News • 28/04/2025 • 4 minutes read
Martyn’s Law is now UK law. What do property owners need to know?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act (Martyn’s Law) has now been installed as UK legislation after receiving Royal Assent on 3rd April. This law aims to enhance security and safety in public spaces, placing legal duties on property owners to assess and mitigate terrorism risks.
Popularly named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, its new measures require improved emergency preparedness across properties.
For property owners, particularly those managing commercial, retail, hospitality, or event spaces, the law requires, in brief:
• Risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities.
• Proportionate security measures for the premises, such as CCTV, access controls, or emergency plans.
• Staff training to improve threat awareness and response.
On 3rd April 2025, the Act received Royal Assent. With support from all political parties, it is now recognised legislation. The SIA will work with the Home Office to start implementing this landmark law that will improve protective security and security standards at properties across the UK. The implementation period will be 24 months. You can consult this Government factsheet for further legal information.
In simple terms, those in charge of qualifying premises and events will need to:
• Register with the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the regulator for the Act.
• Put safety measures in place to protect people from harm in case of a terrorist attack, whether it happens on site, at an event or nearby.
• Establish clear procedures for staff to follow if they suspect a threat.
These should cover:
– Evacuating people or moving them to a safe area.
– Locking down the premises to prevent entry or exit.
– Sharing important information with staff and visitors as needed.
For premises expecting 800+ people, such as shopping centres or retail sites, there should be additional measures considered to reduce the risk of terrorism. These include:
• Regularly reviewing and updating public protection measures, such as installing or maintaining CCTV, access control systems and physical barriers to protect against vehicle attacks or crowd control issues.
• Carrying out detailed risk assessments to identify potential threats, considering the size of the crowd, location and type of event. These assessments should be reviewed periodically to ensure they remain relevant.
• Creating and maintaining statements of compliance to show that a property or event meets all security requirements, and keeping records of all safety plans, measures, and training for staff.
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will play a key role in enforcing compliance, ensuring security personnel meet the new legal standards. Property owners using security contractors must ensure they adhere to these requirements. Non-compliance could lead to legal and reputational risks, making proactive security planning essential.
Who will this affect?
The Act will affect a wide range of premises, beyond just entertainment venues. This includes supermarkets, shopping centres, hotels, coffee shops, pubs, theatres, schools, hospitals and more, as well as public-facing spaces like sports grounds and places of worship. It also applies to associated land, such as an adjoining recreational area or pub garden.
Anyone with control over qualifying premises will be responsible for compliance. This includes owners, landlords, occupiers, building managers and others. If multiple parties share management, they must work together to meet the law’s requirements.
What to do next?
It is important that property owners and occupiers of qualifying premises do not wait two years to prepare or implement security measures. Although any required action will be proportionate, if your properties may be impacted, it’s important to act now to ensure you’re fully compliant when the law comes into effect. This will allow you time to carry out any works required to make your property compliant. Please note: even if you only control one qualifying property, you’ll still need to follow all of the requirements, including registering with the SIA.
MAPP has already begun identifying properties that will qualify as Standard (200+) and Enhanced (800+) Duty Premises,
plus high-risk out-of-scope properties. Our dedicated Security & GDPR team is available to review current security, safety and protection measures, identify vulnerabilities, recommend solutions and assist registration with the SIA.