Draft pubs code: a time for reason not emotion

Finally limping into public view after months of speculation, it’s fair to say some campaigners in the sector may rightly feel that they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them.

And those same campaigners may well feel that the code has been weighted in favour of the pubcos over the individual tenants.

Of course, that’s taking the “us and them” view of the entire debate and as ever, there is a concern that emotion can lead to the heart ruling the head when it comes to this issue.

I like one pubco boss’s comment in which he calls for both pubcos and campaigners to take a “responsible and balanced approach” to explaining the realities of the MRO to
tenants. However, as the code is still in draft form, there’s still time for those realities to change — and I’m sure the lobbying is already well under way.

We do need a responsible approach, but I’m sure there are quite a few campaigners who have been left aghast and consider the abandonment of the parallel rental assessments and the conditions attached to MRO triggers to be not so much a watering down as an outright betrayal of the system that was initially mooted.

I must admit, I’m somewhat surprised to read some of the conditions attached to MRO, and clearly there’s been a lot of behind the scenes lobbying to influence these changes. It would seem that those tenants who have been desperately waiting to apply may find themselves stuck in a whole new level of limbo, with the triggers for application completely out of their control.

A pubco that wishes to avoid the situation, can simply keep the relationship moving along with no major price rises either in rent or in product.

Of course, the flipside of that is the benefit to the tenant that they know they are not going to be hit with any nasty price rises, which, for some, may be enough to make the situation work. However, for those already trapped in a difficult situation, the changes to the draft pub code will be very cold comfort.

So, either way, like it or not, we have something of the shape of the future pubs code, but there’s still time to mould that further — and the bits we don’t like, we need to be shouting about.

I would urge everyone with an interest, to embrace the opportunity the consultation period offers.

Watered down or not, we’re still facing a major market disruption — whether we embrace this as a positive thing, or kick against it, the reality is it’s coming. And if we still want to influence effective change to the proposals, now is the time for reasoned argument, not hot-headed emotion.

The weather this week has so far mirrored the situation with the pubs code — we’ve been given a glimpse of what might be, but it all still remains a little foggy.