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A new code of practice should help small businesses cope with the pitfalls of the property leasing process, an industry expert has said.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said that the government's third code of practice for leasing business premises would explain the options available for small businesses to help them make the right choice.

Her comments come amid concern that small businesses, most of whom lease their property instead of owning it, are being locked unfairly into long-term contracts with their landlords where the rent increases every year regardless of business conditions.

"What we're trying to do with this code of practice which has actually been put together by all the main industry players on both sides – landlords and occupiers – is actually ensure that we have the best practice in there and we have the flexibility enshrined in it," she explained.

"I think the industry is changing anyway, and what this code is doing is codifying probably some of the slightly less well informed players at the lower end of the market just what is happening amongst the best practice players in the market, setting an exemplar, hopefully actually dragging the whole industry up to the standards of the best."

Two industry codes of practice have been introduced in recent times, both of which critics claim have failed to protect small businesses.