For commercial clients and developers
Construction Adjudication Process in the UK: Don't Lose a Dispute Over a Missed Notice
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
Construction adjudication is the fast, statutory way to settle a dispute under a UK construction contract. Either party can start it at any time, and the adjudicator must normally decide within 28 days of referral.
- The adjudicator is appointed and the dispute referred within 7 days of the notice.
- The 28 days can be extended by 14 with the referring party's consent, or longer by agreement.
- The decision binds both sides until the dispute is finally settled by court, arbitration or agreement.
- Contracts with a homeowner for work on their own home are mostly outside the Act.
In our experience, many commercial clients who lose money in a building dispute are not wrong about the work. They lose because they missed a notice. The construction adjudication process in the UK rewards whoever keeps the better paperwork, and contractors usually keep it better than clients.
On London projects, we usually sit on the contractor's side of that table. This guide explains how adjudication works, the deadlines that decide most disputes and how to prepare. Planning a project and want fewer disputes about money? Book a site visit.
When construction adjudication applies
The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 is often called the Construction Act. It gives parties to most construction contracts a right to adjudication (with some exclusions). A dispute includes any difference between the parties. Either side can give notice of adjudication at any time.
It covers most commercial and development work: fit-outs, refurbishments, new build and many consultant appointments.
There is one big exception. The Act does not apply to a contract with a residential occupier. That means a contract mainly about work on a home that the client lives in, or plans to live in.
Homeowners can still agree to adjudication in their contract. Otherwise, they use consumer routes and the courts. Our guide for homeowners whose builder is asking for more money covers those routes.
Payment notices: the deadlines that decide most disputes
Here is the insider truth. In our experience, many disputes that reach adjudication are about money, and many are decided by whether a notice was served on time.
The Act, as amended in 2009, sets up a notice system for every payment.
| Step | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Payment notice | Payer (or the contractor, if the payer doesn't) | Not later than 5 days after the payment due date |
| Pay less notice | Payer, if paying less than the notified sum | Before the final date for payment, within the period the contract sets |
| Scheme default for a pay less notice | Applies if the contract is silent | 7 days before the final date for payment |
| Scheme default final date for payment | Applies if the contract is silent | 17 days after the due date |
Miss a valid pay less notice, and you may have to pay the notified sum in full and argue later. A contractor who isn't paid can also suspend any or all of the work after giving notice. It can recover reasonable costs of the suspension.
Contractors know these dates by heart. Clients often learn them in their first dispute. Put every due date and notice deadline in your project calendar on day one.
The construction adjudication process, step by step
The timetable is short by design. Section 108 of the Act sets the core steps.
| Step | What happens | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Notice of adjudication | One party gives written notice of its intention to refer the dispute | At any time |
| 2. Appointment | The adjudicator is agreed, or nominated by an adjudicator nominating body | Within 7 days of the notice, together with step 3 |
| 3. Referral | The referring party sends its full case and evidence | Within 7 days of the notice |
| 4. Response | The other party answers, on a timetable the adjudicator sets | Usually days, not weeks |
| 5. Decision | The adjudicator decides the dispute | Within 28 days of referral |
| 6. Extension | The decision date moves | Up to 14 more days with the referring party's consent, or longer if both agree |
The adjudicator must act impartially. They can take the initiative in finding the facts and the law, so expect questions.
The decision is binding until the dispute is finally decided by a court, by arbitration if the contract provides for it, or by agreement. In the meantime, both parties must comply with it. The parties can also agree to treat it as final.
That makes adjudication pay now, argue later. It is fast and fairly rough. A side that arrives unprepared rarely gets a second chance within the 28 days.
Costs and who pays
There is no fixed price for adjudication, and we won't guess one. What we can tell you is how the costs work.
- The adjudicator's fees. Both parties are jointly and severally liable to pay the adjudicator a reasonable amount.
- Your own costs. Your solicitor, a quantity surveyor and any expert are paid by you.
- Contract terms on costs. A term that tries to allocate the costs of adjudication in advance is generally invalid. The parties can agree costs in writing once the adjudication has started.
Ask your solicitor for a cost estimate before you start. On a small claim, the costs can approach the amount in dispute.
Preparing your case: the records that win
Adjudication is decided on paper. In our experience, the side with the clearer records usually does better. Start keeping them on day one, not when the dispute starts.
On a larger job, an employer's agent can run this paperwork for you. They issue notices, value the work and keep the records an adjudicator will want.
Other routes: negotiation, mediation and court
Adjudication is a right, not a duty. Before you use it, look at the other routes.
- Negotiation. A meeting with the numbers on the table often settles the dispute. Put any agreement in writing.
- Mediation. A neutral mediator helps both sides reach a deal. It is voluntary and private, and nobody is bound unless they agree.
- Adjudication. Fast and binding for now, but rough. Best for clear money disputes.
- Court or arbitration. Final, slower and more expensive. Your contract says which applies.
For homeowners outside the Act, claims up to £10,000 can go to the county court's small claims track.
Avoiding disputes in the first place
The cheapest adjudication is the one that never happens. In our experience, many disputes start with changes that were never priced or agreed in writing.
With us, variations are only agreed in writing and priced before the work. That one habit heads off many arguments about money at the end of a job. Our guide to variations in construction contracts shows how to run a change process.
Read the payment section of our JCT Design and Build Contract guide before you sign. Check the payment dates, the notice periods and who serves which notice.
If a valuation looks wrong, take advice before the notice deadlines start to bite. Planning your next project? Want fewer disputes about money? Book a site visit.
The records that win adjudications
- The signed contract, with every amendment and appendix.
- Every payment notice and pay less notice, with proof of when it was sent.
- Written instructions for every change, with the agreed price and time.
- A variation register: what changed, who asked, when, and the agreed value.
- Dated site photos, progress reports and meeting minutes.
- Emails and messages about delays, defects and late information.
