What does a contract administrator do?

The role and the title

The role is not protected. Anyone competent may administer a building contract. JCT's forms name the role by a title that depends on who holds it; JCT's practice note lists the alternatives. One of those titles is protected by statute: only a person on the statutory register may practise or carry on business under it (1997 c. 22, section 20(1)). Anyone else who holds the role is the contract administrator. The same section also provides that it does not affect the validity of a building contract in customary form.

What the contract administrator does under Minor Works

JCT publishes a pack of model administration forms for MW 2024 and MWD 2024. The list of forms is a fair summary of the job:

JCT's practice note says its contracts, apart from the Home Owner forms, take account of the Construction Act. Under Minor Works the interim certificate states what is due, and a pay less notice is needed to pay less: the machinery of sections 110A and 111 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. On a home you live in, the Act itself does not apply (section 106), but the contract still does. See payment and retention for homeowners.

Two things make the job harder than the list suggests. JCT's comparison table shows that Minor Works has no detailed rules for valuing variations, so each change needs a clear instruction and a price agreed or fairly assessed against the priced documents. And the practical completion certificate triggers several things at once, covered in practical completion and the rectification period.

Acting fairly between the parties

The contract administrator is the client's agent when giving instructions. For valuations, certificates and extensions of time, the job is different. JCT's practice note describes the traditional role as an independent contract administrator. NBS's review of the RIBA Building Contracts 2018 notes situations where the contract administrator is required to act impartially, and warns that getting this wrong can make the work cost more, finish later and end in dispute.

In practice, that means an extension of time is granted if the contract says the contractor is entitled to it, whether or not the client wants the building sooner. RICS makes the same point from the other side: the person certifying practical completion should not owe duties to the contractor, which can happen where designers are novated to a design and build contractor.

Which contracts have one

Does a homeowner need one?

No law requires it. JCT's HO/B exists for homeowners who deal with the builder directly, and JCT's practice note suggests consultants on small domestic jobs might recommend it where they provide only part of a service.

What you give up without one is a person who checks the work before each payment, prices changes, and decides delay and completion on the contract's terms. If you plan to pay against valuations, expect changes, or are living in the house during the work, those are the decisions you would otherwise make yourself.

How fees are charged

Contract administration can be charged as a percentage of the construction cost, as a fixed fee, or by time. JCT's HO/CA consultancy agreement has a section for the consultant's services and fees. We have not found a current, published survey of contract administration fees on their own, so we do not quote a figure. See design and professional fees for the wider picture.

What this means for you

If your project is more than a straightforward job with one builder and a fixed price, the contract administrator's decisions on payment, changes, delay and completion are where money is won or lost. Decide at the start whether someone will make them for you.

Parallel Architecture administers building contracts on projects it has designed and on others where the design is complete: see tender and contract administration.