Not using a JCT contract can expose your renovation project to risk.

If you don’t use a standard form of building contract you expose yourself to your contractors’ terms and conditions, or – worse still – common law to control payment, disputes, insurance and what is actually included in the works.

While it is accepted that any major dispute, whether under contract or not, will have an effect on your building project, it is far better to have a resolution process laid out than to let a situation escalate into a legal dispute.

In the final synopsis you as the property owner and employer are under contract. A JCT provides a framework for your building project to be delivered on time and on budget.

What happens if you don’t have a JCT?
Projects embarked on without a contract are often delivered very late and at much higher costs than initially envisaged.

Without documentation to cover who is responsible for what aspects of the design and delivery, it is almost impossible to pin down any of the parties involved in the project if you need to.

While it is accepted that any major dispute, whether under contract or not, will have an effect on your building project, it is far better to have a resolution process laid out than to let a situation escalate into a legal dispute.

It is unlikely that in any other aspect of your life you would allow quite so many variables to exist without any element of surety. This is not the time to trust to luck, simply because of your naivety in relation to building contract law.

It is highly likely that you could find yourself in a situation where an unscrupulous contractor is effectively holding a pistol to your head because your property is half finished, your funds could be starting to run short and he is able to apply unreasonable leverage to the situation.