Gladstone v Bower

Last updated April 04, 2019

Gladstone v Bower [1960] 2 QB 384 was a 1959 case in the English Court of Appeal, concerning security of tenure in tenancies of agricultural holdings. It arose from what was then thought to be a lacuna in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948.

In law, a non liquet is a situation where there is no applicable law. Non liquet translates into English from Latin as "it is not clear". According to Cicero, the term was applied during the Roman Republic to a verdict of "not proven" where the guilt or innocence of the accused was "not clear".

The Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 was an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee. It provided tenant farmers with security of tenure for life.

Facts

Under the AHA 1948, a tenancy for a term certain of less than a year would be converted to a year-on-year tenancy by the operation of s2, and a tenancy for a term certain of two to five years would be converted to a year-on-year tenancy by the operation of s3.^[1] In Gladstone v Bower, the term certain was eighteen months.

Judgment

The Court of Appeal held that because neither s2 nor s3 of the 1948 Act applied, the tenancy expired at the end of the fixed term and the landlord was entitled to recover possession.^[2]

Significance

After the decision, the presiding judge (Diplock J) expected that the law would be changed. As he put it, "If it were permissible to speculate at large as to the intentions of Parliament, I should be tempted to guess that Parliament simply overlooked the case of a lease for a fixed term of between one and two years." He felt that Parliament could not possibly have intended to confer security of tenure on both lettings of less than a year and more than two years, but to leave out lettings for terms in between.^[3] However, Parliament expressly excluded such agreements from security of tenure in the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, the Agricultural Holdings Act 1984 and the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. After 1959, agricultural tenancies for terms of this period became known as Gladstone v Bower agreements, under which the landlord need not serve a Notice to Quit to end the tenancy, but if the tenant were allowed to hold over, he might obtain statutory security.^[4]

William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock, PC was a British judge and Law Lord.

The Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 has superseded the previous Acts and new Gladstone v Bower agreements can no longer be created.

The Agricultural Holdings Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to England and Wales. It is in force. The Act reformed and substantially deregulated the law relating to agricultural tenancies, and has had the dual effects of increasing the amount of land available to rent in the agricultural sector, and increasing the average rent per acre charged.

Notes

↑ Smith, P. F.: The Law of Landlord and Tenant, page 420. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 1993. ISBN 978-0-406-01153-4.
↑ Williams, P R, Cardwell, M N and Williams, V: Scammell & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings, Ninth Edition, pages 288-9. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4057-1797-7.
↑ Williams, P R, Cardwell, M N and Williams, V: Scammell & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings, Ninth Edition, page 289. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4057-1797-7.
↑ Gregory, M. and Parrish, M.: Essential Law for Landowners and Farmers, page 68. London: Collins Professional Books, 1987. ISBN 978-0-00-383269-3.

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[1] Smith, P. F.: The Law of Landlord and Tenant, page 420. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 1993. ISBN 978-0-406-01153-4.

[2] Williams, P R, Cardwell, M N and Williams, V: Scammell & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings, Ninth Edition, pages 288-9. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4057-1797-7.

[3] Williams, P R, Cardwell, M N and Williams, V: Scammell & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings, Ninth Edition, page 289. London: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4057-1797-7.

[4] Gregory, M. and Parrish, M.: Essential Law for Landowners and Farmers, page 68. London: Collins Professional Books, 1987. ISBN 978-0-00-383269-3.