ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ethical dilemmas construction professionals are likely to encounter as the project is concluded and the building is handed over to the client. At this stage, the RIBA Plan of Work identifies two discrete phases of activity. First, the handover and defects liability period, which can last from 6 months to a number of years if the soft landings protocol has been enacted. Following on from this, the building enters its longest phase: occupancy. During this period the building is likely to undergo phases of refurbishment or extension that would constitute projects as outlined in this book and would once again be subject to all the various phases of professional activity and the subsequent ethical dilemmas the book outlines. Other professionals will now be involved, including building surveying and facilities management colleagues, as the building responds to use and begins to deteriorate, thus necessitating maintenance interventions. This of course does not remove the ethical dilemmas; it simply introduces a series of new ethical considerations that this chapter will examine.
