ABSTRACT
The Construction Act is two parts of two Acts of Parliament enacted to deal with several issues. The first, principal Act is the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Housing grants and regeneration are irrelevant to construction and the relevant section is Part 2. This part also deals with two separate issues, statutory adjudication and payment, the objects being to allow speedy and economical resolution of disputes under construction contracts and to ensure contractual agreements to pay (particularly on account) are fair and require prompt payment. The second, subsidiary Act is the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Its purpose is to make some incremental improvements to the operation of the adjudication and payment machinery in the principal Act and to curtail certain abuses in contracts. These include the use of ‘pay when certified’ clauses.
