12.—(1) The pub-owning business must provide the tied-pub tenant with a rent assessment statement—
(a)at least 6 months before the date the rent is to change as a result of a rent review process initiated under the terms of an existing lease, or
(b)in accordance with regulation 13, if a rent review process has not been initiated under the terms of an existing lease.
(2) The rent assessment statement must set out—
(a)the proposed rent for the tied pub, valued at the valuation date,
(b)the methods, assumptions and disregards used to calculate the rent,
(c)a profit and loss forecast for a 12 month period beginning on the valuation date,
(d)the volume of alcohol, including the number of barrels of alcohol, if it is reasonably available, purchased for the pub from the pub-owning business, or any person acting on behalf of the pub-owning business, in the last 3 years ending on the valuation date of the rent assessment statement, and
(e)any other information or sources of information relied upon to assess the rent.
(3) When preparing the rent assessment statement a pub-owning business must take into account the professional standards, rules and guidance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, or ensure the professional standards, rules and guidance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are taken into account by the person preparing the rent assessment statement on behalf of the pub-owning business.
(4) Where reasonably possible, the profit and loss forecast mentioned in paragraph (2)(c) is to be based on actual income and costs relevant to the pub in question or, where actual income and costs are not available, to a comparable pub in the same vicinity.
(5) Where the profit and loss forecast is not based on actual costs it must include a reasonable explanation of the basis for the figures used.
(6) When issuing a rent assessment statement to a tied-pub tenant in connection with a rent review, a pub-owning business must—
(a)advise the tenant to seek independent advice,
(b)provide the tenant with information about sources of independent advice, and
(c)comply with any reasonable request for further information by the tied-pub tenant which is relevant for the negotiation of the new rent.
(7) If the pub-owning business is unable to comply with a request under paragraph (6)(c) the pub-owning business must, as soon as reasonably practicable, provide to the tied-pub tenant a reasonable explanation why the information has not been provided.
(8) In this regulation, “valuation date” means either, as the case may be, the date—
(a)specified in a rent assessment statement, being at least 6 months before the date the rent is to change as a result of a rent review process initiated under the terms of an existing lease,
(b)on which a tenant requests a rent review under regulation 13(1).
13.—(1) Where the existing lease of a tied pub does not include a rent review process a pub-owning business must, at the written request of a tied-pub tenant, review the rent payable in respect of the lease where—
(a)the contractual period of the lease is 12 months or more,
(b)a rent review under this regulation has not been requested within the period of five years ending on the date of the current request, and
(c)a rent assessment has not been carried out within the period of five years ending on the date of the current request.
(2) A pub-owning business need not review the rent payable where the tied-pub tenant has separately requested an MRO lease and that request is in either a negotiation period or a rent assessment period, as mentioned in regulations 15 to 18.
(3) When reviewing the rent payable in response to a request under this regulation, a pub-owning business must—
(a)provide a rent assessment statement meeting the requirements set out in regulation 12(2) to (5) within a period of 6 weeks beginning on the date of the tenant’s request, and
(b)assess the rent as the rent likely to be paid on the open market by a willing tenant to a willing landlord—
(i)for a lease in the same terms as the existing lease, other than the rent payable, and
(ii)on the basis of reasonable assumptions and disregards of the sort likely to be negotiated on the open market between a willing tenant and a willing landlord.
(4) The period of 6 weeks mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) may be extended by a further 4 weeks with the agreement of both parties.
(5) Where the rent set out in the rent assessment statement differs from the rent payable on the date on which the tenant made a request under this regulation, the rent may change only by mutual agreement of the pub-owning business and the tied-pub tenant.
(6) A rent review process under this regulation comes to an end—
(a)when the parties have mutually agreed in writing a new rent, or
(b)after a period of 6 months beginning with the date on which the tenant received the rent assessment statement,
whichever is earlier.
(7) When a new rent is mutually agreed it applies from the day after the date on which it is agreed in writing.