Member Article

Building legislation could result in costly claims for construction industry

Building firms should begin to prepare for the provisions of the new Construction Act to avoid costly claims, say North East legal experts.

The new legislation introduces updated payment provisions, and will now cover oral construction contracts, which are not included in the current act.

The legislation also affects, surveyors, project managers and architects, who could all find themselves in difficulties if they fail to advice their clients on how the act could affect them.

Crutes Law Firm and Constructing Excellence North East have now joined forces to host a seminar on the 5th October to provide an overview of the key changes.

Helen Ager, managing partner at Crutes Law Firm, said: “The Construction Act is one of the key pieces of legislation for the sector. It really hasn’t altered for the past 12 years so these amendments mark a significant change.”

Helen will be joined by speakers from various areas of expertise, including Kevin Drysdale from Drysdale Construction Consultants, Peter Tighe from the Geneva Group and David Summerhayes from Crutes.

David Summer Hayes added: “As well as now introducing statutory adjudication for oral contracts, the new act introduces new provisions for dealing with payments and extends the rights for statutory suspension for non-payment.

“It really is worth getting to grips with the new legislation as simply ignoring it could have far reaching consequences.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .