You are on page 1of 4

3/28/2016

Construction contract - Designing Buildings Wiki

Designing Buildings Wiki

Register

The construction industry knowledge base

Project plans

Project activities

Legislation and standards

Sign in

Search

Industry context

Last edited 23 Mar 2016


See full history

Construction contract
This article refers to the contract for the main contractor to construct the works (and on some
contracts also to design, operate and finance the project). For agreements for the appointment of

Home / news

Site info / tools

Create an article

Share

Follow

Related articles

consultants, independent client advisers, site inspectorate, project managers, client

Articles of agreement.

representatives etc see the article on appointing consultants.

Back-to-back provisions in construction


contacts.

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Standard forms of contract in common use for construction in the UK.
2.1 JCT (The Joint Contracts Tribunal)
2.2 ACA (The Association of Consultant Architects).
2.3 Chartered Institute of Building
2.4 FIDIC (Fdration Internationale des Ingnieurs-Conseils).
2.5 NEC (The New Engineering Contract): Engineering and Construction Contract).
2.6 Other forms of contract
3 Contract conditions
4 Building information modelling (BIM)
5 Modified standard forms of contract
6 Bespoke contracts
7 Notes
8 Find out more
8.1 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
8.2 External references

Breach of contract.
Contract conditions.
Contract documents.
Contract engrossment.
Contract execution.
Contract v tort.

Featured articles
Central Activities Zone

GLA publish supplementary planning guidance

Introduction

for Londons commercial heartland.

The classic nineteenth century definition of a contract is 'a promise or set of promises which the
law will enforce' (Pollock, Principles of Contract 13th edition). That is to say, there is reciprocity

Skills gap

of undertaking passing between the promisor and the promisee. In contract, the rights and
obligations are created by the acts of agreement between the parties to the contractual
arrangement.

In the procurement of construction, contracts are:


Standard forms
Modified standard forms
Bespoke.

Standard forms of contract in common use for construction in the UK.

BRE Academy skills gap survey finds key BIM


and management skills are lacking in
individuals, organisations and the wider

JCT (The Joint Contracts Tribunal (http://www.jctltd.co.uk/) )


DB: Design and build contract.
CD: Standard form with contractors design.
CE: Constructing excellence contract.
CM: Construction management contract.
IFC: Intermediate form of building contract.
MC: Management contract.
MTC: Measured term contract.
MW: Agreement for minor work.
PCC: Prime cost building contract.
MP: Major project construction contract.
RM: Repair and maintenance contract (commercial).
SBC: Standard form of building contract.

http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_contract

industry.

Government Construction Strategy

1/4

3/28/2016

Construction contract - Designing Buildings Wiki

NB the JCT traditional forms of contract remain by far the most popular forms of contract in the
UK (ref nbs: National Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2012
(http://www.thenbs.com/topics/ContractsLaw/articles/nbsNationalConstructionContractsLawSurve
y2012.asp) ).

ACA (The Association of Consultant Architects


(http://www.acarchitects.co.uk/) ).
Form of building agreement.
PPC: Standard form of contract for project partnering.
SPC: Standard form of specialist contract for project partnering.

Chartered Institute of Building


CPC 2013: CIOB Contract for use with Complex Projects.

The governments new construction strategy


moves towards BIM level 3, but sets
unambitious efficiency targets compared with
its predecessor.

FIDIC (Fdration Internationale des Ingnieurs-Conseils).


FIDIC's core suite of contracts includes:

Building of the week - Florence Cathedral

Conditions of Contract for Construction. The Red Book.


Conditions of Contract for Plant & Design-Build. The Yellow Book.
Conditions of Contract for EPC Turnkey Projects. The Silver Book.
The Short Form of Contract. The Green Book.

NEC (The New Engineering Contract): Engineering and Construction


Contract).
Option A: Priced contract with activity schedule.
Option B: Priced contract with bill of quantities.
Option C: Target contract with activity schedule.
Option D: Target contract with bill of quantities.
Option E: Cost reimbursable contract.
Option F: Management contract.
Option G: Term contract.
For more information see NEC3.

Other forms of contract

140 years in the making, the masterpiece of


Renaissance Florence and the world's largest

Other less commonly used forms of contract include:


The GC Works suite of standard government conditions of contract are no longer being
updated by the government who are now moving to the New Engineering Contracts, now in
their third edition NEC3. See GC Works for more information.
IChemE (http://www.icheme.org/resources/forms_of_contract.aspx) (The Institution of
Chemical Engineers) forms of contract.
ICC Infrastructure Conditions of Contract (http://www.acenet.co.uk/icc/657) . A relaunch of
CoC (see below)
The ICE Conditions of Contract (CoC) (previously maintained by the Institution of Civil
Engineers) have been withdrawn in favour of NEC contracts. See ICE Conditions of Contract
for more information.
IMechE/IET (http://www.theiet.org/resources/model-forms/) (The Institution of Mechancal
Engineers / The Institution of Engineering Technology) Model Forms of General Conditions of
Contract.

masonry dome.

Cohousing

Contract conditions

Contract conditions set out the principal legal relationship between the parties to a construction
project, determining the allocation of risk and consequently, price.

A new type of communal living that is growing


in popularity around the UK.

See: Contract conditions for more information.


National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016-21

Building information modelling (BIM)

The adoption of building information modelling (BIM) on a project requires the definition of specific
obligations and liabilities, and limitations must be placed on the agreed use of the model. This is
generally achieved by adopting a BIM protocol. BIM protocols can be incorporated into contract
documents by the addition of a model enabling amendment such as that proposed in the CIC BIM
protocol.

http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_contract

2/4

3/28/2016

Construction contract - Designing Buildings Wiki

Modified standard forms of contract

See: Modifying clauses in standard forms of contract.

Bespoke contracts

24% of respondents to the nb National Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2012
(http://www.thenbs.com/topics/ContractsLaw/articles/nbsNationalConstructionContractsLawSurve
y2012.asp) indicated that they use purpose-written bespoke contracts. Not only is this
considered inadvisable because of the risk that bespoke contracts may not adequately or fairly
make provision for all circumstances, and that they are not supported by a history of case law,

Government publishes their spending strategy


for infrastructure projects together with a
commitment to make efficiency savings.

but it is also a poor reflection of how inflexible and ineffective the industry perceives many of the
standard forms of contract to be.
Development House, Shoreditch

Notes

NB The first stage appointment of a two-stage procurement process might be made using a
separate pre-construction services agreement (PCA or PCSA), sometimes called early works
agreements, rather than under the provisions of the main, second-stage contract.

For a detailed description of the tender process for appointing the main contractor see the free
work plan stages:
Traditional contract: tender.
Design and build: tender.
Public project: tender.
Public project: PFI tender.
Construction management: tender.
Management contract: tender.

Find out more

Architects unveil plans for innovative all-timber


structure in London's Shoreditch.

Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki


Articles of agreement.
Back-to-back provisions in construction contacts.
Breach of contract.
Contract conditions.
Contract documents.
Contract engrossment.
Contract execution.
Contract v tort.
Contracts under seal v under hand.
CPC 2013.
Engrossment.
Essentials of a contract.
FIDIC.
Form of tender.
Framework contract.
GC Works.
ICE Conditions of Contract.
Intermediate Building Contract.
Joint Contracts Tribunal.
Key dates.
Minor works.
Modifying clauses in standard forms of contract.
Named specialist work.
NEC3.
Negotiated contract.
PPC 2000.
Procurement route.
Sub-contract.

Unusual building design of the week

Peter Cook's Kunsthaus Graz modern art


museum in Austria, a landmark piece of
'blobitecture'.

Buildings in film

External references
The London Government Taskforce: A Guide to standard forms of construction contract,
outlining key characteristics and components.
The International Bar Association: Standard forms: contract conditions
(http://www.ibanet.org/LPD/SEERIL/Intl_Construction_Projects/Standard_Forms/Overview.as
px) .

http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_contract

3/4

3/28/2016

Construction contract - Designing Buildings Wiki

PACE: Guide to the appointment of consultants and contractors


(http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100503135839/http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents
/PACE_-_GACC.pdf) P96.
Constructing excellence: guide to standard forms of construction contract.
(http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/sectorforums/constructionclientsgroup/downloads/
standard_formsLGTF.pdf)
OGC: Partnering contract review.
(http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100503135839/http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents
/commodities_database/OGCContract_Review_25_September_2008_Final.pdf)
The Joint Contracts Tribunal. (http://www.jctltd.co.uk/)
JCT: Deciding on the appropriate JCT contract. 2011
nbs: National Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2012
(http://www.thenbs.com/topics/ContractsLaw/articles/nbsNationalConstructionContractsLawS
urvey2012.asp) .
Pollock, Principles of Contract (13th Edition).
Winward Fearon on Collateral Warranties, David L Cornes and Richard Winward. 2002.

Share

Add a comment

With 'High-Rise' in the cinemas, here is a

Send us feedback

selection of famous buildings that have played


important film roles.

For more news, go to the home page.

Designing Buildings Ltd. 2016

About

Help

http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_contract

Privacy Policy

T&Cs

Contact

Feed

Report Abuse

Press

4/4

You might also like