Construction drafting is a central part of commercial property transactions, raising complex issues of law, interpretation and procedure. The key to addressing these issues lies in having rapid access to draft forms of agreement and specialist expertise based on a sound understanding of industry practice, case-law and current legislation.

Manual of Construction Agreements is a complete guide to all aspects of the relevant law and practice. Richard Cockram, one of the country's leading construction lawyers, provides detailed and authoritative commentary and a review of all standard form agreements relevant to the UK construction market. In addition there is an exhaustive suite of over 100 expertly drafted forms and precedents, together with comprehensive annotations.

It is regularly updated to cover relevant developments in construction law and practice, and is fully up-to-date with the recent amendments to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, effected by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.

The CD-ROM contains fillable Word documents of forms and precedents for use in connection with building and civil engineering contracts, particularly in cases incorporating the JCT 2011 or ICE or NEC standard forms, and the related appointment of consultants and ancillary documentation.  

2012 Subscription Information

Loose-leaf + CD-ROM
£325.00 mainwork inc mainland UK p&p
2 updates per year (approx. £275.00 each, invoiced upon publication)

Richard Cockram, Consultant, Addleshaw Goddard, Leeds

Part A Law and Practice

• The Nature of Construction Contracts
• The JCT Contracts
• Non-JCT Construction Contracts
• Standard Form Consultants' Appointments
• Collateral Warranties and Third Party Rights
• Guarantee Bonds and Parent Company Guarantees
• Insurance
• Assignment
• Novation
• Letters of Intent
• The CDM Regulations
• Relevant Legislation
• Dispute Resolution: Litigation and Arbitration
• Dispute Resolution: Adjudication, Expert Determination and ADR
• The Form and Content of Deeds and Documents
• The Execution of Deeds and Other Documents

Part B Forms

• Consultants' Appointments
• Amendments to JCT Contracts
• Amendments to ICE Contracts
• Amendments to NEC/ECC Contract
• Management Contracting
• Collateral Warranties
• Novations
• Letters of Intent
• Surety Documents
• Miscellaneous

Update 12 (March 2012)

Update 12 consists of revisions and additions to all 15 Chapters in Part A (Law and Practice) and revisions to Part B, Forms 1–22 (Appointments), Forms 47–53 (Amendments to JCT Contracts), Form 60 (Amendments to the NEC3 engineering and construction contract) and Forms 86, 90 and 93 (Surety Documents). Forms 58 and 59 (Amendments to ICE Conditions) are replaced by amendments to the Infrastructure Conditions of Contract 2011, by which the ICE forms have been superseded.

Some of the revisions to Part A and the changes to Forms 47–53 and 60 flow from the coming fully into force on 1 October 2011 of Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, amending Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Form 60 has been further revised, to address various features of or omissions from the NEC3 form that have been raised by a number of commentators.

The announcement of a commencement date for Part 8 of the 2009 Act triggered the publication of new editions of or supplements to the JCT forms and of or to a number of other forms of construction contract, terms of engagement or other publications reviewed in Chapter 2, 3, 4 or 5. Some of the revisions to those and other Chapters result from the publication of these new editions and supplements.

The more substantial new content of Part A covers various case–law and other material relevant to law and practice.
Chapter 1 covers the revised BCO guide to selecting construction materials, the new BRE Environmental Assessment Method and the DCLG Code for Sustainable Homes. A new section covers Project Bank Accounts, and another, the Construction Industry Tax Deduction Scheme.