Valuations for interim certificates

Under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, a party to a construction contract in excess of 45 days in duration is entitled to interim or stage payments. Every construction contract should include provision for interim payments.

Interim payments are determined in accordance with the contract. This could be by such methods as valuing the quantity of work completed at stages throughout the process. Alternatively, it could be by agreed amounts to be paid at certain dates or when a milestone has been achieved. The process and terms should be set out in the contract.

Procedures for stage or milestone payments are becoming more common, but valuing work completed on a periodic basis is still the most widely used procedure, particularly under JCT contracts. NEC contracts adopt different language and mechanisms, but the underlying principle is the same: a fair and transparent assessment of what is due at each point in time.

This section is maintained by David Shaw of Torridon.

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