Real Estate Notary Exam Questions "Perspectives and Solutions" - 2022 Question 21 (Legal Restrictions - Agricultural Land Act)
2022 (Agricultural Land Act)
[Question 21] Regarding agricultural land, which of the following statements is correct according to the provisions of the Agricultural Land Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act" in this question)?
1. Even without registration, the lease or loan for use of agricultural land can be asserted against a third party who subsequently acquires ownership of said agricultural land if the agricultural land has been delivered.
2. A stock company that does not meet the requirements for an agricultural land ownership-qualified corporation under Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the Act cannot lease agricultural land for the purpose of cultivation.
3. Persons subject to orders regarding measures such as restoration to original state for violations of Article 4, Paragraph 1 or Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Act (violating converters, etc.) include those who violated said provisions or their general successors, but do not include persons who contracted for construction work on the land related to said violation.
4. Regarding the application of the Act, the area of land is based on the land registry's acreage, but in cases where the land registry's acreage significantly differs from the facts or where there is no land registry acreage, it shall be determined by the Agricultural Commission based on actual measurements.
[Perspective]
This question is about the Agricultural Land Act. The Agricultural Land Act tends to be easier to answer correctly among legal restrictions. Most questions come from Articles 3, 4, and 5. However, in this question, except for option 2, all options were extremely difficult.
[How to Solve]
Since the only point that has been asked in the past is option 2, I will solve option 2 first. Option 1 is a point that has been asked in the past, but it is quite tricky. You might not be able to answer correctly if you don't notice the tricky part. The remaining options are also appearing for the first time, so you might have to rely on intuition.
1 Leases and loans for use of agricultural land，if the agricultural land has been delivered even without registration， can be asserted against a third party who subsequently acquires ownership of the agricultural land。
[Point Explanation]
① The theme is "opposing power of leases of agricultural land or grazing land." Building leases (tenancy rights) under the Land and Building Lease Act can be asserted by delivery. This point is frequently asked in Land and Building Lease Act questions. The idea of protecting the lessee is common. ② The trick in this option is whether the borrower of a "
loan for use" can also assert their right by delivery. Article 16 of the Agricultural Land Act stipulates that "
leases of agricultural land or grazing land, even without registration, if the agricultural land or grazing land has been delivered, can be asserted against a third party who subsequently acquires a real right to the agricultural land or grazing land.can be asserted against a third party." Therefore, a "loan for use" cannot be asserted by delivery. *Make it a habit to check before and after the word "and" when it appears in the question text. Therefore, I judge option 1 to be incorrect.
2 A stock company that does not meet the requirements for an agricultural land ownership-qualified corporation under Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the Act cannot lease agricultural land for the purpose of cultivation.
[Point Explanation]
① The theme is "agricultural land ownership-qualified corporation." An "agricultural land ownership-qualified corporation" can literally own agricultural land. Since it can own it, it can also lease agricultural land. ② This option is a "
stock company that does not meet the requirements for an agricultural land ownership-qualified corporation," so it cannot own agricultural land, but it can lease agricultural land. *This point was asked with the exact same logic in the 2016 and 2018 exams. Therefore, I judge option 2 to be incorrect.
3 Regarding violations of Article 4, Paragraph 1 and Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Act, persons subject to orders regarding measures such as restoration to original state (violating converters, etc.) include those who violated said provisions or their general successors, but do not include persons who contracted for construction work on the land related to said violation.
[Point Explanation]
① The theme is "disposition against violating conversion." This is a point appearing for the first time. ② Since agricultural land is being converted to non-agricultural land in violation of Articles 4 and 5, it can be determined that it is subject to an order for restoration to original state. It can also be determined that the violators themselves and their general successors (heirs or corporations that have undergone absorption-type mergers) are subject to this. The question is whether the contractor who performed the conversion work is subject to it. ⇨ Article 51, Paragraph 1 stipulates that "
persons who contracted for construction or other acts" or "subcontractors for such construction or other acts" are also subject to it. *Although this option was not the point of contention, it is expected that questions about whether "subcontractors" are included will be asked in the future. Therefore, I judge option 3 to be incorrect.
4 Regarding the application of the Act, the area of land shall be based on the land area in the real estate registry, but in cases where the land area in the real estate registry significantly differs from the actual facts and in cases where there is no land area in the real estate registry, it shall be based on what the Agricultural Commission has certified based on actual measurements.
[Point Explanation]
(1) The theme is "land area." This is a first-time question point, but honestly, it is a level of question that probably should not have been asked.
(2) Article 56 states, "Regarding the application of this Act, the area of land shall be based on the land area in the real estate registry. However, in cases where the land area in the real estate registry significantly differs from the actual facts and in cases where there is no land area in the real estate registry, it shall be based on what the Agricultural Commission has certified based on actual measurements." I am embarrassed to say that at the time of the exam, I had never seen this provision.
=> I have told you that in the definition of farmland, we "judge by the current status." This option is about "area," but if it differs significantly from the land area (area) in the real estate registry, or if the land area is not recorded due to some error, it means to perform an actual measurement.
Therefore, I judge option 4 to be correct.
The correct answer rate for this question was about 25%. In other words, it is almost the same as the probability for a four-choice question, so you can consider that not getting it right will not affect whether you pass or fail. Many of those who got it wrong probably chose option 1. In Civil Code questions, there have been many questions in recent years about the differences between lease agreements and loan-for-use agreements, but I never expected one in the Farmland Act.