Renting field & stables advise please

[Scotsbadboy]

I have three acres with a block of three stables and tack room. Good hardstanding around the stables and decent parking for a trailer/ small box. The fields are split into three with the furthest having a field shelter. I kept an open yard policy so the horses could pick and choose if they wanted to stand in a stable or not during bad weather (they rarely did) but you can close the yard off and actually you can close the yard off, keeping the stables open and letting them stay on that during really crappy weather so the yard is fairly flexible. No school although ones close by to rent and excellent hacking. WATER and SOLAR lighting (no electricity)

Im unlikely to get another horse, not anytime soon anyway so am thinking of renting the yard as sole use. What are the pro's and cons of this and what should i be charging per week? (Im in Buckinghamshire) Ideally I'd like to keep it to two horses, preferably owned by the same person or perhaps three ponies. With careful management the land, although clay, come's back every spring with a roll and harrow.

Do i need certain insurance as well and a legal agreement/ contract and how should i go about advertising?

Any help much appreciated

MK18 if anyone is interested

Thanks

 

[cowgirl16]

I may be embarking on a venture just like this in the near future (God willing!) As the rentee not the renter. Will be following this thread with interest. If I lived anywhere near you - I'd chew your arm off for this !

 

[mini-eventer]

I'd be very clear about what you expect, maintenance wise and how the land is managed. if you need them in over night to preserve land over winter, stipulate it. Even basics like must be checked minimum 1x per day or 2 x between October and April. and stick to your rules. The last thing you need is someone chucking horses on not bothering and trashing your land. I'd also ask for references. I would love this set up if I was closer and would be more thank happy to provide good reference from reputable livery yard owners

 

[Polos Mum]

Insurance, business rates and potential planning consent probably make it uneconomic to do

Take a look at (or call around) DIY yards locally and see what the price is for 2 horses on full DIY with no school and then add maybe 20-30% for sole use - which people will value.

BHS have a standard contract on their website that you can amend. Think about who will do maintenance, take muck heap away, poo picking - the slightly less obvious things. Take a big deposit - at least a months rent plus a month in advance - the damage that can be done in a short space of time is quite unbelievable.

If you search on here you'll find some very interesting threads about how people renting out space at home can be great or can be a disaster ! Also threads on renting it out for dog exercise as a much lower grief and higher profit option!

Personally I'd go word of mouth to find someone - instructors, farriers etc. rather than FB / pre-loved advert. As it's your land at your home you are responsible for the basic welfare of the animals on your land even if you don't own them and you have a contract in place saying you want nothing to do with them! - so if you get someone who doesn't turn up / doesn't realise the work involved - you will be left sorting them out. Even people who've had horses on yards for years sometimes don't realise the time / work that goes into looking after them on their own without yard support.

 

[Orangehorse]

You should have a contract and beware of creating a permanent tenancy. Stipulate the maximum number of animals, (beware the one in the stable, one in the field which doubles up the numbers! It has been known), who repairs fences, etc. What happens if they stop paying.

Most people are fine, you just have to think the "what if" question to try and cover everything.

 

[sharni]

a water tight contract stipulating amongst other things that if/when you want the livery to leave it will be after x number of days written notice. get payment in advance per month direct debit. I once had to pay a whole year up front to rent a field off a farmer who had been let down by horsey folk so one two or even three months payment in advance ids not too much to ask IMO. be clear about how many animals allowed i have known 2 horses in one stable locally. also be clear about feeding, i once had a livery who gave her 2 yr old half the amount of hay it needed. if this sort of thing occurs you need to be able to top up the fodder and charge them for it as per contract, ditto bedding i have seen some filthy stables. you also need to be very strict about rules and not give in to sob stories. personally i would think assisted DIY is better than full DIY to give you more control over what happens.

 

[dorsetladette]

I'd recommend a water tight contract, with a few break clauses early on. Say 3 months, then 6 months and then again after a year say. People often start off as good or even just ok tenants and then things slip. If you have break clauses you can evict at these points without issue (my work does it with industrial units).
Take a large deposit (2 months rent if you can) this should sort the wheat from the chaff financially and shouldn't put anyone off that plans to look after the place.
And lastly (and my biggest piece of advice from recent experience) Don't let anything go, not even the smallest thing. Keep to your rules. Be really strict about it, because once you let one thing go it becomes a slippery slope of letting other things ride. These little things mount up and eventually become a massive problem.
Having said that there are good sole use tenants out there. I mean good grazing is better financially than having to supplement feed and hay all year round. You just need to find someone who understands that.

Good luck X