Serious rent disputes being reported at least once a week
More than 40 "serious" enquiries have been received since the industry launched an independent service to settle rent disputes.
In the first six months of the Pubs Independent Rent Review Scheme (PIRRS) the vast majority of disputes (75 per cent) have been settled outside the process by pubcos and licensees.
A further two have been fully completed with the help of a valuation expert, three are in the final stages, and another five are still open.
PIRRS was launched to give licensees a lower cost way of fighting rent disputes, following criticisms of the pubco model by MPs.
Details about the progress of the scheme are revealed in a letter from BII chief executive Neil Robertson, which updates the Business, Innovations & Skills committee on the progress being made by the industry.
He writes: "Evaluation feedback on the process is extremely positive, and the existence of the scheme seems to facilitate agreements in otherwise tricky disputes."
The letter, seen by The Publican, also gives MPs an update on the progress of British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) members, who are supposed to have finalised their new codes of practice by today.
So far only Batemans, Fuller's and Punch Taverns have had their codes accredited by the BII Benchmarking and Accreditation Services (BIIBAS).
But Robertson expects 15 other member companies to have codes accredited by the end of July.
Calls to introduce an entry-level course for newcomers to the trade have also been acted on, the letter says.
Meanwhile, the BII's pre-entry awareness training (PEAT) which can be taken online at www.bii.org/peat goes live tomorrow.
The online course costs £20 + VAT to take and includes information and a test on areas such as the tied pub model, rent calculations, dealing with disputes and business plans.
Prospective tenants must take the test before signing a lease or tenancy agreement.
Robertson said: "This is a very important step for the industry and is one of the reasons why we signed up to the code. But, most importantly it saves tenants and lessees money."
