3rd Jun 2014 08:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK government Tuesday said pub tenants will get more rights to challenge rent increases, part of its effort to tackle claims that the tenant publicans are struggling to make a decent living due to high charges imposed by the pub owners.
The new rules cover so-called tied tenants, which have to buy the beer they sell from the pub owner and "usually pay a higher price for it", according to the government. Giving them more information will allow them to negotiate a fairer deal with the pub company, it hopes.
Tied tenants will now be able to request a rent review if they haven't had one for five years; will have the right to review the information pub owning companies used to decide a rent increase; and will be able to request a free-of-tie rent assessment at the same time to see whether they are worse off than free-of-tie counterparts. Tied tenants will also have the right to choose whether to be tied for gaming machines.
Tied tenants will be able to report breaches of the code to a new independent adjudicator who will also arbitrate on rent disputes, the government said.
The adjudicator will have the power to provide redress where the code has been breached, and will be able to launch investigations into allegations of systemic breaches of the code and to impose sanctions, including financial penalties, if it finds the code has been breached.
"Far too many landlords feel their income is squeezed by big pub companies. So today we are taking action to make sure they get a fairer deal," Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a statement.
"The self regulatory approach hasn't worked, so these new rules will give fairer treatment for landlords so that they can keep your local pub going strong," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said.
The government started consulting on whether to introduce a statutory code for the tied pub industry, as well as an adjudicator based on one that regulates the grocery supply chain, in January last year.
It cites a survey by the Campaign for Real Ale where 57% of those in tied tenancies said they earned less than a national minimum wage equivalent salary of GBP10,000 a year.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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