Dear Fiona,

Your Article in the Morning Advertiser

We are writing in response to your first monthly column in the Morning Advertiser and the claim that the PCA can help with the dire situation that many pub tenants find themselves in as a result of the Covid 19 closure and the serious impact this is having on trade.

The sad reality is that the Pubs Code and the way it is operated means that it is of very little use in dealing with Covid 19. The grounds for complaint are too narrow, the process is too contrived and complicated in relation to those narrow grounds, the process takes far too long (which Government promised would not be the case) and the remedies are wholly inadequate.

There are many pubs facing a drastic loss of trade following months of enforced closure and they desperately need help. Taking pubs in city centres as an example, they are suffering badly due to lost revenue from office workers, theatre-goers, sports stadiums and concert venues. Their rent was calculated based upon that trade which no longer exists. In these cases, the situation is very clearly grounds to be able to trigger a Market Rent Only Rent review, according to the intent of the original legislation as it constitutes a significant material change to trading conditions…