Pubs Code and adjudicator: fees, enforcement and other parts of the code
Download the full outcome
Detail of outcome
We will introduce a Pubs Code to ensure 12,000 tied tenants of the 6 largest pub owning companies can secure a fair deal and a better livelihood.
The code provides:
- the right to consider a tied rent in parallel to a market rent only (MRO) offer
- protections in the event of a sale of a pub to a non-code company
- an exemption for pub franchise agreements from MRO and the regulations in the code for setting and negotiating of rent
- a deferral of the MRO option of up to 7 years in return for significant investment by the pub-owning business
A new independent adjudicator will enforce the code and have powers to arbitrate and award redress if a breach is found.
The draft regulations were laid before Parliament on 13 June 2016. View The Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016 and The Pubs Code (Fees, Costs and Financial Penalties) Regulations 2016.
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
We received 80 responses to the consultation. These mainly came from:
- pub companies and breweries with 500 or more pubs
- interest groups, trade bodies and other organisations
- tied tenants
We also had a few responses from former tied tenants and others in the industry.
Original consultation
Consultation description
We will be introducing a statutory Pubs Code to govern the relationship between businesses that own 500 or more tied pubs and their tied tenants. We will also introduce an independent Pubs Code adjudicator to enforce the code.
We’re consulting on these measures in 2 parts. See part one of the consultation.
In this part we’re seeking your views on:
- the type and timing of information provided to tied tenants
- repair and maintenance obligations
- types of agreement outside the scope of some or all of the code, such as genuine franchises and some short-term agreements and tenancies at will
- adjudicator fees and the maximum financial penalty for breaches of the code
- extended code protection
- our plans to ensure we fulfil the objectives of a parallel rent assessment (PRA) in relation to the market rent only (MRO) option and requirements to provide information in relation to a tied rent offer
- the rent assessment trigger for the MRO option and in particular whether to remove the rent increase condition
You can respond to both parts of this consultation in a single response.
Documents
Last updated 14 December 2018 + show all updates
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Consultation responses published in full.
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Added government response.
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First published.