The employer must provide drawings, a specification, or work schedules to define the quantity and quality of work, as well asthe requirements for the Contractor’s Designed Portion. HGCRA s106(2. Note that a ‘residential occupier’ would always be a consumer, see Edenbooth Limited v Cre8 Developments Limited [2008] EWHC 570 (TCC) If a variation involves a significant amount of extra work, the contractor will be entitled to additional time. The contract administrator is responsible for assessing the value of additions and omissions. A key question that is often asked is which form of JCT contract should I choose for my project. The answer as to which form is most appropriate will depend upon the nature of the project and the most suitable procurement route for that project, taking into account project deliverables as to time, cost and quality. A further factor to then consider is whether the conditions within the standard suites should be amended to suit the specific needs of your project. Contract Conditions, for the main forms of building contract these are split into nine sections governing matters such as:

The Standard Form is typically seen on large complex commercial construction projects, particularly where specification and design are important factors the Employer. The employer may also be looking for greater cost certainty by removing the contractor’s right to claim loss and expense for certain Relevant Matters. Used for large, complex projects where the contractor carries out the works and also completes the design At pre-contract stage it is necessary to state the first Interim Valuation Date and also the interval between Interim Valuation Dates and to insert these in the Contract Particulars. In arriving at what these should be, users should take note of the following: The JCT contracts provide that the employer holds the retention monies in a fiduciary capacity and requires the employer, upon request, to put the retention monies into a separate retention account. This drafting is commonly amended so that the employer can treat the retention as its own funds until it is due to be paid to the contractor.If employers give instructions directly to the contractor, this is outside the scope of the contract so it is important that employers ensure all instructions go through the contract administrator. Contract administrator

In practice, contracts intended for commercial use are often used on domestic projects, and the following examples are also considered: The JCT Minor Works Building Contract is designed for smaller, basic construction projects where the work is of a simple nature. Minor Works Building Contracts are suitable for projects procured via the traditional or conventional method. Changing the risk allocation of delays by the removal of some of the contractor’s contractual grounds for seeking an extension of time (called Relevant Events), as the default allocation of risk under the contract may be inappropriate. Note that in Domsalla v Dyason [2007] EWHC 1174 (TCC) pay less notices were found to be unfair in relation to a consumer, but this was is special circumstances and has not been applied in later cases. The Minor Works forms are typically seen on small simple commercial projects. Which JCT contract should I choose?An easy way to understand the process is to recognise that the Interim Valuation Date (a defined term in the contract), which also applies to JCT sub-contracts and sub-sub contracts, is the key factor in the contractual time framework. The Design and Build Contract is typically seen on a wide range of commercial projects, particularly where certainty of cost and speed of construction are important factors for the Employer. The RIBA Construction Contracts and Law Report 2022 found that 59% of respondent organisations used JCT forms of contract most often, compared with RIBA building contracts at 15% and NEC contracts at 13%, and that the JCT forms were widely considered “industry standard”. the Employer is to provide drawings and/or a specification and/or work schedules to define adequately the quantity and quality of the work; and The JCT list their most commonly used contracts as the JCT Standard Building Contract, Design and Build Contract, and Minor Works Building Contract.