If your building project has recently reached practical completion, it is tempting to think the job is finished. It is not. Under most JCT contracts a rectification period follows, often six or twelve months, during which the contractor must put right defects that appear because of its work. Used well, it protects your investment. Ignored, it lets problems become your cost.
Why the period matters
Some defects only show themselves once a building is in use. Heating systems are tested by the first cold spell, roofs and gutters by the first heavy rain, and new plaster by the drying out of the structure. Shrinkage cracks, sticking doors, leaking joints and poor drainage falls are typical. The rectification period is designed to catch these.
The contractor is usually entitled to put the defects right itself, rather than simply paying for someone else to do it. That is why it is important not to bring in another builder without following the contract.
What owners should do
- Keep a defects log. Record each problem with the date, location and a photograph. For a block of flats, ask residents to report through one point of contact.
- Report urgent items straight away. A leak cannot wait until the end of the period.
- Do not fix things yourself. Unless the contract allows it and the contractor has been given the chance, you may lose the right to recover the cost.
- Plan the final inspection. Inspect shortly before the period ends, so the schedule of defects can be issued in time.
- Use a full winter if you can. A twelve month period tests the building through every season.
Retention and the final account
Most contracts allow the employer to hold back a retention from each payment. Part is commonly released at practical completion and the rest once defects have been made good at the end of the rectification period. That retention is your leverage, so the final release should follow a proper inspection, not just the passing of a date.
Once the defects are made good, the contract administrator issues the certificate of making good, and the final account and final certificate follow. Agreeing the final account promptly avoids disputes dragging on.
The RICS guidance on final account procedures is a useful reference. Our Contract Administration service runs projects through to the final certificate. See how we saw a whole development through completion.