Who needs to comply with Martyn's Law?

Martyn's Law applies to any qualifying publicly accessible premises with a reasonably-expected capacity of 200 or more, split into two tiers: standard tier for 200 to 799 capacity, and enhanced tier for 800 capacity and above. It also applies to qualifying events: public events with entry checks where 800 or more people are expected, which carry enhanced-tier requirements (there is no standard tier for events). The duty falls on the person or organisation in control of the premises or event. Premises capacity below 200 is out of scope.

From the floor. The overlooked obligation that catches multi-tenant landlords out is the coordination duty. A shopping centre, a campus or a co-working building has several responsible persons, and the Act expects them to act in concert. The legal structure to get that working is a written shared-procedures agreement signed before commencement; without it, each tenant assumes another is doing the work. Get the landlord, the managing agent and the major tenants in one room early. — Toni Moss, Managing Director and Owner

Capacity is calculated using one of three approved methods set out in the Section 27 statutory guidance and Supplementary Document A: fire safety safe-occupancy figures from the building's fire risk assessment, historic attendance data from ticketing or footfall records, or any other justified method the responsible person can defend. The reasonable-expectation test must include staff and volunteers, not just members of the public. Sites that hover near a tier boundary need to count carefully, because moving from standard to enhanced changes the duty and the penalty regime substantially.

The legislation is sector-agnostic, but the Act and guidance explicitly call out the following premises types as in scope:

Shared spaces and multi-tenant buildings carry a specific coordination duty under the Act. Where more than one responsible person controls parts of a single premises (typical of business campuses, shopping centres and co-working buildings), they must coordinate procedures so the public protection response is consistent. This is one of the most overlooked obligations on first reading. For premises with more than one Schedule 1 use, the Principal Use of Premises Regulations 2026 (in force 15 October 2026) decide which use is the principal one and therefore who the responsible person is. Strive AV's Martyn's Law assessment determines tier and produces the documentation an enhanced-tier responsible person needs.

Quick reference: publicly accessible premises with 200+ capacity (staff and volunteers included); standard tier 200-799, enhanced tier 800+; qualifying events 800+ with entry checks, enhanced-level duties; places of worship and most education premises standard at any capacity; covers retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, places of worship, sports, transport, government, corporate; coordination duty applies to shared spaces; principal-use test for mixed-use premises.