Payment Provisions In Construction Contracts

When the amendments to the Housing Grants (Construction and Regeneration) Act 1996 ("the Construction Act") were introduced by Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 ("the New Act") it was not entirely clear how the changes in the payment provisions section would impact on the behaviour of parties to construction contracts. In the year since our last Annual Review the first wave of case law relating to these amended provisions has been reported. The message appears relatively clear; employers, get the payless notice process wrong at your peril. However, as is so often the case when new law develops, even relatively clear legal principles often give rise to spin off issues, and questions.