The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) released its new suite of Design and Build Contracts 2024 (D&B Contracts) in April 2024. In this insight, we discuss some of the key changes employers and contractors will need to be aware of on future construction projects.  

The key areas of change can be summarised as follows:  

• Incorporating the new Building Safety Act 2022 and related legislation  
• The Construction Playbook  
• Extensions of time & relevant matters  
• New communications clauses.  

Building safety act 2022 and related legislation  

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) changes are quite “light touch”. The reason is that the regulatory adjustments are designed to be practical and pragmatic. It is worth noting that the BSA is wide-reaching, not only in terms of the legislation but the changes it has made to other legislation - namely the Building Regulations 2010 and the Defective Premises Act 1972.  

Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB)  

A whole new regime relating to high-rise building safety has been introduced by the BSA (applying to buildings over 18m in height/7 storeys, with a minimum (in England only) of 2 residential units).  

The high-rise regime has not been reflected within the new suite of JCT D&B Contract documents because the nature of the JCT itself is designed as a general building contract accessible for a range of projects. Where employers are dealing with projects involving high-rise buildings, bespoke amendments are still suggested to account for the BSA’s regime in order to represent matters ranging from the golden thread of information to Building Safety Regulator approval (and subsequent issues that can arise, such as delays to the programme).  

The JCT D&B Contracts instead focuses on making explicit references to the new ‘duty holder’ regime brought into the Building Regulations 2010 (via part 2A).  

The duty holder regime creates a list of roles (client, designer, principal designer, contractor, and principal contractor) that all have clear and specific obligations in respect of building safety throughout the lifecycle of the works. From the employer’s perspective (namely as ‘client’) this will be to ensure that the persons they are hiring to do the work are competent. The JCT D&B 2024 contract doesn’t explicitly detail all the responsibilities, as it refers back to specific parts of the regulations that must be adhered to. Employers should carefully consider how they provide clarity about who takes each ‘role’. 

Clause 2.7.2 references Regulation 11A, that relates to “building information.” One of the Employer’s (described as the client in the relevant BRs) duties is to provide relevant building information, to ensure the Contractor has access to essential data. The JCT contract does not specify the type of building information. Although, there is further reference to it in the BRs, defined in Regulation 11Q to mean information in the Employer’s possession or which is reasonably obtainable by or on behalf of the Employer, relevant to the building work or the design work, including information about the work, planning and management of the project and issues relating to compliance with any relevant requirement and how they were addressed.  

Competency  

Competency is not addressed sufficiently. This could cover the duty holder regime competence, competency requirements and the appointment of competent entities.  

An issue is that reliance on external regulations may result in gaps in requirements. These can be addressed in the Schedule of Amendments or supporting / technical documents.  

Express limitation clause  

As with JCT 2016 the parties must rely on statutory provisions and common law principles to determine limitation periods for claims arising from construction projects. The BSAs introduced, by way of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA), a significant change regarding limitation periods in respect of ‘dwellings’. Regarding new builds, claims under the DPA now have an extended limitation period of 15 years. Affected parties have a longer timeframe within which to bring claims.  

Clause 2.17.2 in the JCT D&B 2024 addresses this matter as it clarifies that if works involve taking on work for or in connection with a dwelling, the Contractor’s design liability extends to liability under the DPA. 

Construction playbook  

The Construction playbook was published in 2020 and updated in 2022. Its aim was to support recovery from Covid-19, to reform building practices, and to steer employers and contractors alike towards the construction of safer and greener buildings.  

The playbook itself contains a total of 14 key policies, with two themes:  

• Collaboration in the supply chain  
• Sustainability 

It was created for the public sector (where compliance is mandatory) but also serves as ‘best practice’ for the private sector.  

In the 2016 JCT D&B Contract, parties could simply opt in or out via including the policies in supplemental provision 5 of the draft contract, whereas now the playbook forms part of Article 3 and is mandatory. Private sector employers will need to consider whether bespoke variations are needed to exclude policies (where inappropriate/not relevant) from Article 3. 

Extensions of time/relevant matters  

Under the JCT D&B Contracts, a contractor can request an extension of time from the employer where an event outside of their control happens. These events are defined under the contract as relevant events.  

When the contractor encounters a relevant event, they must submit a written request to the employer, setting out the relevant event and the amount of additional time they are requesting.  

The employer then considers the request and has at that time an opportunity to request additional information. Crucially, the JCT D&B Contracts have now placed a limit of 14 days for the employer to request additional information from the contractor. The 2024 contract has also shortened the overall time the employer has to decide whether to grant the extension to eight weeks under the JCT D&B Contract. Employers will need to be aware of these deadlines throughout the lifecycle of their projects, so as to not get caught out by lapsing extension of time requests, which if occur may lead to delayed completion.  

A new relevant event has been inserted into the 2024 suite to account for epidemics, which has stemmed from the Covid-19 pandemic. Employers should consider the contractor’s supply chain when considering the appropriateness of this relevant event. Epidemics are now also accounted for as a mutual termination event, and there is an option to include it as a relevant matter too (which would entitle the contractor to additional costs if it happens). 

The ‘change in law’ relevant event has also been expanded to not only include statutory powers, but also a statutory change or advice given by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). Change in law is also now a relevant matter and employers will need to be careful going forward to ensure that these expansions do not undermine the allocation of risk for upcoming changes in legislation affecting the workplace.  

The ‘unforeseen conditions’ relevant event and relevant matter now includes unexploded ordnances (UXO), contaminated materials and asbestos. Employers need to consider whether they have commercially agreed pre-construction due diligence with the contractor and the extent to which such due diligence has been agreed, as this will determine whether the expanded grounds for requesting time/money are appropriate.  

Communication/execution  

The general language of the JCT has been changed to gender-neutral language.  

Communications clauses (for example service of notice) have been expanded to allow for the use of electronic communications (i.e. via email). Addresses for service must be accounted for in the contract particulars.  

The execution clauses of the 2024 suite now explicitly recognises electronic signatures.  

Conclusion 

The 2024 update to the JCT Design and Build Contracts reflects a significant shift in construction contracting, aligning with new legislative frameworks, industry best practices, and lessons learned from recent global events. While many of the changes—such as those relating to the Building Safety Act, the Construction playbook, and updated extension of time provisions—are designed to enhance clarity and accountability, they also introduce new complexities that employers and contractors must navigate carefully. As the industry continues to adapt to a more regulated, collaborative, and digitally enabled environment, proactive contract management and bespoke amendments will be essential to ensure compliance, manage risk, and deliver successful project outcomes. 

How Capsticks can help 

We are construction and building safety specialists, combining expertise in construction law with a practical understanding of the regulatory landscape. From shaping your construction strategy and developing your business case, through to project completion, we provide end-to-end legal support tailored to your needs. Our team advises on all major standard form contracts, including JCT and NEC, as well as bespoke agreements, sub-contracts, consultant appointments, and collateral warranties.  

For more information, please contact Catherine Kay. 

This insight was co-authored by Riya Patel, trainee in our Corporate and Commercial team.