Options to amend the Pubs Code
Applies to England and Wales
Download the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Following consideration of the responses to this consultation, the government will amend the Pubs Code:
- to require a regulated pub-owning business that sells a tied pub to a business in circumstances that gives the tenant extended protection under the Code to inform the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) of the name, address, anticipated completion date and, if available, the company number of the new owner
- to shorten the qualification period, so that a business will come under the Code if it owned 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales for at least 3 months (rather than 6 months) in the previous financial year
- to streamline the process enabling the tied tenant to secure a compliant offer to change to a free-of-tie tenancy and create more time for negotiation to encourage agreement between the parties
- to require the inclusion of the proposed rent, along with the proposed terms, in a free-of-tie offer to ensure the offer can be considered in its entirety from early on in this process
- to amend the comparison period used to determine whether a significant price increase for a tied product or a tied service has occurred, so this does not compare prices more than 12 months apart
The government has decided not to pursue some of the options in the consultation at this time because of insufficient evidence on whether or what changes are needed.
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
We received 22 responses to this 8-week consultation, mainly from representative organisations and other bodies with an interest in the Pubs Code, as well as a small number of individuals and tied tenants.
While respondents’ views varied in respect of the different options set out in the consultation document, the changes the government determined to take forward are those that drew overall support, in particular around the need for a more streamlined Market Rent Only process, to allow more time for meaningful negotiations between parties.
We have published the responses here. In some cases published responses have been redacted to meet data protection and other legal requirements. We have not included the following responses as they have already been published online by their organisations:
- Campaign for Pubs
- Campaign for Real Ale
- Forum of British Pubs
- The Pubs Code Adjudicator
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation seeks views on measures to improve the practical operation of the Pubs Code which regulates the relationship between pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs and their tied pub tenants.
The proposals reflect areas for improvement identified in the report the government published in November 2020 on the first statutory review of the Pubs Code and the Pubs Code Adjudicator.
We’d like views from anyone with an interest in the operation of the Pubs Code, including:
- the pub-owning businesses covered by the Pubs Code
- tied (and previously tied) tenants and those that represent their interest
- businesses who may be landlords of tied tenants with preserved Pubs Code rights upon the sale of their pub
- trade bodies
- legal organisations familiar with administrating the provisions of the Pubs Code
- the Pubs Code Adjudicator
Read the BEIS consultation privacy notice.
Please don’t send responses by post to the department at the moment as we may not be able to access them.
Documents
Last updated 30 December 2021 + show all updates
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Consultation responses published.
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Government response published.
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First published.