Licences

Licences

Licences are entered into for various reasons in connection with construction projects.

Licences are used to give the owner of property a means of giving permission to a third party to access, occupy and/or use their property (or part of it) for a period of time and for specific purposes so that the third party (typically the contractor) is not trespassing by accessing that land for those purposes.

The most common licences entered into in respect of construction projects are:

•
oversail licence—licence entered into between a developer and/or its contractor and the owner of adjoining land over which the contractor’s crane needs to oversail (ie travel over) to give the developer and/or the contractor the adjoining owner’s permission for the crane to swing over their land and to agree the terms of use of the crane. See Practice Note: Oversail licences and Precedent: Crane oversailing licence—with tenant. With regard to the use of cranes, see also Q&A: Does the Tower Cranes register still exist?
•
scaffold licence—licence entered into where a contractor needs to erect scaffolding for the purposes of its works on land belonging

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Construction News

MHCLG publishes guidance for Responsible Entities on the Developer Remediation Contract

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance to assist Responsible Entities working with developers who have signed the Developer Remediation Contract (DRC). The guidance sets out the terms of the DRC and developers’ obligations, aiming to ensure all parties clearly understand these responsibilities throughout the remediation process. It also provides advice on adopting collaborative approaches to remediation projects.

MHCLG announces Building Safety Regulator reforms to accelerate housebuilding

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced a package of reforms to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), aimed at accelerating housebuilding and remediation work. Key changes include: (1) the introduction of a new Fast Track Process, designed to integrate building inspector and engineer capacity into the BSR to expedite the processing and review of existing newbuild cases and remediation decisions; (2) leadership changes, with Andy Roe KFSM appointed as non-executive chair of a new MHCLG shadow board, which will oversee the transition of the BSR’s functions from the Health and Safety Executive, as part of initial steps towards establishing a single construction regulator, and Charlie Pugsley named as the new Chief Executive Officer of the BSR; and (3) further investment, with the recruitment of over 100 new staff to enhance the BSR’s operational capacity.

SSRO consults on proposed updates to baseline profit rate methodology

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has launched a consultation on proposed updates to the baseline profit rate (BPR) methodology for defence-related single source contracts. The updates respond to changes in the Nomenclature of Economic Activities (NACE) database and aim to align company size thresholds with new UK regulations. The consultation also seeks to resolve two outstanding proposals from the 2024 phase 2 consultation on the BPR methodology. The BPR methodology is used to determine initial profit rates for Ministry of Defence contracts let without competition, known as Qualifying Defence Contracts and Qualifying Sub-Contracts. The consultation closes on 11 August 2025.

The JCT Target Cost Contract 2024—an introduction

Construction analysis: The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) released its much anticipated Target Cost Contract 2024 family on 25 June 2025. This is the first form of target cost contract published by the JCT, representing a major addition to its suite. In this article, we look at the key features of this contract family, including its payment and difference sharing mechanisms.