Can one co-owner grant an agricultural arenda lease?

An agricultural arenda lease is not governed simply by the rules for an ordinary residential tenancy. The Agricultural Lease Act permits contracting by the owner, a co-owner holding more than 50% of the undivided shares, or a duly authorised person under the statutory conditions.

Counting the shares

For representation, Article 3(4) requires assessment of the person’s own and represented shares. Exactly half is not “more than 50%”. Family ties or oral consent do not replace the required express authority with notarised signatures. For inherited land, shares must be traced through the full succession history.

Form and duration

The agreement must be written with simultaneous notarial certification of signatures, and must be entered in the property register and registered with the municipal agriculture office. The statutory minimum is five agricultural years. Payment dates, payment method, indexation and termination provisions should be clear before accepting this long commitment.

The other co-owners

Signing does not make the contracting person sole owner or automatically entitle them to keep all revenue. The Act refers internal relations to Article 30(3) of the Ownership Act. Check existing agreements covering the same land and agricultural years: a new signature does not itself resolve overlapping rights.