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Building Contract Administration in Practice: A Plain-English Guide for Client-Side Practitioners
Paperback
Business GeneralGeneral Architecture
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 4 2026
Pages: 330
Weight: 1.26
Height: 0.69 Width: 7.00 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
Administering a building contract is not the same as simply managing a project.
Once the contract has been signed, everyday decisions can have contractual, financial and legal consequences. A request can become an instruction. A drawing revision can become a variation. A late decision can lead to an extension of time or a claim for additional cost. A poorly handled payment can quickly become a formal dispute.
Building Contract Administration in Practice explains what the client-side practitioner needs to do when these situations arise.
Written in plain English and grounded in practical experience, the book follows the administration of a building project from procurement and contract selection through to completion, defects, the final account and the Final Certificate. It concentrates on the decisions, records, notices and procedures that keep a live building contract under control.
The book explains:
- the role, authority and responsibilities of the Contract Administrator;
- how procurement choices affect the way the contract must be administered;
- what should be checked before the building contract is signed;
- how to issue and record contractual instructions;
- how to distinguish clarification, correction and genuine change;
- what to do when the contractor says work is not included or asks for more money;
- how variations and additional work are valued;
- how interim valuations, payment notices and payment deadlines operate;
- how to assess extensions of time, loss and expense and liquidated damages;
- how to manage programmes, progress, quality, defective work and project records;
- what Practical Completion actually means;
- how to plan commissioning, handover and the rectification of defects; and
- how to close the final account and bring the contractual process properly to an end.
Particular attention is given to the practical questions that formal contract wording does not always answer easily: What should you do first? Who has authority to decide? What evidence should you request? How quickly must you respond? What should be recorded? What happens if the correct procedure is not followed?
The book is intended for client-side project managers, building surveyors, architects, estates professionals, facilities managers, employer's representatives and others who find themselves responsible for administering building work. It will also help students and recent graduates understand how contract-administration theory is applied when a real contractor, valuation, instruction or delay claim is sitting in front of them.
Building Contract Administration in Practice is not a substitute for reading the executed contract or obtaining specialist advice where necessary. It is a practical companion that helps the reader understand the process, ask the right questions and administer the contract with greater confidence, consistency and control.
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