As anticipated, the Court of Appeal decision in Rees v Earl of Plymouth (in which we acted for the landlord) is attracting some commentary and attention in the agricultural press and on social media.

I was interested to see the recent article in Farmers Weekly. While it is always tricky to get the full picture and background just from the judgment and the article necessarily makes some assumptions which are not entirely accurate, I would endorse the comments reportedly made by George Dunn of the TFA - common sense is key. In our view, the Court of Appeal’s decision helps to confirm that a common sense approach is critically important when interpreting a lease.

I also agree that - for parties entering into a lease - ensuring it is clear and that they are advised up front is very sensible and will avoid issues longer term.