It’s not necessarily good or bad to use a letter of intent. Depending on who you believe, letters of intent may be considered ‘necessary evil’, a sign that the project has gone wrong, evidence of a defective contract strategy or a means to the right end. Despite the many clear
Letters of intent can be recommended in specific circumstances: in view of the perceived importance of achieving early completion and, specifically, early commencement of the works, it was acceptable to advise commencing [the project] under a letter of intent rather than waiting until a formal building contract could be executed.”
Whether you can avoid a letter of intent depends on where you are in the contract process – are you at the stage of deciding your contract strategy or are you about to start the construction phase? It can either be a strategic or tactical decision… Strategic If the client
The UK Government’s Construction 2025 report says that our industry’s success depends on taking a strategic approach to contracts: Repeat customers… approach the industry in a strategic way and secure a better outcome, particularly in the context of whole life value – and generally through the early engagement of key
When discussing letters of intent, this blog has so far focused almost exclusively on the current (dire) examples in use in the UK construction industry. These are mostly a mish mash of types of contract, cobbled together and sent with fingers firmly crossed behind the sender’s back. After talks on
Collected at last, links to my LinkedIn posts on letters of intent A How Can You Accept a Letter of Intent What is the legal equivalent of ‘hell yes’? B What to Do Before Sending A Letter of Intent Searching questions to check a letter of intent is the right
The contract administrator on a construction project is the ‘coordinator and guardian of the client’s interests‘. She is critical in finalising the building contract. In Ampleforth v TTPM the court reviewed her role and said that whilst the contract administrator was not under any absolute obligation to get the contract signed…
This statement perfectly explains why letters of intent are meant to be temporary: The execution of a contract is to be seen not as a mere aspiration but rather as fundamental. It is the contract that defines the rights, duties and remedies of the parties and that regulates their relationships.
What is the long-term impact of transferring all the risk on a construction project to the contractor? In April 2016, defects found in 17 schools in Edinburgh resulted in those schools being closed to pupils. Like design and build, construction management and other procurement strategies, the Private Finance Initiative schemes
Do we hate paperwork so much that we are prepared to start multi-million pound construction projects without a contract? The data The NBS Contracts and Law Survey 2018 (like its predecessors) highlights that roughly 1/3 of projects start without a proper contract being finalised. Like the 2015 survey it found: