This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes analysis of a case in which the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) considered the 'residential occupier’ exclusion set out in the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 in the context of adjudication enforcement (RHB v James), further commentary on the TCC’s decision in Jaevee Homes Ltd v Fincham, in which the judge found that parties had concluded a construction contract through the exchange of WhatsApp messages, as well as the publication of data on construction output for Q2 2025 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The seller’s liability will depend on the terms of the contract. If the contract provides for a sale with vacant possession, then the seller will be in breach if the tenant is still in occupation on completion. The obligation to give vacant possession becomes operable on completion and remains actionable after completion (regardless of whether the contract contains a non-merger clause). See Practice Notes: Vacant possession and Liability for breach of property contract after completion. If

Advertising In relation to the sale of perishable goods to the end consumer, see Practice Notes: • Food advertising: this Practice Note considers the law and practice of food advertising to consumers including health and nutrition claims and special issues in relation to advertising food to children including high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products. It covers relevant provisions from the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277, the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (UK CAP) and UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP), and various European Regulations • Advertising to children: this Practice Note summarises the key issues that arise when you are advertising to children. It covers the regulatory regime, different advertising channels and direct marketing methods, as well as particular sector considerations, such as food and drink. It also deals with in-app purchases and online behavioural advertising. Rules arise under CPUTR 2008, SI 2008/1277 and the CAP and BCAP Codes Contract In

The general prohibition Pursuant to section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) (the general prohibition), no person may carry on a regulated activity unless authorised by the relevant regulator or exempt. Under FSMA 2000, s 23, breaches of FSMA 2000, s 19 may constitute a criminal offence. Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO), SI 2001/544, art 66 (Chapter XVII) sets out exclusions that apply to specified kinds of regulated activity. Their effect is to exclude certain activities from the scope of Regulated Activities for the purposes of FSMA 2000, s 19. For an overview of the different general exclusions that apply, see RAO, SI 2001/544. RAO, SI 2001/544, art 72B, as amended, provides for a general exclusion from the scope of regulated activities for ‘[a]ctivities carried on by a provider of relevant goods or services’ concerning ‘connected contract[s] of insurance’. Article 72B is more commonly referred

Once the offer of employment has been made and accepted by the employee, the contract of employment is formed. If the employer then changes its mind at this stage, it will not be able to withdraw the offer. It will instead have to terminate the employment contract by giving the employee his contractual notice, even if he has not yet started work. In practice this will usually mean making him a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) (see Practice Notes: Offer of employment—Accepting the offer and Contractual notice). If the employer ends the contract by paying a PILON in accordance with the contract, it would not be in breach of contract. If the employer did not give contractual notice or make a PILON in accordance with the contract, this will give rise to a breach of contract (wrongful dismissal) claim. In such a case, the employee will be entitled to be put

Implied term—price As is noted in Practice Note: Implied terms in contracts for goods and services, terms implied by statute aim to improve efficiency or provide protection for one of the parties to a contract. Section 15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (SGSA 1982) provides: • where, under a relevant contract for the supply of a service, the consideration for the service is not determined by the contract, left to be determined in a manner agreed by the contract or determined by the course of dealing between the parties, there is an implied term that the party contracting with the supplier will pay a reasonable charge, and • what is a reasonable charge is a question of fact SGSA 1982, s 12 defines ‘relevant contract for the supply of a service’ as a contract under which a person (‘the supplier’) agrees to carry out a service, other than a contract to which Chapter

The Cabinet Office has updated a number of documents in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) manage phase guidance collection. Subjects covered include: contract modification, key performance indicators, contract termination, contract performance notices, payments compliance notices, and electronic invoicing and payment. Previous versions of the guidance were issued ahead of the PA 2023 go-live in February 2025. A review of the updated documents suggests there are no major changes to the guidance. There are some minor updates to the guidance on contract modification, which are primarily formatting amendments. We will continue to monitor the guidance pages for substantive updates.

This Q&A addresses the question of whether a landlord who is an executor and who wishes to serve notice on a tenant to contract out of the provisions of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), Pt II can be described in that notice as ‘the executors of X’ or whether the executors need specifically to be named. The Q&A will also address the impact of this question on the validity of any notice which has been served and which names the landlord as ‘the executors of X’. Contracting out of Part II of the LTA 1954 Part II of the LTA 1954, Pt 2 makes provision

STOP PRESS: As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023, whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. This content relates to the Procurement Act 2023 regime This practical guidance is about public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). For practical guidance on procurement procedures used under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, see Practice Notes: Public procurement—open procedure—pre-PA 2023, Public procurement—restricted procedure—pre-PA 2023, Public procurement—competitive procedure with negotiation—pre-PA 2023, Public procurement—competitive dialogue procedure—pre-PA 2023 and Public procurement—innovation partnership procedure—pre-PA 2023. Competitive tendering procedures Before awarding a public contract, a contracting authority must carry out

Employers and employees can waive their right to be given notice when their employment relationship comes to an end. This Practice Note considers the circumstances in which an employer or an employee can waive their entitlement to notice under the contract of employment, or their entitlement to statutory notice, either completely or by accepting shorter notice than that to which they are entitled. Waiving contractual notice An employer can waive its right to receive contractual notice at any time. Any waiver of the right to notice should be carefully documented by the employer because: • there may later be a dispute about whether the waiver was freely given • it may affect the effective date of termination of employment In theory, employees can waive their rights to notice or payment in lieu of notice, although it will only rarely be in their interests to do so, for example where a generous voluntary redundancy package required employees to waive their right to notice. Where the employer has a contractual right to make a payment in lieu of notice,

Expert determination is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This Practice Note explains expert determination for technical or contract interpretation disputes. It defines expert determination and considers the agreement between the parties for choosing/appointing the expert. The expert’s jurisdiction and the binding nature of the decision given are explored and the procedure, limitation and claims against experts are also covered. For guidance generally on ADR and other forms of ADR, see Practice Notes: • What is ADR? • Which form of ADR? What is expert determination? Expert determination is a binding dispute resolution process involving an independent expert in a relevant discipline determining a dispute between parties in accordance with provisions agreed by the parties. Usually references to expert determination are made when there is an existing agreement which provides for expert determination to determine a particular issue. Generally, expert determination is an appropriate mechanism for resolving technical disputes, such as rent reviews (by a surveyor), share valuations (by an accountant) or the interpretation of a contractual mechanism (by counsel). In the field

This Checklist is for use as part of a due diligence exercise on the acquisition of a leasehold interest in land and looks at the issues which should be considered when reviewing the rent payment and rent review provisions of the lease. As well as checking the lease, the buyer’s solicitor should also check replies to enquiries, the information provided to the buyer in connection with the property at the marketing stage and the terms of the agreement for sale. What is the amount and nature of the rent? Nature of rent Head lease rents may be: • a peppercorn—this is common in long leases with minimal tenant obligations where the leasehold interest is similar to a freehold interest in terms of the tenant’s security and ability to deal with the property • a fixed annual sum subject to review—this review could be on an open market basis or on an indexed basis (often by reference to the retail prices index (RPI) or the consumer prices index (CPI)) • a stepped rent—where there are fixed rent increases