farm tenancy.

Under the terms of the licence agreement, which had been drawn up by a notaire, use of the land was granted to the farmer without any compensatory payment to the owner.

Nevertheless, evidence produced in court by the farmer established that each year the landowner received hay bales from the farmer harvested from the fields he occupied.

As a result, the court ruled that consideration had been paid for use of the land, that the licence should be requalified as a farm tenancy and that the notice issued by the landowner was without effect.

Other cases that have been before the courts have also established that the consideration paid need not in the form of a payment.

Thus, in one case on which we have previously reported, the farmer undertook major improvement works on the land, including erection of fencing and clearance of the land, which was carried out with the consent of the landlord.

The court ruled such works went beyond mere maintenance of the land and requalified the licence as a tenancy.