Checking your Obligations Under your Building Contract

It is common knowledge that most of the industry shuts down for at least two weeks from 23 December (or thereabouts).  This also means that your subbies, suppliers and even transport companies are also likely to be closed during this time.   

With contracts on foot, the completion timeframes in your contract/s might already take into account the time that your company will be closed.  Others which might have been scheduled to finish before Christmas might have been pushed out due to extension of time claims.  You don’t want to come back to work and find that you haven’t taken into account the two weeks (or if you’re lucky, even longer) into your calculations and your completion date is sooner than you expect!  

Make sure to review your contract as to whether or not you will need to make an extension of time claim.  

 It is also a good chance to notify your clients of when the works will cease for 2020 and recommence in 2021 as well as clearly setting out the basic rules (e.g. access) that apply to the site during the construction period (such as not taking the interstate relatives through the partially completed house).