Defects Liability & Rectificatiion Period

How to Resolve Bad Workmanship Following Practical Completion

Defects Liability

The concept of a defects liability period is to be found in the Joint Contracts Tribunals' publications. Historically it referred to a set period (commonly 6 or 12 months) following practical completion. Following the publication of the 2005 suite of JCT contracts, the term defects liability period has been replaced with rectification period. By either title, the period is one during which the builder has a right and an obligation to return to rectify certain defects. This bestows benefits on both the party who employed the builder and the builder who contracted with the employer. In the absence of such a provision under the building contract, the employer may have no contractual mechanism on which it can rely to arrange rectification by the builder and the builder no right to return to put right his own work.