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 recommendations against them, the English courts have confirmed that it is NEITHER negligent NOR bad practice to start a project under a letter of intent.
But you do need to take these warnings into account:
- You could be negligent in letting a project continue under a letter of intent (see Ampleforth)
- You should not use a letter of intent until the key project details have been agreed (listed in this blog, see Cunningham)
- You should never see them as an alternative to the full contract (DBWiki)
- Your letter of intent will never give you the benefits of the full contract (and are ‘the road to hell‘)
- Your letter of intent can be a recipe for disaster.
The key is to use letters of intent sparingly and wisely.
What should you do?
To check if your letter of intent is ‘good to go’ or a ‘disaster waiting to happen’ download a free Checklist.
To write a better letter download your free template.
To learn how to use letters of intent sparingly and wisely, and avoid their key pitfalls, check out my video series.
