Building & Construction Law & Lawyers

Building and construction law relates to all types of disputes which might arise during a building project, from conservatories to large commercial redevelopments. The law covers disputes between customer and builder, builders and sub-contractors, disputes with architects, surveyors and engineers. Often building and construction disputes involve complaints about the standard and quality of construction work or delay in getting the job done.

If you have a legal matter involving any issue regarding building and construction, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Broadly speaking Building and Construction Lawyers handle all legal disputes arising from the building and construction process - from land acquisition and construction to management of post-construction settlements.

Building and Construction Lawyers handle all aspects of building, construction and development including:

• Home Building Act 1989
• Professional liability & negligence
• Joint venture & business negotiation
• Construction claims
• Building & Construction Industry Security of Payment Act
• Tribunal & Court attendances
• Insurance claims advice
• Home warranty claims
• Building protection works
• Claims resolution
• Construction litigation
• Risk management
• Arbitration & mediation
• Contract interpretation, administration & advice
• Debt recovery
• Construction Contracts and Payment Schedules
• Insolvency & bankruptcy

Some examples of advice provided by Building and construction lawyers:

• legal issues arising from improvements of all sizes;
• complex government building and construction projects;
• commercial and industrial building and construction projects;
• multi-storey developments;
• complex building, construction and development matters;
• house renovations and home improvements;
• house construction including kit homes;
• additions and alterations to houses and residences; and
• claims under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act.

If you have a legal matter involving any issue regarding building and construction, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Building and Construction Lawyers

Building and Construction Lawyers can advise on a wide range of both contention and non-contentious construction issues for all types of clients such as:

• developers
• builders
• owner builders
• investors
• contractors
• project managers and other professionals.

In relation to contentious matters, building and constructions lawyers can place a strong emphasis upon acting alongside their client in order to avoid developing disputes. Where negotiation or mediation is inappropriate, building and constructions lawyers have a robust and vigorous approach to the resolution of disputes by adjudication, arbitration, litigation or expert determination as circumstances require.

If you have a legal matter involving any issue regarding building and construction, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Building & Construction Lawyers generally specialise in advising clients with respect to the following building and construction issues:

• Contentious and non-contentious building disputes
• Construction contracts and the role of industry professionals
• Standard form and bespoke contracts
• Risk management
• Tactical and strategic advice
• Pre-emptive advice and dispute resolution
• Construction sector professional negligence

Areas of Practice of a building and construction lawyer:

• Procurement methods
• Negotiation of building contracts
• Professional appointments
• Collateral warranties
• Project management agreements

Construction focuses around contentious and non-contentious work. The former involves early dispute resolution through settlements, arbitration, third party mediation or finally, litigation and adjudication.

Non-contentious work includes: preparation and negotiations on building projects, assisting on areas of procurement of various resources and materials, and advising on environment, health and safety, insurance and other matters.

If you have a legal matter involving any issue regarding building and construction, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Projects can include segments other than construction, like infrastructure projects for roads, hospitals, public amenities, and prisons; industry-specific projects such as those in oil & gas production, operations in power generation, water and hydroelectric projects such as dams, reservoirs and so on.

A projects’ lawyer works in collaboration with other colleagues and professionals in project finance and real estate/property to see projects through to fruition. The movement towards Public Private Partnerships (PPP) has seen the advent of private finance and management into what previously was governmental domain, and many public projects are today executed with Private Finance Initiative, not only in the establishment and execution phase, but also in running future operations and management of such enterprises.

If you have a legal matter involving any issue regarding building and construction, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

What is involved in Construction Law?

As stated above, most Construction lawyers who practice in non-contentious areas of the field work on:

(a) negotiating and drafting agreements between interested parties such as the property company or landowners, builders, architects, engineers, contractors and sub-contractors;
(b) coordinate with other legal departments in finance and real estate to complete the necessary due-diligence, conditions-precedent and funding of the project;
(c) obtain necessary civil and municipal approvals and sanctions from local authorities;
(d) monitor progress of the construction with periodic site visits and meetings with stakeholders; and
(e) on completion and handover of the project as per contractual terms, and assist in completing registration, tax and other formalities.
(f) compliance with the Building & Construction Industry Security of Payment Act

Contentious practice, as mentioned above comes into play when disputes arise at any stage of construction, or after completion. In the past, litigation was resorted to frequently to resolve disputes, given the large amounts of money and certain loopholes in existing law which made it easier to litigate endlessly. But in recent years legal reforms and tighter regulation within the industry have ensured that the use of litigation as a means of dispute resolution has been strictly curbed.

If you have a legal matter involving a dispute with a builder, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

The rule of thumb in the construction industry today is that all agreements must have distinct provisions on alternative dispute resolution, should future issues arise. Arbitration is a mandatory clause in some of the newer lot of contracts, and if it becomes necessary to seek judicial intervention, then the dispute should be resolved through adjudication.

If you need a building and construction lawyer, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.