allotment rules

[Fluorescent green]

Hi

We had a meeting yesturday, and it was said that we needed a set of rules, but not too many. What do you think of these?

Allotments (rules and general conditions)

A. The Tenant shall
(i) keep the plot clean, in a good state of cultivation and fertility and in good condition.
(ii) not cause any nuisance or annoyance to other tenants or obstruct any path set out by the committee.
(iii) not sublet, assign or part with possession of the plot or any part of it.
(iv) not plant any trees (except soft fruit bushes) or hedge on the plot.
(v) keep grass verges and paths to the plot properly level and trimmed.
(vi) not keep any animals or livestock on the plot without the authority of the committee.
(vii) One year's rent or a proportion shall be paid in advance by every incoming tenant who shall also sign an undertaking on entry into his allotment to abide by all the conditions, rules and by-laws of the association.

B. Payment of rent
The rent of a plot shall, unless otherwise agreed in writing, be paid yearly in advance on the 1st day
of __________ in each year.
A tenant whose plot is not cultivated satisfactorily in any year shall be deemed to have vacated it notwithstanding the rent may have been paid. Such a tenant should contact the committee as soon as possible and shall have a right to appeal to the committee.

C. Power to inspect allotment plots
Any member of the management committee or officer of the association shall be entitled at any time to enter and inspect the allotment and any hut thereon.
No tenant shall sub-let any portion of his/her allotment upon any pretence whatever. A tenant shall not change his/her plot, acquire others or otherwise alter the name of the tenant without the committees permission. The maximum holding for any one tenant is two plots. tenants are required to notify any change in address to the secretary of the association.
Fires are hazardous and are discouraged on allotments; waste is better composted or taken to the recycling depot. If a bonfire is absolutely necessary, it must never be left unattended and account must be taken for the nuisance caused by the smoke.

D. Termination of a tenancy of an allotment plot
The tenancy of an allotment plot shall, unless otherwise agreed in writing, terminate on the next
yearly rent day after receipt of notice in writing or the death of a tenant. It shall also terminate
whenever the tenancy or right of occupation of the Council terminates.
The Council may also terminate it by re-entry after one month's notice:
(i) if the rent is in arrears for not less than 21 days or
(ii) if the tenant is not duly observing the rules and general conditions of the tenancy.
The Council may also terminate the tenancy by twelve month's notice in writing, expiring on or
before the sixth day of April or on or after the twenty-ninth day of September in any year.

FG

[rogesse]

Well, lets think where I have fallen foul of your rules......

[PAULW]

Our tenancy start on the 1st of Jan and the monies have to be paid by or at the AGM which is the 3rd sunday in Jan, personally I cant see the point in giving plots out in the middle of the growing season (APRIL) and expecting someone to dig, prepare and plant and battle with weeds at the same time, surely the quickest way to break a promising gardener IMO

[TonyF]

Why should officers and members of the committee have the right to inspect or enter at any time the allotment or hut. Why not just have the officers with that power and as for at any time, does that mean they can open and enter a shed/hut when the allotmenteer isn't there. If so, anything not complying with the rules wont be admissable in 'evidence' because it may have been 'planted'.

And the appeal is to the committee who would, in whole or in part, have decided to make the person vacate the plot? Surely an appeal to the council if the council own the plot?

[Two_Sheds]

Just something I wish we had in our rules:

No cars on site unless absolutely necessary (eg. for large loads or in case of disability).
We only have a dirt track, and people used to be sensible and leave their cars on the main road and walk up.

Recently we've had a lot of new people, and they all drive up (fast) the track, tearing it up. The potholes are now terrible and it is a right mess. We spent years trying to get that track in good condition with no funding

[DaveInBraknell]

Hi Speaking as a manager and an allotment owner I understand the need for rules, but they need to keep the spirit of what you are trying to do and I am wondering if you have had trouble on your plot as some of these at first glance seem a bit draconian (I'll call them out).

The beauty of my allotment is we have no major rules laid out, everyone acts with respect and it is peer pressure if there are issues with people being a bit of a pain and our allotment manager is very good and tells people straight if there are issues, ie it is managed not rules bound.

I also like the heath robinson culture we have which is part of its beauty and culture of allotment holdings, if anyone tried to bring the corporate rules I face every day into my plot I would be the strongest advocate against this and meet them on the barricades

I am not saying your rules are like this, they're not before I go into it, but it is just my position.

A. The Tenant shall
(i) keep the plot clean, in a good state of cultivation and fertility and in good condition.
(ii) not cause any nuisance or annoyance to other tenants or obstruct any path set out by the committee.
(iii) not sublet, assign or part with possession of the plot or any part of it.
(iv) not plant any trees (except soft fruit bushes) or hedge on the plot.
(v) keep grass verges and paths to the plot properly level and trimmed.
(vi) not keep any animals or livestock on the plot without the authority of the committee.
(vii) One year's rent or a proportion shall be paid in advance by every incoming tenant who shall also sign an undertaking on entry into his allotment to abide by all the conditions, rules and by-laws of the association.


I agree with this but I think vii is a bit legal esque for me, but hey it's the rules right?

B. Payment of rent
The rent of a plot shall, unless otherwise agreed in writing, be paid yearly in advance on the 1st day
of __________ in each year.
A tenant whose plot is not cultivated satisfactorily in any year shall be deemed to have vacated it notwithstanding the rent may have been paid. Such a tenant should contact the committee as soon as possible and shall have a right to appeal to the committee.


I think you need to have a warning process here, ie 1 written warning followed 30days later by a second one followed by a final 90 days later for non-cultivation as it stands now it is if it is not cultivated satisfactorily your out. What happens if someone has a berevement? Is ill et al, this seems a little harsh. Given a 30day warning the person can appeal (what is the process for appeals?)

C. Power to inspect allotment plots
Any member of the management committee or officer of the association shall be entitled at any time to enter and inspect the allotment and any hut thereon.
No tenant shall sub-let any portion of his/her allotment upon any pretence whatever. A tenant shall not change his/her plot, acquire others or otherwise alter the name of the tenant without the committees permission. The maximum holding for any one tenant is two plots. tenants are required to notify any change in address to the secretary of the association.
Fires are hazardous and are discouraged on allotments; waste is better composted or taken to the recycling depot. If a bonfire is absolutely necessary, it must never be left unattended and account must be taken for the nuisance caused by the smoke.


Careful here on the inspection of the huts, I think someone implied in the thread they would not be happy, also you are invading privacy by going into the hut. If you want to inspect it for structural soundness so to speak be overt in the statement, this just sounds like a snooper charter, I think I understand the intent.

Also on re-reading this if you do not go in to the hut with the owner of the plot (it is not implied here) and something conincdentally goes missing between the last time an individual was on the plot, an inspection, and the individual going back on plot your in a whole world of implied pain.


D. Termination of a tenancy of an allotment plot
The tenancy of an allotment plot shall, unless otherwise agreed in writing, terminate on the next
yearly rent day after receipt of notice in writing or the death of a tenant. It shall also terminate
whenever the tenancy or right of occupation of the Council terminates.
The Council may also terminate it by re-entry after one month's notice:
(i) if the rent is in arrears for not less than 21 days or
(ii) if the tenant is not duly observing the rules and general conditions of the tenancy.
The Council may also terminate the tenancy by twelve month's notice in writing, expiring on or
before the sixth day of April or on or after the twenty-ninth day of September in any year.

FG[/QUOTE]

Agree with these but also as someone said it's right in the middle of growing season, is there a reason for this date?

Also with the rules you need to define an appeals process, who will you appeal to if there is a problem?

Not being hard on your rules but I have seen this happen before and if you introduce these in the wrong context and don't address the culture of your allotment you will cause a massive problem in disgruntled feelings, you have to answer the question: "If I don't have rules today why do I need em?"

Dave

[tricky]

talking from experience Dave ,i would have to agree with you about the warning notices and these need to be included in any agreement.

[MrsC]

Can I ask. If you have an allotment association then are the people on the committee responsible for site checks instead of the Council? If an Allotment Association is formed then what is the Council's situation. Does this mean you are self managed?

[bluemoon]

I'd suggest that you put in something about the tenant being expected to treat other tenants and their property with respect and that anyone falling foul of this is liable to have their tenancy revoked. It shouldn't need saying, but to some people it does. Having had plots on two sites, one with a similar rule and one without, I can say that the atmosphere on the one with the rule in place was much nicer.

[Plot17B]

I think you need to have a warning process here, ie 1 written warning followed 30days later by a second one followed by a final 90 days later for non-cultivation as it stands now it is if it is not cultivated satisfactorily your out. What happens if someone has a berevement? Is ill et al, this seems a little harsh. Given a 30day warning the person can appeal (what is the process for appeals?)
Dave

Hi, I think DaveInBraknell has a good point. You gotta give warnings really to be fair to ppl.
However, you mentioned a 12 month notice to quit at one point but is that too long? There are many other posts on here about newbie ppl getting plots and doing a little for a few months only to b*gger off for good (but not actually handing it back). Would a shorter term of uncultivation be more appropriate, especially if you have long waitlists to give others a chance? But def need to give couple of warning letters of notice to quit (with no refunds!).
Just my tuppenceworth
P17B

[Lazgaot]

No mention of dumping or discarding of waste. It's a bit of a problem on my site with all manner of stuff ending up on an unused plot!

[Sue]

Hi
No expert on the rules but sad about the no trees allowed rule, can't you make exceptions for dwarf root stock varieties?
And don't remember seeing anything about using hosepipes. This is forbidden on our site but some of the oldies still do it, flaming nuisance as you can't use the tap till they're finished.
best wishes
Sue

[rana]

The allotment association where I once had a plot also included rules about bonfires.

[Snadger]

I recently resigned from an allotment Secretaries post partly because there were too many rules and regulations.

The Council gave us a 12 page enforceable Tenancy Agreement................... then we as an Association added another two pages of our own rules.

I go to my allotment for all the right reasons I think.......not to bitch on about rules and regulations all the time!

Just use a bit of common sense is the only rule I adhere to!

'If it hurts no one' is a useful Pagan philosophy to stick to!

[Fluorescent green]

Hi

Thanks for all the replies, I am not on the committee but there are no written rules, at the last meeting they said they would draw some up; but they said that last year.
We are a council site, but run ourselves, that is why I am unsure of what to write. I will ammend when I get time. We have had minor issues with people falling out over a fence, and residents complaining about bad language.

We do have a few people with cockerals, but they were once banned, but we have had no complaints, so should we have a rule saying maximum of 2 cocks per plot?
I got the rules from searching the net, and copied the ones I liked, some even had a rule banning barbed wire; maybe a good rule, but its a matter of will they be enforced and do we want to tell people what to do if it comes to no harm.
I like the wording about fires, not telling people what to do, but informing of best practice.

FG