Practical Law

A key concept introduced by Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) is the Accountable Person (AP). Required in relation to every occupied higher-risk building, the AP is the “dutyholder” who has responsibility for the fire and structural safety of the building during occupation. Part 4 provides an overarching skeleton framework for … Continue reading BSA 2022 – the Accountable Person regime and key building information →

In 1999, the first project bank account (PBA) was used on a Ministry of Defence project. Since that time they have been successfully used on a number of high profile major projects, for example Crossrail. The government has promoted their use over the years and, since 2010, it has mandated their use on all government … Continue reading JCT Project Bank Account documentation – what’s changed in 2022? →

In the third and final blog in our series looking at common queries on the roll out of EV infrastructure (see our previous blogs on progress and challenges and landlord and tenant issues) we focus on construction, planning and tax aspects.

The issue of whether a parent company guarantee (PCG) creates a secondary liability (as opposed to a primary obligation) has been taxing the courts again. Reminder: a true “guarantee” is only ever a secondary obligation, governed by the legal doctrine of surety. It is very different from a primary obligation that arises where an indemnity … Continue reading Construing a parent company guarantee: primary or secondary obligation… or both? →

Many changes have been introduced since Grenfell to address the cladding crisis including the establishment of various loans, funds, plans for new regulators, new taxes, levies and new rules to govern building safety throughout the lifetime of a building. Last weekend, news broke of the latest initiative: extending the limitation period for homeowners to claim … Continue reading Proposed changes to the Defective Premises Act →

On 29 April 2021, the government published a consultation on what is to be called the Residential Property Developer Tax (or RPDT). This sets out proposals for the design of a new tax to be charged on the largest residential property developers. The plan is for the tax to be introduced from April 2022 (through … Continue reading How will the new UK residential property developer tax work? →

Where the contractor has become insolvent, what obligations can an employer enforce when stepping-in to a previously novated professional consultant’s appointment in a design and build scenario? A question that routinely arises in practice, this scenario is perhaps more relevant now than ever, not only because of COVID-19 but also because of the Corporate Insolvency … Continue reading Novation, step-in and a potential problem with CIGA 2020 →

For contracts that typically amount to a few pages, collateral warranties undoubtedly generate more than their fair share of case law. Normally, those cases are run of the mill but every now and then one comes along that gives pause for thought. Such was the case for me with the judgment of the Outer House … Continue reading British Overseas Bank v Stewart Milne – spotlight on collateral warranties →

Imagine the scene: you are the responding party to an adjudication and right at the outset you spot that the adjudicator has been incorrectly appointed and does not have jurisdiction. You try to call a halt to the proceedings. The claimant refuses. Surely you can get an injunction? Why go to all the trouble, expense … Continue reading Injunction not granted in ongoing adjudication: Billingford v SMC Building →

Nearly 20 years after the Construction Act 1996 was introduced to stamp out bad payment practices, you would be forgiven for thinking there must be a voluminous pile of case law in relation to the all-important final account. But you would be disappointed. While there is plenty of guidance from the TCC on interim payments, the … Continue reading Final account payments: welcome guidance from the TCC →

The six month transition period for CDM 2015 ends today, 6 October 2015. Since 6 April, transitional provisions have been in place to allow ongoing projects time to adapt to the new regime.  Now that time is up and CDM 2015 is for real. For the last few months, we’ve been scrutinising the detail of … Continue reading CDM 2015: taming the beast →