Form 5A: a new rent or licence fee for an agricultural occupancy

What it is, and who gets one

An assured agricultural occupancy is a particular kind of tenancy or licence held by someone working in agriculture, usually in accommodation tied to the work. It carries its own protections, and its own forms.

Form 5A is the prescribed form a landlord or licensor uses to propose a new rent or licence fee under one of those occupancies, for notices served on or after 1 May 2026. Before that date the form was Form 5.

Why the distinction matters to you

If you hold an agricultural occupancy and were sent a Form 4A, the wrong form has been used. If you hold an ordinary assured tenancy and were sent a Form 5A, the same is true the other way round. Either is worth raising.

The protections attached to an agricultural occupancy go well beyond rent, and they are the reason to take advice from someone who deals with them rather than relying on general rent guidance — including ours.

What has to be on it

The basic requirements are the same as for any prescribed notice of this kind.

• It names every tenant on the tenancy, spelled correctly, including joint tenants.
• It names the landlord — the actual landlord, not only the agent.
• It gives the address of the property, including the flat number where there is one.
• It states the new rent and the date it is to start.
• It gives you at least the minimum notice before that date.

Challenging it

As with an ordinary rent increase, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide the rent or fee instead, and you must do so before the date the new figure is due to start.

Our comparison tool is built on ordinary residential lettings, so the comparable rents it shows you may not reflect what tied agricultural accommodation lets for. Treat them as background rather than as your case.