Foreword

Long accepted as an industry standard, the JCT Standard Building Contract has a tried and tested track record, lending a reassuring familiarity to those whose job it is to administer it. The new edition, SBC16, continues the familiar logical layout and clear drafting style, which makes it easy to adopt and easy to run. Changes in working practices and case law are all reflected in the new versions of the contract.

Sarah Lupton’s Guide to JCT Standard Building Contract 2016, which follows on from her excellent Guide to SBC11, is a straightforward and comprehensive analysis of the new form in the light of today’s legal and practice landscape. Not only does she point out the important new changes, particularly to those provisions concerned with payment and insurance, but she reflects on recent cases which serve as valuable reminders. The contract’s provisions, procedures and supplementary conditions are spelled out knowledgeably and are organised by theme. The hard-pressed practitioner will be particularly pleased to see the useful indexes, and will doubtless come to depend on being able to dip quickly into the book for specific help during the course of a job.

I would also thoroughly recommend the book to both architecture and other construction students on the threshold of undertaking their professional examinations. The comprehensive up-to-date coverage clearly and succinctly exposes the legal ramifications of the contract. Sarah Lupton’s rare combination of being a legally-trained architect who also runs the MA in Professional Studies at the Welsh School of Architecture makes this book the ideal student companion.

Neil Gower, Solicitor
Chief Executive, The Joint Contracts Tribunal
May 2017