The clauses that decide what happens when a project runs late, changes scope or goes wrong.
A construction contract is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the agreed answer, written down in advance, to questions that will otherwise be argued about under pressure.
Read the scope and specification first — they define what you are buying. Then read the programme and the completion date, and check what happens if it is missed.
Pay close attention to the payment schedule, the variation procedure, the retention held after practical completion, and the defects liability period during which the contractor must return and put things right.
Finally, check how disputes are resolved and under whose law. Agreeing this while everyone is optimistic is considerably easier than agreeing it later.
Planning a project and want this applied to your specific site and budget? Send us the details and we will come back to you.
