Construction Contracts

We provide clear and concise advice, in plain English, to help you understand the risks presented by your draft contracts. We use a traffic light colour-coding system helping you prioritise issues. We also provide suggested comments back to the other party and can assist with drafting clauses to help you quickly and efficiently negotiate the amendments that you require.

Getting a construction contract properly set up is one of the best ways of ensuring success and preventing disputes. Huge problems can be avoided by taking steps to ensure that the contract is reasonable and accurately reflects what has been agreed and priced. We can help you avoid these problems by assisting in the negotiation process.

A properly administered contract is much more likely to be commercially successful and much less likely to result in a dispute. We provide advice and support, such as notices, templates, and correspondence to help you achieve the best from your projects.

These are mechanisms of providing security in respect of breaches or insolvency. We can help you to understand what risks in, and whether terms are reasonable.

Consultant appointments and novation agreements (which transfer rights and obligations to different parties) differ from other construction contracts in some key respects. They must be carefully drafted to preserve entitlements and achieve the desired outcomes.

Failing to formalise the contract at the beginning of a project can cause significant problems if things go wrong. Clear terms agreed early help prevent misunderstandings and protect all parties.

Construction contracts should fairly distribute risk between parties. When this balance is mismanaged, one side may end up carrying more risk than intended, increasing the likelihood of claims and disputes.

Onerous clauses are unfair or excessively burdensome terms within a contract. They can expose one party to disproportionate obligations or liabilities that may be difficult to meet.

If key obligations aren’t mirrored in subcontracts, gaps can appear in compliance and liability. This often leads to delays, cost overruns, or disputes about who is responsible for specific issues.

This is entirely dependent upon what the contract says. Generally speaking the right to refuse to carry out instructions is very limited and refusing without the right to do so will mean that you are in breach of contract. In JCT contracts it is usually confined to instructions that amount to variations where you may be able to raise a reasonable objection. Then you need not comply to the extent that you have provided a reasonable objection. There are some other circumstances in which instructions can be refused, but they require careful consideration of the facts.