Construction Lawyer

Building and Construction Dispute Lawyer

We have a specialist building work and construction lawyer providing homeowners and contractors with advice and dispute resolution across all aspects of domestic and commercial construction law.

With a background and qualification in building and construction as well as the first-hand experience in building home extensions, property renovation, refurbishment and commercial construction, our construction lawyer is well placed to handle disputes involving complex technical issues as well as substandard work, delay and costs.

It is this insight, combined with expert tactical advice, renowned advocacy skills, consummate case preparation and approachable style, which has been influential is us being highly recommended and in high demand by private individuals and building contractors.

Our aim is to provide a range of cost effective tailored legal solutions across a wide range of problems, including contractual issues such as JCT, NEC3 and FIDIC through to construction dispute resolution out of court.

Construction Law

We have formidable experience in a wide range of disputes and claims on behalf of employers, contractors, developers, and private individuals involving all manner of construction and engineering projects.

Cases have involved single and two storey home extensions, loft conversions, complete property refurbishment, hi-spec building or “grand designs” and build projects from scratch, landscaping and swimming pools, as well as all manner of high-end home improvements.

We have extensive experience in common construction disputes, including payment claims, negligence, breach of construction contract, defective premises, misrepresentation, misstatement, breach of statutory duty and consumer protection law.

These arise from circumstances such as delay, extension of time, liquidated damages, disruption, defects and quality issues, variations to and termination of contracts.

Construction Contract

Often in a domestic as opposed to commercial build or refurbishment projects, there is no formal written contract between the customer and builder. Instead, the contract is formed through emails and texts between the parties and documents such as an estimate and schedule of works. This can lead to confusion and ambiguity to what has been agreed in terms of the main construction contract, variations and delays.

Although there has been an increase in the use of standard form contracts like JCT contracts, these are still in the minority in home building and construction projects.

In both scenarios the builder’s failure to properly specify the works agreed to be carried out, the payment terms, completion date and variations are a breeding ground for problems and disagreement.

Poor Standard of Work

Poor workmanship and quality issues are at the top of the list of causes of complaint in home extension and home improvements contract issues.

If an area of work has been performed to a poor standard, is incomplete, or has not been done to the specification, this amounts to a breach of contract.

However, although consumer law states that you are entitled to a repeat performance, that is to say to have the work put right by the builder at no cost to you, this does not necessarily give rise to the right to terminate the contract.

Consumers commissioning building work have statutory rights under consumer law, and for detailed guidance on these protections, including remedies for poor workmanship and disputes with builders, learn more about consumer rights for building and construction work on our consumer law page.

It may well be a different story if, on the other hand, the building contractor is incompetent and incapable of doing the work properly.

In this situation it may be possible to construe the breach to be a repudiatory breach, that is to say that it is serious enough to bring the building contract to an end.

However, this is a particularly tricky area on which it would be sensible to obtain professional construction law advice.

Time and Money

The other common causes of construction disputes, especially for home refurbishments and building extensions, are increasing costs and delays.

Most homeowners will have been provided with an estimate of the cost of the building project both in terms of the money and how long it will take to complete.

Both aspects should be the subject of regular updates and variation notices to evidence agreement between builder and client of any cost increase and extension of completion time.

If this doesn’t happen, it leads to conflict, and disputes arise when the project overruns.

For advice on dealing with increasing costs and delays in completion of your construction project, call the construction lawyer.

Termination of Contract

Terminating a construction contract can be surprisingly complex and risky: if you get it wrong you may find yourself in repudiatory breach with significant consequences.

However, there are range of possible situations where the behaviour of a party contractor indicates by its actions that the contract is ended, or the other party is entitled to treat it as at an end. This is referred to as a repudiatory breach of contract where the breach goes to the very root of the contract.

Examples of repudiatory breach are; abandonment, where the builder simply fails to return to the site or project, the unlawful refusal to carry out work by the contractor or failure by the home owner or employer to give access to the site.

Certain contracts like a JCT Construction Management Contract (“JCT”) contain clauses setting out what the defaulting party should do in the event of a breach and the time allowed to rectify it. The failure to comply may well lead to the right to terminate.