Choose the form before filling it in
JCT's homeowner contracts are intended for people appointing consultants or contractors for work to their home. Its separate Design and Build Contract addresses projects in which the contractor undertakes design and construction, rather than only a limited design element. Neither description means that the form fits every project without review. [2] [3]
Identify who will administer the contract, assess payments and issue instructions. In JCT design & build, that role is normally associated with the employer's agent. A designer preparing drawings does not acquire every construction-administration duty merely by being involved in the project. [3]
Complete the project-specific terms
Before signature, check the parties' legal names and the documents forming the scope. Then settle the price basis, payment schedule, start and completion arrangements, design allocation, insurance, changes and the process for resolving problems. JCT's homeowner guidance expressly includes the work, price, payment, planning responsibility and access arrangements. [2]
Prepare a document register identifying each drawing and specification by revision, plus accepted quotations and clarifications. Ask the adviser to explain how inconsistencies will be resolved. Before signing, request removal or clear marking of superseded documents and check that the accepted exclusions appear in the final package.
Check consumer and business distinctions
A homeowner buying services as a consumer has statutory protections, including reasonable care and skill and certain binding pre-contract information. A contract should be reviewed alongside those protections rather than assumed to replace them. [4] [5]
Do not copy a developer's payment or dispute clauses into a home project without checking their effect. The Court of Appeal's 29 April 2026 judgment in RBH v James confirms the importance of the Construction Act's residential-occupier exception; a person's actual occupation or qualifying intention to occupy matters. [6]
Read amendments as carefully as the standard form
Ask for an explanation of every bespoke amendment. It may change the risk allocation, deadlines or available remedies even though the front cover still bears a familiar contract name. JCT's review of its 2024 Design and Build Contract also shows why optional provisions and the selected particulars matter. [7]
As at 2 October 2026, the Commercial Payments Bill remains a proposal, not a replacement for the current contractual payment arrangements. Re-check its eventual scope and commencement for later contracts. Obtain project-specific advice before accepting unfamiliar legal terms. [8]