Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The answer to this question depends on the terms of the building contract. Under SBC, DB,
IC and ICD, the employer may take partial possession of any part of the Works if the con-
tractor agrees, and once partial possession has been taken, practical completion is deemed
to have occurred in respect of those parts. It is unusual, to say the least, for partial posses-
sion to be taken of the whole of the Works. It may sometimes happen when the employer
is anxious to move in to the building but the criteria for practical completion have not been
satisfied, and therefore the architect cannot issue a certificate to that effect. It has been held
that if partial possession is taken of the whole of the Works, deemed practical completion of
the whole of the Works occurs.
2
The effect is that regular interim payments end, liability for liquidated damages ends, the
contractor'sobligationtoinsuretheWorksends,therectification periodcommencesandthe
first half of the retention must be released. All this follows just as surely as if the architect
had been able to certify practical completion. Presumably, at some later date the criteria for
the issue of a certificate of practical completion will be satisfied. It may seem otiose for the
architect to certify at a later stage, because all the practical consequences of practical com-
pletion have already been set in motion. However, the contract obliges the architect to do
so, and there is nothing in the contract which removes this duty once the prescribed criteria
have been satisfied. The subsequent issue of the certificate by the architect does have one
very useful function. It records the date on which, in the architect's opinion, practical com-
pletion occurred. Alternatively, if the architect decides not to issue such a certificate, it is a
breach of the architect's obligations under the contract, but it is difficult to see what if any
consequences would flow from it. The architect could easily record his or her view about
when practical completion would have been certified by sending a letter to the employer.
1
2
Westminster Corporation v J Jarvis & Sons
(1970) 7 BLR 64.
Skanska Construction (Regions) Ltd v Anglo-Amsterdam Corporation Ltd
(2002) 84 Con LR 100.
