Long-term leases must be made attractive again. That is what State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Martijn van Dam, says in response to parliamentary questions about lease prices for liberalized leases of SP member Henk van Gerven.
The tenancy system must enable parties to make agreements that are in line with their specific wishes and circumstances. According to Van Dam, this should make long-term leases attractive again. 'Entrepreneurs who have land at their disposal for a long time will be more inclined to invest in improvements to that land.'
However, with a short-term lease, sustainable land use is indeed possible. 'Nature organizations currently use short-term lease agreements, with additional management agreements being made.'
Strong increases unfavorable
From the reply It also appears that it is not a conscious policy of the national government to only give out land on a liberalized lease. 'The national government does not prescribe which forms of lease other leasing authorities should use. The RVB, Staatsbosbeheer and BBL each make their own assessment based on their public objectives.'
Van Dam endorses that strong increases of lease prices are unfavorable for the agricultural sector. 'Cost increases are generally unfavorable for companies,' he says. However, he thinks the system in which lease prices are based on the yielding capacity of the land as agreed in 2007 is justified.
Short-term lease vulnerability
The fact that short-term lease is on average 200 euros more expensive than regular lease does not have to be a problem, says the State Secretary. 'The price difference can be explained by the fact that this concerns land that farmers rent in addition to their permanent acreage, property or regular leased land, via liberal lease. The price mentioned, of the short-term lease, is an average amount that hides major differences. That depends, among other things, on the potential uses of the land and the (expected) yields to be achieved.'
'However, in the current lease system, parties almost exclusively use the liberal lease. Long-term leases are rarely entered into. An excess of short-term leases can make companies vulnerable to price increases and loss of acreage. The latter is not desirable.'
Van Dam does not want to anticipate the revision of the lease system.
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