Is It Time To Release Retention As We Know It?

Retentions have been a common feature in the construction industry for over 100 years, yet over the past two years there has been a growing shift in the construction industry's views on retentions and whether reform of retention as we know it is required. Adele Parsons discusses these recent developments further.

From the Government's initial consultation on retention payments in the construction industry in October 2017,¹ to the collapse of Carillion in early 2018 which left millions in unpaid retentions, and the ever increasing number of construction company insolvencies that followed,² it became apparent that the current retention system is weighted heavily in favour of those holding retentions, while offering little or no protection or regulation for those providing retentions.