“From the lease’s point of view”: the role of tied leases in shaping the UK pub sector
Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
ISSN: 2514-9407
Article publication date: 28 September 2023
Issue publication date: 13 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Much like their residential counterparts, commercial leases have a reputation problem. Although often derided as painfully dull and mundane documents, residential leases have begun to be interrogated by socio-legal scholarship with renewed interest. This paper aims to continue this line of work in the commercial context through a detailed examination of a widespread form of leasehold in the pub sector: the “tied lease”.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on interviews with 14 publicans and archival research.
Findings
The author argues that the lease is a decisive actor in determining the balance of power between publicans and pub-owning companies and shaping the physical environment of pubs in the UK.
Originality/value
The author’s broader agenda is to argue that socio-legal scholars’ renewed interest in leases should not be confined to the residential context: commercial leases warrant far greater socio-legal scholarly attention.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Dr Liz Hind for exceptional research assistance with the publican interviews (see Meers and Hind, 2021).
Citation
Meers, J. (2023), "“From the lease’s point of view”: the role of tied leases in shaping the UK pub sector", Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 170-193. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-05-2023-0024
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited