Contract law for construction lawyers

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

The law of contract and the law of tort are central elements of construction law. This sub-topic brings together key guidance in relation to contract law, focusing on the basic principles and also identifying content that is considered to be of importance to construction lawyers. It looks at the formation of contracts—which may be written, oral, partly oral and partly written, or implied entirely from the conduct of the parties, and considers how the courts interpret contracts. It also looks at topics surrounding variation,

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Existing user? Sign-in TAKE A FREE TRIAL
Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Construction News

Building liability orders and information orders—vital guidance from the TCC (BDW Trading v Ardmore Construction)

Construction analysis: The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) refused an application to grant orders for information in connection with building liability orders (BLOs), sought under section 132 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). It found that three of the four respondents were not entities against whom information orders could be made. As for the remaining respondent, it did not appear to the court that that entity was subject to a 'relevant liability', within the meaning of BSA 2022, s 130. This appears to be the first case in which the court has considered an application for an information order, and provides abundant practical guidance on the scope of BSA 2022, s 132.

JCT releases 2024 editions of CM, MC, FA, Adj, PBA, and DAB contract families

The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) has released the 2024 editions of its Construction Management (CM), Management Building (MC), Framework Agreement (FA), Adjudication Agreement (Adj), Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB), and Project Bank Account (PBA) contract families. Reference copies of these documents will shortly be available on Lexis+ Construction, under our sub-topic ‘JCT contracts 2024’ (within the main topic, ‘Standard form construction contracts’, or via Practice Note: JCT contracts 2024 - reference copies).

Adjudication and insolvency—interface of two statutory regimes affecting the construction industry

Construction analysis: Adjudication has become a key tool in the construction industry, helping employers and contractors resolve disputes quickly and keep cash flowing on projects. But when insolvency enters the picture, things can get tricky—especially when it comes to enforcing adjudication decisions or allowing insolvent parties to take part in the process. In this insight, we take a closer look at the legal approach to the interaction between adjudication and insolvency in England and Wales and Singapore, and what to look forward to in Hong Kong SAR as the Construction Industry Security of Payment Ordinance was gazetted on 27 December 2024 and will come to effect fully on 28 August 2025.

MHCLG publishes translated versions of response to Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published translated versions of the executive summary and chapter one of its response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry's Phase 2 report. These translations are available in eleven languages, including Amharic, Arabic, Farsi, Italian, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

View Construction by content type :  
News
Practice notes
Precedents
Q&As

Popular documents

Duty to warn

Duty to warnThis Practice Note examines the extent to which contractors, sub-contractors and consultants have a duty to warn their employer of inadequacies that they discover in designs that have been produced, or works that have been carried out, by others.If a contractor or a sub-contractor

Implied terms in construction contracts

Implied terms in construction contractsThe implication of terms into a contract is a large and complicated area of law. Sometimes, a particular term will be implied automatically into all contracts of a specific type, either by statute or by common law. In other cases, implied terms are a way of

How can a party recover for damage caused to its property by construction works undertaken on a

How can a party recover for damage caused to its property by construction works undertaken on a neighbouring property by a subcontractor, and should the claim be brought against the neighbour, the main contractor or the subcontractor?Liability in tort may arise in a number of different ways in

A sub-contractor carrying out piling works damaged underground utilities at the site. The main contractor

A sub-contractor carrying out piling works damaged underground utilities at the site. The main contractor thought it had located the utilities before starting the works, but had not. The employer commenced proceedings against the contractor, but has since learned of the sub-contractor’s involvement.
Duty to warn

Duty to warn

Duty to warnThis Practice Note examines the extent to which contractors, sub-contractors and consultants have a duty to warn their employer of inadequacies that they discover in designs that have been produced, or works that have been carried out, by others.If a contractor or a sub-contractor

Implied terms in construction contracts

Implied terms in construction contracts

Implied terms in construction contractsThe implication of terms into a contract is a large and complicated area of law. Sometimes, a particular term will be implied automatically into all contracts of a specific type, either by statute or by common law. In other cases, implied terms are a way of

How can a party recover for damage caused to its property by construction works undertaken on a

How can a party recover for damage caused to its property by construction works undertaken on a

How can a party recover for damage caused to its property by construction works undertaken on a neighbouring property by a subcontractor, and should the claim be brought against the neighbour, the main contractor or the subcontractor?Liability in tort may arise in a number of different ways in

A sub-contractor carrying out piling works damaged underground utilities at the site. The main contractor

A sub-contractor carrying out piling works damaged underground utilities at the site. The main contractor

A sub-contractor carrying out piling works damaged underground utilities at the site. The main contractor thought it had located the utilities before starting the works, but had not. The employer commenced proceedings against the contractor, but has since learned of the sub-contractor’s involvement.