“I am leasing all my land and have no stock at the moment. I have a slatted shed on the farm but that is the only building. Legally, what insurance do I need and does the farmer who is leasing my land need insurance?”
The landowner (the lessor) must insure all buildings on the farm against loss or damage by fire and other usual risks (if any) as the landowner deems fit in the full reinstatement value together with professional fees (in the case of damage by fire). This applies whether or not the farmer (the lessee) is leasing the buildings.
The farmer cannot insure the buildings whether he is leasing the buildings or not. However, the farmer can insure his animals in the building. It is recommended that the landowner should also hold public liability insurance.
The standard lease agreement generally provides that the farmer will reimburse the landowner on demand all amounts paid by the landowner in respect of premiums of insurance in accordance with the landowner’s obligations under the lease agreement. The landowner should note the farmer’s interest on the landowner’s insurance policy.
The standard lease agreement generally requires the farmer to take out public liability, employer’s liability and other policies of insurance for a minimum sum as may be necessary to cover the farmer against any claims arising in respect of the land being leased.
The standard lease agreement generally requires the farmer to keep the landowner fully indemnified against all actions, costs and expenses arising in any way out of any act, omission or negligence of the farmer in relation to the leased lands.
The lease agreement generally provides that the farmer must show a copy of his insurance policy, which should note the address of the leased lands to the landowner together with evidence of payment on an annual basis.
“A local farmer bought €3,000 worth of hay from me but has paid no money since he collected the last hay over two years ago. Despite calling to his house on numerous occasions to ask for payment, he refuses to pay up, saying that he has no money following the last few bad winters. What can I do and what are my legal rights? Is there a time frame after which I have no legal rights to the money?”
It appears that the farmer who owes you money is not disputing that there is a legally binding contract between you under which he owes you the sum of €3,000. In general, contracts do not have to be in writing in order to be enforceable and failure to pay is a breach of the contract.
Given the fact that you have given him ample opportunity to pay the money, I would suggest that you get your solicitor to write him a letter threatening legal action in the event that he does not pay the full amount within a specific period of time, eg 10 days from the date of the letter. If he is not in a position to pay this amount within that time period, he could sign up to a phased payment schedule, eg half of it when he gets his Single Farm Payment and the other half when he sells stock. However, it is important that any such agreement is recorded in writing and signed by him and I would suggest that your solicitor should look after this.
In the event that he ignores the solicitor’s letter or reneges on the phased payment schedule, it is open to you to issue proceedings against him in the district court. District court proceedings are started when you, as creditor, issue a civil summons to him. This summons states your claim, ie that he owes you €3,000 for straw bought on a specific date. The summons sets out a date on which the proceedings are to start – this is called a return date.
In Dublin, the case is mentioned in court on the return date and a later date is set for the hearing; outside Dublin, the case is usually heard on the return date.
The summons gives him three options:
If he pays the amount claimed within 10 days of the service of the summons, the proceedings will not start.If he intends to dispute the claim, he must notify the court of his intention to do so within seven days of receiving the summons. He does this by using the notice of intention to defend, which is included with the summons; if he does not do this, he cannot just turn up in court and attempt to enter a defence.If he accepts that he owes the money but he wants to look for more time for payment, the summons indicates what he needs to do. He must go to your solicitor within 10 days and sign a consent form which gives him the option to consent to payment by instalments.The civil summons must be served on him at least 21 days before the return date. It may be served in person at his home or by registered post. If he does not indicate his intention to defend the proceedings, there is no hearing and you get a judgment that he owes the money.
Your solicitor will then file an affidavit of debt and a district court decree with the district court clerk on your behalf. There are different forms of affidavit depending on the kind of debt involved. These documents constitute the district court judgment set. These are then checked and, if all documents are in order, the judge of the district court issues the judgment. The judgment is for the amount owed plus the costs involved in the proceedings.
Having obtained the judgment, you as the creditor are then entitled to enforce the judgment. Interest at the rate of 8% begins to run on the amount of the judgment (but not the costs) from the day the judgment is given.
“I am leasing all my land and have no stock at the moment. I have a slatted shed on the farm but that is the only building. Legally, what insurance do I need and does the farmer who is leasing my land need insurance?”
The landowner (the lessor) must insure all buildings on the farm against loss or damage by fire and other usual risks (if any) as the landowner deems fit in the full reinstatement value together with professional fees (in the case of damage by fire). This applies whether or not the farmer (the lessee) is leasing the buildings.
The farmer cannot insure the buildings whether he is leasing the buildings or not. However, the farmer can insure his animals in the building. It is recommended that the landowner should also hold public liability insurance.
The standard lease agreement generally provides that the farmer will reimburse the landowner on demand all amounts paid by the landowner in respect of premiums of insurance in accordance with the landowner’s obligations under the lease agreement. The landowner should note the farmer’s interest on the landowner’s insurance policy.
The standard lease agreement generally requires the farmer to take out public liability, employer’s liability and other policies of insurance for a minimum sum as may be necessary to cover the farmer against any claims arising in respect of the land being leased.
The standard lease agreement generally requires the farmer to keep the landowner fully indemnified against all actions, costs and expenses arising in any way out of any act, omission or negligence of the farmer in relation to the leased lands.
The lease agreement generally provides that the farmer must show a copy of his insurance policy, which should note the address of the leased lands to the landowner together with evidence of payment on an annual basis.
“A local farmer bought €3,000 worth of hay from me but has paid no money since he collected the last hay over two years ago. Despite calling to his house on numerous occasions to ask for payment, he refuses to pay up, saying that he has no money following the last few bad winters. What can I do and what are my legal rights? Is there a time frame after which I have no legal rights to the money?”
It appears that the farmer who owes you money is not disputing that there is a legally binding contract between you under which he owes you the sum of €3,000. In general, contracts do not have to be in writing in order to be enforceable and failure to pay is a breach of the contract.
Given the fact that you have given him ample opportunity to pay the money, I would suggest that you get your solicitor to write him a letter threatening legal action in the event that he does not pay the full amount within a specific period of time, eg 10 days from the date of the letter. If he is not in a position to pay this amount within that time period, he could sign up to a phased payment schedule, eg half of it when he gets his Single Farm Payment and the other half when he sells stock. However, it is important that any such agreement is recorded in writing and signed by him and I would suggest that your solicitor should look after this.
In the event that he ignores the solicitor’s letter or reneges on the phased payment schedule, it is open to you to issue proceedings against him in the district court. District court proceedings are started when you, as creditor, issue a civil summons to him. This summons states your claim, ie that he owes you €3,000 for straw bought on a specific date. The summons sets out a date on which the proceedings are to start – this is called a return date.
In Dublin, the case is mentioned in court on the return date and a later date is set for the hearing; outside Dublin, the case is usually heard on the return date.
The summons gives him three options:
If he pays the amount claimed within 10 days of the service of the summons, the proceedings will not start.If he intends to dispute the claim, he must notify the court of his intention to do so within seven days of receiving the summons. He does this by using the notice of intention to defend, which is included with the summons; if he does not do this, he cannot just turn up in court and attempt to enter a defence.If he accepts that he owes the money but he wants to look for more time for payment, the summons indicates what he needs to do. He must go to your solicitor within 10 days and sign a consent form which gives him the option to consent to payment by instalments.The civil summons must be served on him at least 21 days before the return date. It may be served in person at his home or by registered post. If he does not indicate his intention to defend the proceedings, there is no hearing and you get a judgment that he owes the money.
Your solicitor will then file an affidavit of debt and a district court decree with the district court clerk on your behalf. There are different forms of affidavit depending on the kind of debt involved. These documents constitute the district court judgment set. These are then checked and, if all documents are in order, the judge of the district court issues the judgment. The judgment is for the amount owed plus the costs involved in the proceedings.
Having obtained the judgment, you as the creditor are then entitled to enforce the judgment. Interest at the rate of 8% begins to run on the amount of the judgment (but not the costs) from the day the judgment is given.
SHARING OPTIONS