The Ability of Tenants-in-Common To Bind Co-Tenants to a Farm Lease – and Related Issues

Overview

A question that I sometimes get involves an interesting aspect of farm lease law (although it’s probably not unique to agriculture) when the land is co-owned.  The question is whether, when co-owned farmland is leased, must all of the co-owners agree to lease the property?  On the flip side, must all of them agree to a termination of the lease?  Those are interesting and important questions. 

A few years ago, I discussed these issues with the former Dean of the University of Iowa College of Law who had written a bit on the matter in the 1960s.  Today’s blog post is loosely based on that conversation (and an initial article that my staff attorney Erica Eckley, and myself authored in 2013 – the original article is available at www.calt.iastate.edu).

Ohio Case

While most of the caselaw on the issue is relatively dated, there is a recent case from Ohio on point.  In H & H Farms, Inc. v. Huddle, No. 3:13 CV 371, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72501 (N.D. Ohio May 22, 2013), a married couple owned a tract of farmland.  Over a period of time, they transferred undivided fractional interests in the farmland to a son – the defendant in the case.  The wife eventually died, with the husband remaining in the farm home.  At the time the case was filed, the son owned an undivided 94 percent interest in the farmland and his father owned 6 percent.  The plaintiff had been the tenant on the property for a number of years and was the father’s grandson and nephew of the son.  The father entered into an 11-year lease with the plaintiff for $150/year.  However, the son did not consent to the lease and claimed that it was unenforceable and that the plaintiff would be trespassing if he attempted to farm the land.  The plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment regarding the legal sufficiency of the lease, and the son filed a motion to dismiss. There was only one issue before the court - whether a legally plausible claim had been alleged.

The court addressed the legal standard for possession when tenants in common lease real estate. In Ohio, tenants in common each have a distinct title and right to enter upon the entire tract of real estate and take possession of it even if the ownership share is less than other tenants in common. If a tenant in common is not in possession of the real estate (i.e., an absentee landlord), that co-tenant is entitled to receive the reasonable rental value of the property from the co-tenant in possession consistent with the (absentee) co-tenant’s ownership interest.  The court also noted that, under Ohio law, when an owner conveys property via a lease, the owner retains the fee simple interest in the property. Ohio courts have held that the possession of the tenant is synonymous with the lessor’s possession.  Thus, tenants in common have a present possessory interest in the property. So, the father’s possession under the facts of the case was also the co-tenant’s possession. 

The son’s motion to dismiss was based on the argument that a tenant in common cannot convey, encumber, or divest the rights of a co-tenant. The court disagreed because of the principle that a lease does not divest the possession of the land from the co-tenant. The court held that because the son’s possessory rights were not divested, there would be no need for him to approve the lease.  Thus, the court declared that the plaintiff had stated a claim for which relief could be granted, and the motion to dismiss would not be granted.

The court, however, went on to state that it believed that when a six percent owner leases a farm to a third party for 11 years, it would be inequitable for the lease to remain with the land following a partition sale. But, that statement was merely dicta because it was not germane to the issue before the court and the motion to dismiss.  

So, the tenant’s possessory interest is strong and cannot be disturbed.  That also can mean that, absent a provision in a written lease, the landowner doesn’t have the right to hunt the leased ground absent the tenant’s permission.  Of course, not allowing the tenant to hunt the ground will likely result in the tenant being terminated as soon as possible under state law.

Related Issues

Accounting for rents.  Some states, such as Iowa have a statutory provision on this issue. Iowa Code § 557.16 explicitly states that a co-tenant in possession is liable for the reasonable rent to the co-tenant not in possession.  See, e.g., Meier v. Johannsen, 47 N.W.2d 793, 242 Iowa 665 (1951).   

Partition action.  Because the tenant’s right of possession during the term of the lease is strong and cannot be interfered with, that can mean that once there is a valid lease, the tenant’s rights probably cannot be dislodged by a partition action.  Similarly, property that is subject to a life estate cannot be partitioned.  Redding v. Redding, 284 N.W. 167, 226 Iowa 327 (1939).

Termination of lease.  In Dethlefs v. Carrier, 64 N.W.2d 272, 245 Iowa 786 (1954), a tenant had a written lease on 40 acres of farmland.  The land was owned by a brother and sister as tenants in common and the lease was entered into between the tenant and the sister.  The brother did not sign the lease.  Upon the sister’s death, the brother became the sole owner, but did not follow state law to terminate the lease.  The brother claimed that the sister’s death terminated not only her interest in the land, but also terminated the lease and eliminated the requirement that he give notice to terminate the lease.  The court disagreed on the basis that, in such a situation, a presumption arises that the lease was made with the knowledge and consent of each co-tenant.  There was no evidence to overcome the presumption  

Similarly, the tenant’s possessory interest also is an issue when the landlord dies during the term of the lease and a growing crop exists. Entitlement to the crop is fairly clear when the landlord owns a fee simple interest in the leased land — the landlord’s heirs succeed to the landlord’s share of the crop. However, if the landlord owns less than a fee simple interest in the leased land (such as a life estate), the outcome may be different. The question is whether the deceased landlord’s estate or the holder of the remainder interest is entitled to the landlord’s share. In two 1977 Kansas cases, Finley v. McClure, 222 Kan. 637, 567 P.2d 851 (1977) and Rewerts v. Whittington, 1 Kan. App. 2d 557, 571 P.2d 58 (1977), the landlord owned only a life estate interest in certain farm ground and leased it on shares to a tenant. The landlord died before the growing wheat crop was harvested, and the court held that the landlord’s crop share was a personal asset of the landlord, entitling the landlord’s estate to the landlord’s crop share on the basis that growing crops are personal property. The remainderman takes nothing. The Nebraska Supreme Court has reached a similar conclusion. Heinold v. Siecke, 257 Neb. 413, 598 N.W.2d 58 (1999).  However, the Colorado Supreme Court has held that the remainderman was entitled to the landlord’s share on the basis that the language in the deed creating the reserved life estate in the decedent had divested the estate of any rights to profits from the crops.  Williams v. Stander, 143 Colo. 469, 354 P.2d 492 (1960).

Conclusion

Whenever farmland is owned by multiple parties or the ownership interests include a life estate, a partition action is likely not possible, but an absentee co-tenant may not be required to consent to a lease.  It may be that a presumption arises that the lease was made with each co-tenant’s knowledge and consent.  An issue also arises if the landlord owns less than a full fee simple interest.  If you encounter these issues, consulting legal counsel would be a good idea.