KEY POINTS
- Premises inside larger premises are assessed on their own. A shop in a shopping centre can be qualifying premises in its own right, alongside the centre itself.
- Responsibility follows control, not ownership. In a typical centre, each tenant is responsible for its unit and the operator is responsible for the centre and its common areas.
- Where one set of qualifying premises sits inside another, the responsible persons must co-ordinate with each other, so far as reasonably practicable (section 8 of the Act).
- Landlords, freeholders and others with some control must co-operate with the responsible person for enhanced tier premises or a qualifying event.
- Units that are out of scope have no duties of their own, but may be asked to co-operate through their lease if the larger premises are enhanced tier.
The short answer
Martyn's Law, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, looks at each set of premises separately. A shopping centre can be qualifying premises, and so can a department store, a restaurant or a gym inside it. Each is assessed on the number of people reasonably expected to be present in it at the same time, from time to time: 200 to 799 for the standard tier, 800 or more for the enhanced tier.
Section 2(5) of the Act deals with premises that form part of other qualifying premises. If the same person is responsible for both, they are treated as one set of qualifying premises. If different people are responsible, the Act applies to each separately.
Section 8 then adds two linking duties. Responsible persons for premises within premises must co-ordinate with each other. And anyone with some control over enhanced tier premises, or over the site of a qualifying event, who is not the responsible person, such as a landlord, must co-operate with the responsible person. Both duties apply so far as reasonably practicable. The duties are expected to come into force in spring 2027.
Working out where your premises begin and end
The Act defines premises as a building, or a building with other land, and says a building can include part of a building or a group of buildings. The Home Office statutory guidance gives practical pointers.
- Part of a building: a building used mainly for something outside the Act, such as a factory or offices, can still contain a separate part used for a listed purpose, such as a shop. That part can be in scope on its own.
- Group of buildings: buildings close together, with a shared principal use and the same responsible person, may form one set of premises, such as a hospital complex or a campus. Supermarkets 800 metres apart with other buildings between them were not treated as a group.
- Counting in shopping centres: the centre's figure includes everyone in its units as well as its malls. A unit's figure includes only the people in that unit. You do not add the centre's footfall to a small shop's count.
| Illustrative set-up | How it is assessed |
|---|---|
| Enclosed shopping centre of 40 units, 2,000 people at peak | The centre is enhanced tier. Each unit is assessed on its own numbers. |
| Department store in that centre, 900 at peak | Enhanced tier in its own right. Must co-ordinate with the centre. |
| Coffee shop in that centre, 40 at peak | Out of scope. No duties of its own, but may have to co-operate under its lease. |
| Office block with a ground floor restaurant of 250 at peak | The restaurant is standard tier. The office floors are not a listed use. |
| Leisure complex with a cinema, bowling alley and bar run by one operator | Likely one set of premises, assessed together, because one person is responsible. |
Our guides to qualifying premises and capacity explain these tests in more depth. The free tier checker will give you a first view for a single unit.
Who is responsible in a shared building
The responsible person is whoever has control of the premises for their listed use. The guidance says control usually means physical possession plus the right and ability to make decisions about management and use, especially who may stay on site. It does not require ownership, and a leaseholder or licence holder can have it.
The guidance's own examples show how this works in shared and let property:
- A company leasing a building as a shop is responsible, not the building owner.
- In a retail park owned by a pension fund and let through a managing agent, each retailer is responsible for its own unit.
- In a tenanted pub, the tenant is responsible because they control the premises, even though the brewery or pub company holds the licence. (This example was corrected by the Home Office in August 2026.)
- In a shopping centre, the operator is responsible for the centre because it controls the common areas, entrances and exits. Tenants that control their own units are responsible for those units if they qualify.
Where a building has more than one listed use, responsibility follows the principal use. The guidance gives the example of a hotel with a restaurant and conference centre: the hotel use is principal, so the hotel operator is responsible for the whole. If more than one person is responsible for the same premises, each carries the duties, and they may act jointly. See our guide on who the responsible person is.
Mixed-use buildings
Many buildings combine listed uses with uses the Act does not cover. Offices that are not open to visiting members of the public and private flats are not listed uses. A building only qualifies as a whole if it is wholly or mainly used for listed uses, so a tower of flats with a café on the ground floor is not one big set of qualifying premises. The café is assessed on its own.
Where things get practical is in shared parts. A ground floor restaurant, a first floor gym and residential floors may share a lobby, a stair core, a service yard or a fire exit. Your procedures need to work with the building around you:
- Know who controls the shared areas, which is often the landlord or managing agent, and how to reach them out of hours.
- Check whether your evacuation route passes through areas you do not control, and whether doors on that route can be locked by someone else.
- Think about the immediate vicinity. The guidance expects responsible persons to consider how an attack just outside, such as on the pavement or in a shared forecourt, would affect their procedures.
- Agree how you will alert each other. Your lockdown should not trap another occupier's customers, and their evacuation should not send people towards your front door during an attack.
The legal duty to co-ordinate
Section 8 of the Act requires responsible persons to co-ordinate with each other, so far as reasonably practicable, in two situations: where more than one person is responsible for the same premises or event, and where one set of qualifying premises forms part of another. It applies at both tiers. The statutory guidance says co-ordination is about making sure there are no barriers to delivering procedures, and that plans deliver protection without creating new dangers, such as funnelling large numbers into the same space.
The guidance gives two useful illustrations:
- A department store and the enhanced tier shopping centre around it co-ordinate so their evacuation plans do not conflict and their lockdown and communication plans complement each other.
- Shops in a centre and the centre operator set up a tenants' group with protective security as a standing agenda item and a real-time communications channel between duty managers. Because several shops' emergency exits lead to the same service corridor, they check that shared routes have capacity for everyone to evacuate at once.
The co-ordination duty only applies to premises in scope. An out-of-scope unit inside a qualifying centre has no statutory co-ordination duty. Neighbouring premises that are not inside one another are not required to co-ordinate, although the guidance encourages them to plan communication or run joint drills where practical.
The duty to co-operate: landlords and landowners
Section 8(5) and (6) cover people who are not the responsible person but have some control over enhanced tier premises, or over premises where a qualifying event is held. They must co-operate with the responsible person, so far as reasonably practicable, to help them comply. The guidance names building owners who have leased premises to an operator, premises within other premises, and landowners who allow an event on their land.
The guidance example is an enhanced tier art gallery that wants concrete planters to protect against a vehicle attack. Its lease requires freeholder consent for structural changes. The freeholder must co-operate with, and consider, the request so far as reasonably practicable. What is reasonably practicable balances the protective benefit against cost, time and difficulty.
Out-of-scope units inside enhanced tier premises can also be drawn in. The guidance describes a small coffee shop inside a hospital complex. The hospital's responsible person writes a requirement to co-operate with its evacuation procedure into the coffee shop's lease. Larger premises can use lease terms in this way to the extent needed to comply with their own duties.
The statutory co-operation duty is framed around enhanced tier premises and qualifying events. If you run standard tier premises in a building you lease, your landlord is not under the same express duty, so it is worth agreeing practical points, such as access to shared areas and key holder contacts, in writing.
A practical co-ordination checklist
- Map the building: which parts you control, which the landlord or operator controls, and which belong to other occupiers.
- Find out which other premises are in scope and who their responsible persons are. The centre operator or managing agent is usually the best starting point.
- Share the outline of your procedures, not the sensitive detail, with those you must co-ordinate with, and ask for theirs.
- Agree a common alert method and a contact chain between duty managers, such as a radio channel or messaging group.
- Check shared exits and corridors for conflicts and capacity, and agree who secures shared doors in a lockdown.
- Record what was agreed, who attended and when it will be reviewed. Add protective security to tenants' meetings.
- Brief your own staff on the parts of the building's arrangements that affect them.
Be careful with what you share. The guidance warns against circulating floor plans and security details more widely than needed. Our guide to communication procedures covers alerting systems in more detail, and the shops and retail stores page covers retail units specifically.
Common mistakes and next steps
- Assuming the centre operator's plan covers your unit. If your unit qualifies, you have your own duties.
- Adding the whole centre's footfall to your unit count.
- Assuming the landlord is responsible because they own the building.
- Writing procedures that rely on exits or doors controlled by someone else without telling them.
- Leaving co-ordination to an emergency. The time to agree signals and routes is before anything happens.
Start with a clear picture of your own premises, your tier and who you need to co-ordinate with. Then draft procedures that fit the building. Our packs include a co-ordination log and a short template for sharing procedure outlines with landlords and neighbouring occupiers. Multi-site operators can use the multi-site pack to cover several units consistently.
Frequently asked questions
Is my shop covered by the shopping centre's Martyn's Law duties?
Not if your unit qualifies on its own. A unit with 200 or more people at peak is qualifying premises in its own right, and you are responsible for it if you control it. The centre operator is responsible for the centre and common areas.
Do I count the shopping centre's visitors in my shop's capacity?
No. The statutory guidance says the centre adds up the people in its units, but a unit counts only the people in that unit.
Is the landlord the responsible person?
Usually not, if a tenant controls the premises for their use. Responsibility follows control. A landlord with some control must co-operate with the responsible person for enhanced tier premises or a qualifying event.
What does the duty to co-ordinate actually require?
Responsible persons for premises within premises, or sharing responsibility for the same premises, must work together so their procedures do not conflict, so far as reasonably practicable. Typical steps include shared alert methods, contact chains and checking shared exit routes.
Our unit is too small to be in scope. Do we have to do anything?
You have no duties of your own under the Act. If the larger premises are enhanced tier, the responsible person may require co-operation through your lease, for example taking part in their evacuation procedure.
Sources
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, section 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, section 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Home Office statutory guidance on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (GOV.UK)
- Explanatory Notes to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: notification requirement (GOV.UK)
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.