Agricultural land lease agreement in Sandefjord only partially set aside

An agricultural land lease agreement that had been entered into for 10 years contained a clause under which the lessor could terminate the agreement on certain terms. The parties agreed that the clause was contrary to the prohibition to terminate in section 8 subsection 2 second sentence of the Land Act. When the municipality asked the parties to enter into a revised agreement, the lessor asked the lessee to abandon the property. The Supreme Court, like the Court of Appeal, found that it was only the termination clause that could not be enforced between the parties, but that the lease otherwise existed. Particular emphasis was placed on the purpose of the Act, which is to ensure the lessee a certain length of the lease and to prevent circumvention of the requirements for agricultural land lease agreements laid down in the Act. The appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment was dismissed. 

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Area of law: Property law, section 8 of the Land Act.

Key paragraphs: 49-51

Justices: Webster, Matheson, Falch, Steinsvik, Hellerslia