Landlords spending as much as £81k revamping falling aside pubs – then they’re given the boot

REVEALED: Tenant landlords say breweries want them to splash out on getting pubs ‘back in better state’ while the big brewery owners pay nothing to improve ageing buildings they own

Cash-strapped pub landlords say they are splashing out tens of thousands of pounds doing up boozers – only to then get given the boot.

The upkeep of buildings squeezes tenant managers for thousands of pounds for improvements known as ‘dilapidations’ – the tenant’s obligations both to repair the premises before returning them to the landlord. In some cases the practice has contributed to people becoming homeless, sources have claimed.

Documents seen by the Daily Star show one landlord being given his marching orders when he was charged almost £81,000 for a range of dilapidations. There included costs for fire alarm checks priced at hundreds, over £8,000 for the surface of a car park and many thousands more split over close to 60 separate issues and alleged issues.

READ Part One of our special investigation into UK’s Pub Industry and how it effects your pint

Tenant landlords say the big breweries want them to splash out on getting pubs ‘back in better state’. While the breweries pay nothing to improve ageing buildings they own.

Up and down the UK, landlords say they find themselves at the mercy of huge pub owning companies, a ‘big-six’ of ‘pubcos’ – made up of Star Pubs and Bars, Stonegate, Marston’s, Greene King, Punch Taverns and Admiral Taverns. They own a huge proportion of the nation’s boozers.

Landlords are often left confused by complex dilapidations contracts, and while this will vary between pubcos and specific pubs, what is common across the board is that publicans are left confused and in need of more information.

In last year’s Tied Tenants Survey report by the Pubs Code Adjudicator – the Government watchdog of the industry – said the Pubco that came out worst was Stonegate. They saw 53% of tenants saying their area managers had supplied the information they needed about the upkeep of the building.

The responsibility of maintaining a pub owned by a large corporation but run and lived in by a normal businessperson has bred a system where large corporations hold all the cards, it is claimed.

A landlord we spoke with said he was called to a meeting, branded as ‘casual’, at which point the Big Six pubco announced they were planning to get rid of him.

In part at least, the landlord should be owed money for the time left on his contract – but as is often the way in the leased and tenanted system, the pubco was able to claw back the cash.

This landlord explained how it was done saying: “If they throw me out the pub I get two years’ business rates allowance, fixtures and fittings, stock and the deposit they’ve got of mine – and that comes to £84k, exactly the amount they want, so they want me out of here for nothing, and that’s why the figure comes to [£80,862].

“We’ve said that it says in our [agreement] we can renew the lease,” he said. “They use dilapidations to say we haven’t kept the pub properly, so they use that as a backup [to get their money back].”

Despite this, the landlord says that he inherited the pub in terrible condition. “What they are asking for is for me to get the pub back in a better state.” He said there was even an outhouse they had asked him to knock down for close to £10k – despite it having been there since the mid 20th Century.

“All they need to do is add up to 84k, that’s their target,” adding he knows everyone who has run the pub for the last 40 years, “and the breweries never spent any money on it.”

Another former publican who worked with a separate pubco in the Big Six and who chose to remain anonymous said their pub had been in a dangerous state when they had been living there with their family.

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“They were supposed to be responsible for the building,” the former tenant said. “It was a historic building and it was in such a terrible state. But they never did anything!”

When they finally left the pub in a state of conflict and via the courts, they said: “They came after me for dilapidations. Even though we left it in a much better condition than we found it.”

The Daily Star contacted the “big six” breweries – made up of Star Pubs and Bars, Stonegate, Marston’s, Greene King, Punch Taverns and Admiral Taverns – and so far received no reply to the claims we report.

Meanwhile the Government watchdog of the industry – the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) – is meant to oversee disagreements between landlords and pub companies. But many claim it does very little to help.

A PCA spokesman said: “Pubs Code disputes have fallen sharply and last year our arbitrators resolved 19 cases. We know times are tough for all pub operators and the PCA always works to ensure fairness.”

A BBPA spokesperson said: “For years the Leased & Tenanted pub model has seen people who want to run their own pub successfully partner with companies who support them.

“The majority find the backing of pub companies, which put £200m every year into these venues, invaluable as it means they get help running their pub business and keep pubs at the heart of the community.

“Most Publicans are happy with their pub company, proven by satisfaction ratings averaging 7.6 out of 10.”