Guide to JCT Standard Building Contract 2016

7Payment

7.1 One of the most important duties of the contract administrator under SBC16, and one to be carried out with care, is the issuing of certificates of payment. It is not unheard of for contractors to become insolvent during the course of a contract, and if the certificates have been overvalued the employer may suffer losses that could have been avoided. On the other hand, the contractor has a right to be paid what the terms of the contract state is due, and the contract administrator must not be influenced by any attempt on the part of the employer to delay certification or withhold amounts properly due.

7.2 Failure to certify correctly could amount to negligence. In the case of Sutcliffe v Thackrah the House of Lords reversed its own ...