Guidance

Short agreements - minimum standards (March 2025)

Published 31 March 2025

Applies to England and Wales

1. Existing duties of pub-owning businesses in respect of short agreements

Most Pubs Code rights do not apply to those on short agreements (such as the right to request a Market Rent Only option, Rent Proposal or Rent Assessment Proposal). However, pub-owning businesses (POBs) do have certain duties to provide those on short agreements with information and advice. This includes information on:

• the rent payable and arrangements for paying utility bills
• maintenance and repair obligations
• any initial works which your POB is aware must be carried out, including information on who is responsible to complete the works and by when and a Schedule of Condition prepared before those initial works are carried out
• responsibility for utility and safety certificates
• obligations in relation to the purchase tied products and services, the payment of deposits and the transfer of employment rights
• liability for fees, charges and penalties.

The pub company must also advise the tenant to complete pubs entry training before entering into a short agreement (unless the tenant has certain previous experience).

All pub companies should ensure that they are correctly identifying when a tenant on a short agreement gains full Pubs Code rights. This will happen when that tenant:

• begins negotiations relating to a prospective substantive tied tenancy or licence to occupy a particular pub, or
• enters into a short agreement which, when combined with any other short agreement, will entitle them to occupy the pub for a period of 12 months or more. or
• has occupied the pub for a period of 12 months or more under any short agreement or tenancy at will.

2. Short agreements - minimum standards in the tenant relationship

Introduction

In addition to the information a tenant must be provided under the Pubs Code, the regulated pub companies seek to promote good practice in their treatment of their tenants on short agreements. Many of their existing business practices for dealing with short agreements are reflected in the following agreed minimum standards, which seek to provide consistency and clarity.

Each POB commits to dealing with its tied tenants on short agreements in a fair and lawful manner, and to the following minimum standards which exceed the legal duties on them set out in the Pubs Code.

Information for prospective tenants on short agreements

Tenants will be provided with the following by their POB before they take on a short agreement:

• Information about Pubs Code rights which apply to those on short agreements (and any other applicable codes of practice), and information about the Pubs Code Adjudicator.
• Information on the role of the Code Compliance Officer (CCO), who is responsible for verifying compliance with the Code. The CCO can answer enquiries in relation to Code rights and will ensure these minimum standards in relation to short agreement are met.
• Information about the role of the Business Development Manager (BDM) and the support and guidance they can provide. This includes anyone else who discusses rent, repairs or business planning with the operator on a short agreement on behalf of the POB.
• Information about the POB’s complaints procedure.
• An explanation of the terms of the short agreement, the date it begins, the duration or period and the arrangements for termination by the landlord or the tenant. Short agreements will be in writing.
• Advice in writing in advance of entering a short agreement that the tenant should not invest their own capital into the property whilst on a short agreement, and the risk and implications if they do.
• Advice to seek independent professional advice on their short agreement, including signposting to helplines and independent sources of information relevant to the running of a tied pub, including providing the factsheet on short agreements published by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII).
• Provision of any pub company policies for providing assistance to tenants.

During the short agreement

The POB will:

• provide appropriate written notes of their discussions with the tied tenant regarding rent, repairs, and current and future business plans within 14 days of the discussion taking place and give the tenant 7 days to respond if they do not agree with any aspect of the record.
• not impose any detriment or liabilities on a tied tenant as a result of any reading taken from a flow monitoring device without having additional secondary evidence.
• not expose a tenant or prospective tenant to detriment for seeking to ensure the POB complies with the Pubs Code and meets these minimum standards.

3. Applying these minimum standards

The PCA welcomes the commitment of the POBs to publication of the voluntary standards in which they all cooperated. The PCA would welcome information from stakeholders about how these minimum standards are being applied by POBs. The PCA will work with POBs to seek to ensure these standards are met.

Nothing in these minimum standards limits the duties of a POB owed under the Pubs Code. These minimum standards set out in section 2 above go beyond what is required in law under the Pubs Code. Accordingly, the PCA does not have legal powers to enforce them, and a referral cannot be made to the PCA for Pubs Code arbitration concerning any alleged breach.

These minimum standards apply from 1 May 2025 and will be kept under review. Enquiries regarding these minimum standards can be made to the Code Compliance Officer.

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