On 4 December, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill which includes amendments to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 received its first reading before the House of Lords.
There are some key differences between the draft Construction Contracts Bill (which was the subject of a previous e-update from us) and the Bill as presented. These include:-
- Slip Rule
- This Rule which provides that contracts must include provisions which allow the adjudicator power to correct clerical or typographical errors arising by accident or omission in his or her decision after it has been issued has been extended to cover England and Wales as well as Scotland.
- Costs of Adjudication
The following provisions, which had been included in the Bill published by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, have been removed from the final Bill presented to Parliament:-
- The power of the adjudicator to determine that, where the contract provides for payment of costs (other than the fees and expenses of the adjudicator) by one party, such provision is unreasonable.
- The provision that parties are liable on a joint and several basis to pay the adjudicator such reasonable amount as he may determine for fees (for work reasonably undertaken) and expenses reasonably incurred.
- Disputes as to a reasonable amount or whether work is reasonably undertaken and expenses reasonably incurred to be decided by the court.
- The provisions in relation to interim payment decisions have been removed from the draft Bill as presented to Parliament.
It is, of course, possible that further changes will be made to the Bill as it progresses through Parliament so watch this space for further developments!
Disclaimer
The material contained in this article is of the nature of general comment only and does not give advice on any particular matter. Recipients should not act on the basis of the information in this e-update without taking appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.