JCT Contract - acting as your own administrator?

[grandschemeofthings]

Has anyone acted as their own administrator on a JCT contract?

We're about to start a renovation and the builders have recommended the JCT contract template, which seems sensible.

They said most of their clients (who tend to have larger jobs than ours) get the architect to be the contract administror, but that we're welcome to do it ourselves if we prefer.

Our renovation is not complex and the architect hasn't been involved since planning was approved. They won't be involved in a project management capacity. We don't want to pay them even more fees if it is something we can manage ourselves. But equally don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot!

Has anyone else managed the JCT contract set up themselves?

Which template has the builder recommended? There are a few different contracts within the JCT suite.

Do you have experience managing contracts and issuing paperwork? As administrator you'll need to understand the payment certification process, valuing work done to date, make sure you issue the relevant notices, instructions and certificates in accordance with the contract. For eg. If you issue the practical completion certificate then it triggers the release of retention monies and other such things. Do you understand how variations work under the contract? It would be safer in the hands of the architects as the builders will know that they have the upper hand if you're not sure how the process works.

Hmm yes this was my concern, we have no real experience of those things. But we also have endless experience of architects being pretty useless and a waste of money, so we're not convinced any of them would do a better job.

The builders initially suggested the minor works contract but I think what we actually need is the 'homeowner who has not appointed a contractor to oversee the work' contract?

The Homeowner / occupier contract is less onerous than the Minor Works contract. If you decide to administer yourself I'd suggest you swot up on dispute resolution (ie. What recourse you have if something goes wrong), decide payment stages to avoid overpaying at the start and understand how variations to the contract work. The contractor could claim for loss and expense and/or an extension of time if delayed beyond their control for example. Also check insurances - public liability and All Works.

The main benefit of having a consultant manage the contract is that they know what to do when something goes wrong or the contractor asks for additional monies for something that is already in the contract.

Thank you, that's really helpful. Insurance policies have all been checked and we're also securing a joint names policy so that's all in hand. The quote is extremely detailed so we're reasonably confident that it should be clear what's been allowed for in the contract and if and when variations occur where the additional costs will come. The payment schedule is going to run month by month, they don't want a deposit or monies up front, we only pay as each stage is completed and they will document/photo each stage before invoicing. We've spoken to multiple referees and seen two of their completed projects (one recent, one five years old) so we hope we've done our due diligence.

We're not averse to hiring someone to administer the contract, but we've had such poor experiences in the past with architects doing a rubbish job of project managing things (as have friends, yet to find anyone who would recommend their architect as a PM!) we don't want to fork out for something if we can realistically do it ourselves.

In my experience it’s really helpful to have the architect doing valuations etc because a) they actually know the value of work and b) they can be picky about details on your behalf while you maintain a good relationship with the builder. It’s good to have them for the snagging stage too because often you begin to wonder if you’re being too picky or you are tempted to accept anything to get the bloody job finished.

Hmm see this is where our previous experience doesn't match yours. Last time we did a build of this scale the architect was absolutely useless, a total waste of money. We were the ones being picky, he lacked any attention to detail and was signing stuff off all over the shop when it wasn't ready or finished and we've been living with those cock ups for over ten years.

I do take your point though that we need to be mindful of how the relationship would work without that third party if it all went pear shaped though.

Anyone know, does the administrator have to be an architect or can it be a surveyor? Our party wall surveyor is excellent, I did wonder if he could do it for us.

A party wall surveyor does not actually need to be a surveyor. You'll want someone who's qualified / chartered with a professional body - RIBA, RICS, APM and who holds professional indemnity insurance.