Construction

Construction law is a specialist area of contract law and applies in relation to any building works save those appertaining to the home in which you are currently residing.

In the construction of a building many different trades will be involved under different terms, conditions and contracts. We can assist you in choosing and making sure that the right contract is put in place and signed between the parties involved. We know that thisvital step is often overlooked and the parties begin in earnest without having chosen or signed a contract. All of which is fine until something goes wrong, which it often does; bad weather, unexpected land conditions, interaction of numerous parties on site, illness, force majeure, all of these are possible incidences which can upset the flow of a construction contract. We believe that a good contract is more important in relation to construction matters than in any other circumstance.

In the absence of a written contract, the Construction Industry Scheme will apply. The Construction Industry Scheme implies into contracts:

• An interim payment scheme if the contract is intended to last more than 45 days
• Payments are to be paid on Payment Notices and are payable within 7 days of a Payment Notice being delivered
• Payment when paid is unlawful
• Where there is a dispute a Pay Less Notice has to be served before the Payment Notice is due for payment. Timing is critical
• Our experts can advise on the dispute resolutions available to you, including those under the
• Construction Industry Scheme, arbitration and the court process

Our experts have many years’ experience in the construction industry in acting for developers, contractors and sub contractors and include a CEDR Qualified Mediator.

We recommend:

• Before getting into construction contracts, legal advice is taken on the appropriate contracts and the contents therefore. This will often be no more than about £500 worth of legal fees and will be money well spent
• As soon as a dispute arises, take legal advice as soon as possible so that the parties will not fall foul of the provisions and time limits under the Construction Act
• We realise that litigation of all forms is expensive and time consuming. By taking early advice this can often be avoided and in many cases Mediation will be the best form of resolution