Our friends at Light House Architecture & Science have published a great summary about what’s happening in the construction industry right now.

“If you cannot cope with this level of uncertainty, do not commence design or construction work. Every project and every client is different. It is very important that you do your own risk assessment.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Not only are the conditions on sites and in the supply chain changing, those changes are feeding through to the drafting of construction contracts.

The terms of building and construction contracts have changed significantly in terms of who is carrying particular types of risk, including who wears extensions of time and delay costs due to COVID-19 and other issues, what kinds of conditions will result in a variation and even whether prices quoted are subject to rise and fall.

That’s right – in some cases, fixed price contract doesn’t even mean that anymore.

If you decide you have the gumption to do that project in these genuinely unprecedented times, make sure you understand your building contract BEFORE you start.

We have been building knowledge on the construction and property industry both as solicitors and from within industry, as participants in it. To get proper advice on your upcoming project, contact Louise Morris.