Agriculture (Loans)
(Jersey) Regulations 1974
THE STATES, in pursuance of Article 2 of the Agriculture (Loans and Guarantees) (Jersey)
Law 1974,[1] have made the following Regulations –
Commencement [see endnotes]
PART 1
INTRODUCTORY
1 Interpretation
(1) In
these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires –
“agricultural company” means a Company
incorporated under the Companies (Jersey)
Law 1991[2] or the Lois (1861 à 1965) sur les
Sociétés a Responsabilité Limitée which is, or the
beneficial owners of which are, engaged, or if the application for a loan is
granted, will be engaged, wholly or mainly in work of an agricultural nature in
Jersey;
“Law” means the Agriculture (Loans and Guarantees) (Jersey)
Law 1974.[3]
(2) References
to the farming of agricultural land shall be construed as references to the
carrying on in relation to that land of any agricultural activity.
2 The
Fund
(1) The
Fund established for the purposes of these Regulations shall be under the
control and management of the Committee and, subject to paragraph (2) of
this Regulation, shall consist of such monies as may from time to time be
provided by the Finance and Economics Committee in exercise of its borrowing
power under Article 27 of the Public
Finances (Administration) (Jersey) Law 1967.[4]
(2) There
shall be paid –
(a) out of the Fund –
(i) all
monies paid out as loans,
(ii) all
expenses incurred in carrying these Regulations into effect,
(iii) all
monies payable in respect of interest charged on the monies borrowed under paragraph (1)
and the repayment of the monies borrowed;
(b) into the Fund –
(i) all
monies paid in or towards the repayment of loans and in payment of interest on loans,
(ii) all
other monies receivable under the Law or these Regulations.
(3) The
Committee shall make provision in its estimates of revenue expenditure for each
year of such amount as represents the estimated deficit in that year between
the amount of money paid into the Fund in payment of interest on loans, and the
amount paid out of the Fund in respect of interest charged against the Fund and
administrative expenses.
(4) The
Committee shall, not later than 1st April in every year, present to the States
a report showing the financial position of the Fund at the close of the
financial year ending on 31st December next preceding the presentation of the
report.[5]
3 Constitution
of the Board
(1) The
Board shall be constituted in the manner specified in paragraphs (2) to
(10).
(2) The
States, on the recommendation of the Committee, shall appoint –
(a) a chairman, a vice-chairman and 3 other
persons, all of whom shall have had experience and shown capacity in commerce
or finance; and
(b) 5 other persons who have had experience and
shown capacity in the agricultural industry.[6]
(3) Subject
to the provisions of paragraph (4), a person appointed to the Board shall
hold office for a period of 3 years beginning with the day on which he or she
was appointed, and a person so appointed may in like manner be re-appointed.
(4) A
person appointed to the Board shall cease to hold office if –
(a) he or she tenders his or her resignation in
writing to the Committee;
(b) he or she becomes bankrupt;
(c) he or she appoints a special attorney
without whom he or she may not act in matters real or personal; or
(d) a curator is appointed to manage and
administer his or her property and affairs.
(5) If
a person appointed to the Board dies, or ceases to hold office under paragraph (4),
the Committee shall appoint to the vacancy a person qualified for appointment
in like manner as the person he or she replaces, and a person so appointed
shall, subject to that paragraph, hold office until the time at which the person
whom he or she replaces would have ceased to hold office under paragraph (3).
(6) The
Committee shall –
(a) defray such expenses of the Board as may be
approved;
(b) provide a secretary, and such accommodation
as may be necessary, for the purposes of the Board.
(7) The
quorum of the Board shall be 3, including at least one person from among those
appointed under each of sub-paragraphs (2)(a) and (b).[7]
(8) The
chairman or, in the chairman’s absence, the vice-chairman shall preside
at meetings of the Board.[8]
(9) If
both the chairman and the vice-chairman are absent from a meeting of the Board,
the members present shall elect one of their number, being a member appointed under
paragraph (2)(a), to preside at the meeting.[9]
(10) At
a meeting of the Board, the person presiding shall have a second or casting
vote in any case where the votes of the members are equally divided.[10]
PART 2
LOANS
4 Power
to make loans
(1) Subject
to the provisions of these Regulations, the Committee may make loans to a bona
fide inhabitant of Jersey who is engaged, or, if the application for a loan is
granted, will be engaged, wholly or mainly in work of an agricultural nature in
Jersey for the purpose of assisting or enabling him or her to –
(a) purchase agricultural land, to be occupied
and farmed by him or her;
(b) construct a dwelling-house or permanent farm
buildings (including greenhouses), or convert into a dwelling-house, or carry
out improvements to, an existing farm building on agricultural land occupied
and farmed by him or her;
(c) purchase, and install or use on agricultural
land occupied and farmed by him or her, agricultural machinery, vehicles and
equipment;
(d) carry out, on agricultural land occupied and
farmed by him or her, improvements of a kind which will contribute to the more
efficient and economic farming of that land;
(e) purchase livestock;
(f) purchase shares in an agricultural
company which has a direct interest in agricultural land occupied and farmed,
or to be occupied and farmed, by him or her;
(g) purchase flower bulbs, seed potatoes, or
seed potato boxes (that is, boxes for the storage of seed potatoes), to be used
on agricultural land that he or she already occupies and farms or is to occupy
and farm, being land that is wholly or partly land that he or she has
purchased, or is to purchase, with the assistance of a loan made under sub-paragraph (a)
on or after the coming into force of the Agriculture
(Loans) (Amendment No. 11) (Jersey) Regulations 1999,[11]
or to repay a loan, other than a
bank loan made by way of fluctuating overdraft or a loan under the Agriculture (Loans and Guarantees) (Jersey)
Law 1968,[12] made before the coming into force of these Regulations for any of
the purposes specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f).[13]
(2) The
Committee may make loans to an agricultural company for any of the purposes for
which a loan may be made under paragraph (1), and, unless the context
otherwise requires, references in these Regulations to the applicant, owner or
borrower, as the case may be, shall be construed as including references to an
agricultural company applying for a loan, or to whom a loan has been made,
under these Regulations.
(3) A
loan may be made to a husband and wife jointly if the real property on which
the loan is to be secured is owned by them for themselves and the survivor of
them and the heirs of such survivor.
5 Amount
of loans, interest rate and repayment provisions
(1) The
amount of the principal of a loan, made for a purpose set out in Regulation
4(1)(a) to (g), shall not exceed 90% of the estimated cost of carrying out the
purpose in respect of which the loan is sought, unless the carrying out of such
purpose is likely to contribute to the saving of energy resources.[14]
(2) Subject
to paragraphs (4) and (5), loans shall bear interest at the rate of 6.5%
per annum accruing on a daily basis on the amount of the principal (which for
the purposes of this paragraph includes any arrears of interest) for the time
being unpaid.[15]
(3) Subject
to paragraph (4), the principal of the loan shall be repaid together with
the interest thereon by instalments of such amounts and payable at such
intervals, not exceeding one year, that the whole shall be repaid within such
period, being a period not exceeding 30 years from the grant of the loan or, in
the case of a secured loan, the date of the hypothec, as, subject to paragraph (5),
may be agreed:
Provided that –
(a) the whole of the outstanding principal of
the loan, or any part thereof, may be repaid at any time without notice;
(b) the
Committee may, on the recommendation of the Board, allow a borrower to postpone
any further repayments for a period not exceeding 3 years, paying thereafter
instalments of such revised amounts as shall be necessary, and for this purpose
the Committee may extend the period of years within which the loan is to be
repaid by a period not exceeding the period of postponement.[16]
(4) The
Committee may, on the recommendation of the Board, make a loan –
(a) on
which no interest shall be charged in respect of the period of 2 years from the
date on which the loan is made; and
(b) for
which, subject to Regulations 12 and 13, no instalments of principal shall be
due during such period of 2 years,
where the carrying out of the
purpose for which the loan is made is likely to contribute to the saving of
energy resources.[17]
(5) Prior
to the re-registration, under Regulation 6(1), of a hypothec on which a loan is
secured, the Committee may increase the rate of interest which the loan bears,
or reduce the period of years within which it is to be repaid.[18]
(6) No
increase in the rate of interest which the loan bears, or reduction of the
period of years within which it is to be repaid shall take effect unless the Committee
has served on the borrower a notice containing particulars of such increase in
the rate of interest or reduction in the period for repayment, as the case may
be and he or she has not, within the 30 days following the delivery of the
notice, made representations in writing to the Committee giving reasons why
such increase in the rate of interest or reduction in the period for repayment
should not take effect, having regard to his or her financial circumstances.[19]
(7) A
notice under paragraph (6) may be served in the manner described in Regulation
13(9) and (10). [20]
(8) Upon
receipt of representations in writing from the borrower under paragraph (6)
the Committee shall take such representations into account and, having regard
to the financial circumstances of the borrower may vary or rescind the decision
to increase the rate of interest or to reduce the period for repayment or
postpone its operation and any such action may have retrospective effect. [21]
6 Secured
loans
(1) Every
loan which the Committee requires to be secured shall be secured by a judicial
hypothec charged on such of the real property in the ownership of the applicant
as the Committee, on the recommendation of the Board, may determine and, until
such time as the principal of the loan is repaid, together with the interest
thereon, every such hypothec shall be re-registered during the 3 months
immediately preceding the 10th anniversary of its last previous registration.
(2) Every
hypothec to secure a loan shall state that the loan is made subject to such of
the conditions set out in Regulation 12 as are applicable.
(3) Every
authority given by the Committee to create a hypothec to secure a loan shall be
deemed to include an authority to extinguish the hypothec on the repayment of
the principal of the loan, together with the interest thereon.
(4) No
secured loan shall be made –
(a) under Regulation 4(1) –
(i) to
a person, not being a person carrying on, or proposing to carry on, farming in
partnership with another person, if the property on which the loan is to be
secured is not in the sole ownership in perpetuity of that person or in the
joint ownership of himself or herself and his or her husband or wife,
(ii) to
persons carrying on, or proposing to carry on, farming in partnership, if the
property on which the loan is to be secured is not in the joint or common
ownership in perpetuity of those persons, or in the sole ownership in
perpetuity of one of them;
(b) under Regulation 4(2) to an agricultural
company, if the property on which the loan is to be secured is not in the sole
ownership in perpetuity of the company.[22]
7 Procedure
on applications
(1) An
application for the making of a loan shall be in such form, shall be made in
such manner and shall contain all such information as the Committee may
require.
(2) If –
(a) an application is made otherwise than in
accordance with the Committee’s requirements; or
(b) any information contained in an application
is found to be false in a material particular,
the Committee shall refuse the
application.
(3) The
Committee shall refer to the Board for its recommendations every application
for the making of a loan, other than an application which it has refused under paragraph (2),
and shall furnish with the application any information given by the applicant
under paragraph (1) in support of his or her application.
(4) The
Board, if in a particular case it considers it to be necessary or expedient so
to do, may –
(a) request an applicant to furnish such
additional information in connection with his or her application as may be so
requested;
(b) invite an applicant, or, in the case of an
application by an agricultural company, the beneficial owners or the officers
of that company, to appear before it.
(5) In
deciding on the recommendation to be made to the Committee with regard to an
application, the Board, in addition to considering the information in pursuance
of paragraph (3) and any additional information furnished in pursuance of paragraph (4),
shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and, without prejudice
to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, such
circumstances shall include –
(a) where the purpose of the loan is to assist
or enable an applicant who does not already occupy and farm agricultural land
to purchase agricultural land to be occupied and farmed by the applicant,
whether the land in respect of which the application is made is capable of
yielding a sufficient livelihood to an occupier skilled in husbandry;
(b) whether the carrying out of the purpose for
which the application is made is likely to contribute to the more efficient and
economic farming of the agricultural land occupied and farmed by the applicant;
(c) the cost of carrying out the purpose in
respect of which the application has been made in relation to the benefit to be
derived therefrom;
(d) the skill and experience in husbandry of the
applicant or, in the case of an application by an agricultural company, of the
beneficial owners of the company;
(e) the financial assets of the applicant
whether arising from the farming of the agricultural land in his or her
occupation or otherwise;
(f) the financial liabilities, whether
present or contingent, of the applicant.
(6) The
recommendation of the Board shall be made to the Committee in writing, and may
recommend that an application for the making of a loan should –
(a) be granted;
(b) be granted in, or in respect of, an amount
less than the amount specified in the application;
(c) be granted, subject to the applicant
complying with such requirements as may be specified in the recommendation; or
(d) not be granted,
and, if the Board recommends that
an application for the making of a loan be granted, it shall also recommend
whether the loan is to be secured or unsecured and, if secured, on which part
of the real property in the ownership of the applicant the judicial hypothec is
to be charged.
(7) Subject
to the provisions of these Regulations, the Committee, after consideration of
an application and of any recommendation made by the Board in respect thereof,
may –
(a) grant the application, either
unconditionally or subject to such conditions and on such terms as to security
as it thinks fit –
(i) in
the amount recommended by the Board, or
(ii) in
an amount less than the amount so recommended; or
(b) refuse the application,
so, however, that the Committee
shall not, without the approval of the Finance and Economics Committee, make a
loan for an amount exceeding £150,000, or where the applicant’s
outstanding capital indebtedness under these Regulations would exceed
£150,000.[23]
8 Board
to be satisfied as to buildings
The Board shall satisfy itself,
before making a recommendation under Regulation 7(6) with respect to an
application for the purchase of agricultural land including a dwelling-house or
other farm buildings, or a purpose specified in Regulation 4(1)(b),
that –
(a) the
dwelling-house is, or will be put, in a good state of repair and in all
respects fit for human habitation;
(b) the
buildings are, or will be put, in a good state of repair.
9 Power
to advance loans by instalments
A loan made for any of the purposes
specified in Regulation 4(1)(b), (c) or (d) may be advanced from time to time
in a manner consistent with the carrying out of the purpose.
10 Buildings
to be kept insured
Where a loan is secured
on –
(a) property
being, or including, a dwelling-house or other buildings (including
glasshouses); or
(b) a
dwelling-house or a permanent farm building (including a glasshouse) to be
constructed,
the Committee shall, until such
time as the principal of the loan has been repaid, together with the interest
thereon, keep such dwelling-house or other buildings insured against fire, and
against such other perils as it may determine, in the names of the States, as
holders of the hypothec, and the owner, and the premiums payable in respect of
the insurance shall be refunded by the owner on demand therefor being made by
or on behalf of the Committee.
11 Borrower
no longer engaged in agricultural work[24]
(1) Where
a borrower ceases to be engaged wholly or mainly in work of an agricultural
nature in Jersey on agricultural land occupied and farmed by the borrower he or
she shall forthwith notify the Committee.
(2) Where
the Committee –
(a) has received a notification from a borrower
under paragraph (1); or
(b) is otherwise of the opinion that a borrower
has ceased to be engaged wholly or mainly in work of an agricultural nature in Jersey
on agricultural land occupied and farmed by him or her,
it may serve on the borrower a
notice requiring him or her to repay forthwith, or on such date as may be
specified in the notice, the full amount of the principal of the loan
outstanding at the date on which the notice is served together with any
interest payable up to the time such repayment is made.
(3) A
notice under this Regulation may be served in the manner described in Regulation
13(9) and (10).
12 Conditions
to be observed until loan repaid
(1) In
the case of a secured loan, until such time as the principal of a loan is
repaid, together with the interest thereon, the following conditions shall be
observed, that is to say –
(a) except with the consent in writing of the Committee,
and in accordance with any conditions attached to such consent –
(i) property
on which a loan is secured, or any part thereof, shall not be sold or otherwise
disposed of inter vivos,
(ii) the
owner shall not, by any act or omission on his or her part, suffer any rente or hypothec, other than a legal hypothec, to
become charged on the property on which the loan is secured, or on any part thereof,
(iii) the
owner shall not use any land, or any part thereof, in respect of which a loan
has been made, for purposes other than agricultural purposes,
(iv) the
owner, or where the owner is a partnership, or an agricultural company, one of
the partners, or beneficial owners of the company, shall, where the loan was
made in respect of property being –
(A) agricultural
land with which is included a dwelling-house or other buildings, both occupy
and reside in the dwelling-house, and shall occupy and use all such other
buildings only for purposes connected with the farming of the agricultural
land,
(B) a
dwelling-house to be constructed, or a building to be converted into a
dwelling-house, as soon as may be after the work of construction or conversion
is completed, both occupy and reside in the dwelling-house,
and shall not let or otherwise part
with the possession of the property:
Provided that where the
property as aforesaid includes more than one dwelling-house, the owner may,
subject to sub-paragraph (c), let any such additional dwelling-house,
together with any area not exceeding 10 perches of the agricultural land to a person
wholly employed by him or her in connection with the farming of the
agricultural land,
(v) a
dwelling-house forming, or forming part of, property in respect of which the
loan has been made shall not be used for any purposes other than the purposes
of a private dwelling-house, and the owner shall take all reasonable steps to
secure the maintenance of the dwelling-house so as to be in all respects fit
for human habitation,
(vi) the
owner, being persons farming agricultural land in partnership, or in the case
of an agricultural company, the beneficial owners of that company, shall not
dissolve, or cause to be dissolved, or admit, or cause to be admitted, any
other person into the partnership or company or do any act whereby effective
control of any property of the partnership or company on which a loan is
secured, passes to persons not approved by the Committee;
(b) every sum due in respect of principal and
interest of the loan, and of the insurance of any dwelling-house or other
building, shall be punctually paid;
(c) where the land in respect of which the loan
was made, or any part thereof, is let, the rental to be charged and received by
the owner shall not exceed such amount as may be determined by the Committee,
no fine, premium or other like sum shall be demanded or taken in addition to
the rental as so determined and the lease or agreement for a lease or tenancy
shall prohibit the lessee or tenant from assigning, subletting or otherwise
parting with the possession of the land, or part thereof and from committing a
breach of either of the conditions set out in sub-paragraph (a)(v), and sub-paragraph (d);
(d) agricultural land, in respect of which the
loan was made, shall be kept clean, in good condition and in a good state of
fertility, and shall be cultivated only in accordance with the principles and
practices of good husbandry;
(e) the owner shall take all necessary steps to
ensure the maintenance in good repair of any dwelling-house or other building
forming, or forming part of, the property on which the loan is secured and to
ensure that any lessee or tenant observes the terms of the lease or agreement
for a lease or tenancy.
(2) Where
a dwelling-house forming, or forming part of, the property in respect of which
a loan was made is let and the Committee, in pursuance of paragraph (1)(c),
has determined the maximum rental of that dwelling-house, the provisions of the
Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey)
Law 1946,[25] shall not apply to that dwelling-house.
13 Powers
of Committee in event of breach of conditions
(1) In
the event of a breach of any of the conditions mentioned in Regulation 12(1),
the Committee may apply to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court for an Order
vesting in the public the ownership of the property on which the loan is
secured, or such part thereof as the Committee may determine:
Provided that the Court shall not
make such an Order unless the Committee has served on the owner of the property
a notice requiring him or her to remedy the breach and he or she has failed,
within the 30 days next following the delivery of the notice, to comply
therewith.
(2) An
Order made under paragraph (1) shall include an Order for the registration
thereof in the Public Registry of Contracts and an Order so registered shall
have the like effect to a contract passed before the Royal Court and shall
constitute a valid title to the property to which it relates and to the rights
appertaining thereto, and such title shall bear the date of the Order of the
Court.
(3) Where
any property is vested in the public by virtue of an Order made under paragraph (1),
it shall be so vested subject to any rente or
hypothec to which the Committee has consented under Regulation 12(1)(a)(ii) but
otherwise free of all rentes and hypothecs,
other than legal hypothecs, bearing a date subsequent to that of the hypothec
securing the loan.[26]
(4) Where
any property vested as aforesaid is, or includes, property so situated that
access thereto from a public road may be had only by passage over or through
property in the ownership of the former owner of the property so vested, or of his
or her successors in title to such ownership, the customary Law of Jersey in
relation to enclaves shall apply, for the
benefit of the Committee as representing the public and of its successors in
title, to the vested property so situated notwithstanding that such property,
or any part thereof, may –
(a) consist of land covered with buildings; or
(b) be used for purposes other than purposes of
farming.
(5) An
Order registered in pursuance of paragraph (2) shall not be renounced for
want of insertion in the register of a décret
if it bears a date earlier than that of the insertion on which a tenant is confirmed in the tenure of the
real estate en décret.
(6) An
Order made under paragraph (1) shall, notwithstanding the provisions of
the Loi (1919) sur la location de
bien-fonds,[27] operate as a notice to the former owner to
quit the property in respect of which the loan was made not later than the
Christmas Day next following the day on which the Order was made.
(7) Where
any property is vested in the public by virtue of an Order made under paragraph (1),
the Committee, at its absolute discretion, shall cause the
property –
(a) to
be sold to an applicant; or
(b) to
be put up for sale by public auction,
and shall, out of the proceeds of the sale, after paying off any
prior charges on the property, retain any sums due –
(i) on account of the
principal and interest of the loan,
(ii) in respect of the
insurance of any dwelling-house and other buildings forming, or forming part
of, the property,
(iii) in respect of all
costs, charges and expenses properly incurred in connection with the vesting of
the property as aforesaid and the sale thereof,
and shall pay any balance thereafter remaining to the Viscount for
the benefit of the former owner:
Provided that where the Committee is unable to sell the property for
an amount sufficient to pay, out of the proceeds of the sale, any sums as aforesaid,
the Committee may retain the property under its own management and shall not be
liable to pay any sum to the former owner.
(8) Where,
under paragraph (7), any money is paid to the Viscount he or she shall, as
soon as may be, cause a notice to be published in the Jersey Gazette stating
that he or she holds the money on behalf of the former owner (naming the former
owner) and that any person having a claim against the former owner should take
proceedings for the protection of his or her interests within the period of 6
weeks beginning with the date of the first publication of the notice, and if,
within that period, no such proceedings have been instituted, or there has not
been lodged with the Viscount notice of intention to institute such
proceedings, supported by an affidavit, the Viscount shall pay the money to the
former owner.
(9) A
notice under the proviso to paragraph (1) may be served –
(a) by
delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served;
(b) by
leaving it at the usual place of abode of that person;
(c) by
sending it by registered post, or by the recorded delivery service, addressed
to that person at his or her usual place of abode; or
(d) if
it is not practicable after reasonable enquiry to ascertain the usual place of
abode of that person, by addressing it to the person on whom it is to be
served, and by delivering it to some responsible person resident or appearing
to be resident on the property in respect of which the notice is to be served,
or, if there is no such person to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it, or
a copy of it, to some conspicuous part of the property.
(10) A notice
may be served on an agricultural company by serving it, as provided in paragraph (9),
on the secretary or clerk of the company at the registered or principal office
of the company.
PART 3
MISCELLANEOUS
14 Power of entry
and inspection
An officer of the Committee, and any other person authorized in that
behalf by the Committee, shall be permitted at all reasonable times to enter on
and inspect any property on which a loan is secured, or in respect of which a
loan has been made, for the purpose of ascertaining whether these Regulations,
and any conditions contained therein or made under these Regulations, are being
observed and it shall be the duty of the borrower to give such assistance and
to furnish all such information as that officer or other person may think
necessary for the purposes of his or her duties under these Regulations.
15 Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Agriculture (Loans) (Jersey) Regulations 1974.