Contract types for house building

selfbuild17

Hello

We have provisionally agreed to sign an RIAI form of contract with our main contractor.

There is no Architect involved in the build, there is an Arch Tech and Engineer.

Can anyone tell me if it is usual to use the RIAI contract where there is no registered Architect involved?

I presume the contract makes reference to "the Architect", does that preclude the use of the contract where another professional (Engineer ,Arch Tech or Surveyor) is acting in the main consultants role? If it's clear in the preambles who the 'Architect' is, is that sufficient?

I presume that the RIAI contracts are the most suitable for house building but I want to be sure that it's ok to use them where there is nor registered architect involved...

bemak

The contract is between you the client and the builder - the architect or architectural technician in this case is the contract administrator. architectural technicians are registered with the RIAI as well, I presume yours is seeing as he's using an RIAI Form of Contract as these contracts are only available for purchase to members.

Maybe just ring the RIAI to make sure.

selfbuild17

I don't think my Arch Tech is registered with RIAI.

You can buy the RIAI contracts here:https://www.scsi.ie/shop/list_products


What other suitable standard contracts are available for builds that don't involve an RIAI member?

Does the RIAI contract allow for a non-RIAI member to act as the contract administrator or "Architect"?

bemak

selfbuild17 wrote: »

Does the RIAI contract allow for a non-RIAI member to act as the contract administrator or "Architect"?

I would assume not but again, give them a quick ring, they're happy to help on these kinda matters.

Gumbo

bemak wrote: »

I would assume not but again, give them a quick ring, they're happy to help on these kinda matters.

We used the RIAI blue form of contract for every domestic job. (Consulting Engineers). We bought the contracts from the RIAI.

bemak

kceire wrote: »

We used the RIAI blue form of contract for every domestic job. (Consulting Engineers). We bought the contracts from the RIAI.

Good to know! I also didn't know they could be purchased outside the RIAI either.

Apparently, the Blue contract is the most versatile. A lecturer once told us once that by using it, you put the onus back on the contractor's QS - for example in cases where you mightn't have specified say the screw to hold a piece of trim or something it's up to the contractor/QS to know that if the trim has been specified it's a given that the screws are too, as opposed to the Yellow version which puts the onus on you or your QS to ensure everything has been accounted for. That's my understanding of it - happy to be corrected. The lecturer also noted that, as the drawings take precedence, you need to have such things like PC Sums and Contingency noted on the drawings so that they form part of the contact. Again, happy to be corrected on that too!

Gumbo

bemak wrote: »

Good to know! I also didn't know they could be purchased outside the RIAI either.

This was also 2002-2009 (since left company).
So it may have changed but I deffo used official original documents from the RIAI.

Hopefully it was all legal

bemak

kceire wrote: »

This was also 2002-2009 (since left company).
So it may have changed but I deffo used official original documents from the RIAI.

Hopefully it was all legal

I'm sure it was. The reason why I presume that you had to be a member to use them was because of the RIAIs dispute resolution that's woven into the contract. Not sure how this would work as a non-member.

Metric Tensor

For house building I think the best available in this country at the moment are the RIAI Blue / Yellow forms.

Most of the others out there are targeting at specific project types that are very different to a "standard" house build.

I hadn't thought about the dispute resolution stuff bemak - well noted!

bemak

just to follow up on the potential dispute resolution issue, Clause 38(a) states the following:

If a dispute arises between the parties with regard to any of the provisions of the Contract such dispute shall be referred to conciliation in accordance with the Conciliation Procedures published by the RIAI in agreement with the Society of Chartered Surveyors and the Construction Industry Federation.

If a settlement of the dispute is not reached under the Conciliation Procedures either party may refer the dispute to arbitration in accordance with Clause 38(b).

note: the specimen copy of the RIAI contracts I'm referring to are from 2002. They have been revised since.

selfbuild17

Thanks folks, I think we are safe to go with the RIAI contract so.

selfbuild17

That doesn’t sound like the smartest idea. The RIAI presumably put a lot of resources into preparing those contracts and would pursue you if they heard you were copying or redistributing them. Plus, the contract is there to help you in any disputes with the builder, I’d imagine you’d be open to being reported to the RIAI if you had a nasty dispute with the builder and were using the conditions of the contract against him

I wouldn’t fancy bringing a contractor to court for breach of contract either if it was known that the contract itself was based on a copyright infringement. Kinda undermines the whole reason of having a contract in the first place.