Adjudication, Records, and the £180,000.00 Lesson.

About this episode

Jacob Austin explains adjudication in construction, focusing on its commercial benefits and the importance of proper record-keeping.

Jacob Austin unpacks adjudication in Episode 138 of The Subcontractors Blueprint — cutting through the fear around it to explain why it's a commercial lever, not a last resort. He breaks down two routes available under the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996: the smash-and-grab adjudication for enforcement of a notified sum when pay-less notices are missed, and the true value route for deeper valuation disputes. More critically, he explains what makes a claim winnable - and why most subcontractors lose before the adjudicator is ever appointed, through poor records, missed notice windows, and applications that don't meet the statutory standard. Key Takeaways A smash-and-grab adjudication only works if your payment application clearly states the sum and the basis of calculation, a vague applications undermine your position before the argument even begins. Under the S&T v Grove Court of Appeal decision, if payer fails to serve a valid pay-less notice, they must pay the notified sum in full first - any argument about valuation happens after payment. Subcontractors don't lose adjudications because their claims were wrong — they lose…

People in this episode

Host: Jacob Austin

Topics covered

• adjudication
• construction law
• subcontracting
• payment disputes
• record keeping

Keywords

• adjudication
• subcontractors
• payment application
• construction law
• record keeping

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, S&T v Grove Court of Appeal, JCT

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